KINGTON Town Council has joined the ranks of councils across the country to declare a "climate emergency".

Following pressure from county climate campaign groups, Kington Town Councillors debated and voted unanimously in favour of declaring a "climate emergency" at their meeting on March 4, joining a growing movement of other councils to do the same.

It is now the smallest of the 38 town and city councils across the UK to have made a declaration to encourage and promote local actions to reduce the carbon footprint of the town and the local community by 2030.

A spokesman for Kington Council said: "As a town council, we have to work within a number of strictures and will not be able to make any decisions or to develop any local plans until after the election.

"The council will set up a working group with members of the Kington Local Environment and Energy Network and members of the public to see how best to proceed after.

"However, we recognise that there is a lot of public support for the climate emergency."