ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have taken to the ice in York to send out a warning about the threat posed by climate change.

Dressed as polar bears, Guy Wallbanks and Jenny Elster, of York and Ryedale Friends Of The Earth, skated around The Ice Factor rink in the shadow of Clifford's Tower carrying placards urging the Government to help save endangered species from extinction.

Their on-ice protest, which saw them speed around the ice while hoisting banners saying I Can't Bear Climate Change and Politicians Get Your Skates On, came ahead of next month's United Nations climate change conference in Bali.

Mr Wallbanks said: "We really are skating on thin ice if we think we can ignore the threat of climate change.

"Many species such as polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct, so we felt this was a good opportunity to make more people in York aware of the seriousness of the problem.

"Climate change is a local issue as well as a global one, and the Government needs to get its skates on and take urgent action because we are concerned that what they are doing is far too slow.

"There really is no time to waste. We need to drastically cut our emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and we need international agreement by all governments to achieve this.

"The world is in danger of following the example of the Amazon rainforest and becoming a desert unless we get to grips with climate change now."