DEVIZES eco warrior Joe Brindle is among students from across Wiltshire who have travelled to Bristol today to see teenage activist Greta Thunberg.

The Swedish environmentalist will be at a Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate event on College Green, before joining a march through the city.

Devizes sixth former Joe, 17, has spent the past week campaigning for climate change to become a major part of the school curriculum.

He is now among thousands of pupils who have taken the day off to attend the Bristol rally.

Also on their way to the city is a mini bus of pupils from St John's School, Marlborough who are accompanied by two teachers.

A spokesman for the school said: "A group of pupils from Year 9 upwards who are members of the Schools For Environment Action Group are on their way.

"The school is fully supportive of this. They will be representing the whole school community."

Police have issued warning about road closures and safety.

Teenage organisers of the Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate insisted that the event would be well run and safe, and dismissed concerns expressed by police and council officials at the scale of the event as “patronising.”

At least two Bristol schools, Cotham and the Bristol Cathedral Choir school, were closing. Some teachers at other schools planned to take time off to escort pupils to the strike.

Thousands of students from universities and colleges were due to attend. Some employers actively encouraged staff to take part in the strike, promising not to dock pay, while others turned a blind eye to absences.

Coaches were bringing protesters in from across the UK, and rail and bus stations were gearing up for a huge

The scale of the event has caused a security headache for Avon and Somerset police and Bristol city council.

Bristol city council’s executive director, Mike Jackson, and Supt Andy Bennett, the city’s police area commander, issued a joint statement saying they were working to manage public safety.

They added: “We want to ensure that anyone planning to attend is prepared and able to make their own safety and safeguarding arrangements. Parents are responsible for their children. The council and police are not responsible for unsupervised children.

“In terms of big crowds, there is the potential for trips, slips, falls and crushing.”

In a response posted on Twitter, Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate said they had “no time for being patronised”, adding that they had arranged for 60 metres of festival barriers, more than 80 stewards and a safe zone for young children.