Rebel Riders – The 522 Mile Cycle to Cop26 with William Ranieri – Day 1/9

From the 24th of October to 1st November, William Ranieri from Latest TV is following a group of cyclists on their nine-day journey from Brighton to Glasgow. They are cycling to raise awareness of the climate crisis in the run up to the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, being held in Glasgow. On day one, the group made it safely from Brighton to Staines, west of London. A lot of preparation has gone into this cycle journey, which set off on October 24th, which the group hopes will raise awareness of climate change and inspire other people to get involved in fighting it.

On the way, they stopped outside a controversial Shell oil extraction site in Surrey to meet climate activist Rev Helen Burnett. If this plant becomes profitable, it will fund another 25 sites between Surrey and the Isle of Wight. Helen is hoping to raise support from her local community and put as many spanners in the works as possible to slow down and halt progress on the plans put forward by Shell. With a court case in mid-November appealing the permission given to this site on the grounds that future emissions have not been considered, if their campaign is successful, it could make history.