JUST STOP OIL protesters returned to central London today to demand an end to fossil fuel projects following the devastating floods in Italy and Somalia.

On Wednesday, thousands were left homeless and at least nine people reported dead after a heavy storm caused 21 rivers to burst their banks in Italy, causing landslides.

And in Somalia, a quarter of a million people were forced to leave their homes after the Shabelle River burst its banks.

The protest today against new oil, gas and coal projects in Britain is part of a daily action by the group since April 24.

Marchers were forced off the road by police moments after beginning the protest due to a Section 12 notice under the new Public Order Act.

Protester Sasha Stone, 21, said: “The government has been bought by oil and gas companies and is making decisions which will inevitably lead to mass destruction, famine, and death for the many ordinary people in this country and around the world.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that as a species we are playing with fire.

“Civilisations have fallen before and we are approaching a great precipice, a painful point of no return.”