Samantha Newman shot this video of protesters in Aylestone Hill, Hereford

STUDENTS walked out of classrooms today to make a stand against climate change.

Protests were held in both Hereford and Hay-on-Wye as youngsters called on world leaders to take stronger action against those damaging the planet.

More than 200 teenagers gathered outside Hereford Sixth Form College this morning to hear student Elsie Usherwood say the warnings of a "climate crisis" from the UN should have sent the "politicians of the world into panic".

And yet, somehow, business is going on as usual, added the 17-year-old from Ledbury.

"The climate crisis is the defining issue of our generation," she said.

"It should have been the issue of the generation before us, or even the one before that. We shouldn't have to do this.

"But here we are breaking this cycle of passing problems onto the next generation."

Hereford's protest was organised by 18-year-old student Alice Spearman.

The teenager from Newton St Margarets was pleased to see such a large crowd respond to the call for action she made on Facebook.

Having gathered on Folly Lane, the crowd walked down Aylestone Hill and into the city centre shouting slogans such as "system change not climate change" and "there is no planet B".

Youngsters from Fairfield High School and Clifford Primary School were among those gathering in Hay on the national day of action.

They read out a series of demands they would like to see addressed.

The first states that the government "declares a climate emergency and prioritises the protection of life on earth while the second asks that the "national curriculum is reformed to address the ecological crisis as an educational priority".

The final demand is for the government to "communicate the severity of the ecological crisis and the necessity to act now to the general public".