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Not so long ago, Roger Hallam was a simple organic vegetable farmer living a peaceful life in the Welsh countryside.

His small 10-acre farm near Llandeilo sounded like something out of a John Steinbeck novel.

It didn't have a single tractor - instead he had a horse named Big Mama to work the land alongside 25 employees.

And the the environmentally conscious Mr Hallam's six polytunnels and three small gardens also provided a veg box scheme to the local area.

Then, in his own words, the weather "went weird", and it caused his crops to fail.

Rather than taking it lying down, however, Mr Hallam decided to act, and tackle the terrifying reasons behind the increasingly unpredictable weather head on.

Now, he's one of the masterminds behind worldwide climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion and their infamous boats which last year blocked the middle of Oxford Circus.

"Just over a decade ago there was a series of extreme weather events which destroyed my business and led to 25 people losing their jobs. Climate emergency is not some abstract concept", Mr Hallam, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion told the Independent in May.

"Millions of farmers around the world are under extreme economic pressure due to the climate change catastrophe now unfolding."

(Image: PA)

After leaving his west Wales farm, Mr Hallam went on to study civil disobedience at King's College London.

There, in 2017, the PhD student held a hunger strike pressuring the university to divest from fossil fuels - something they have agreed to do by 2020.

In a report reflecting on the strike at the time, the activist wrote: "Lastly since the election of Trump I have made the decision I am not going to hold myself back and if I think that I can create radical change more effectively by leading the charge, as it were, then I have decided to do so."

Fast-forward a year later, and 1,500 activists gathered on Parliament Square in London during the first protest by Extinction Rebellion.

The peaceful demonstration was the culmination of two years of meetings held by founders of activists including Mr Hallam, Gail Bradbrook, Simon Bramwell in a group originally called Rising up!

(Image: Getty Images) (Image: Getty Images)

Now run by small autonomous groups around the world, XR, as they are known by supporters, are calling for governments worldwide to declare a climate emergency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. By comparison, the UK Government has promised to reach the same goal by 2050.

They also call for a citizens assembly on climate and ecological justice to allow members of the public to have their say.

But most in Wales will remember them as the activists who chained themselves to a boat and ground Cardiff to a halt for three days.

For the mastermind behind it, the need for immediate action is terrifyingly clear.

(Image: Richard Williams/WalesOnline) (Image: Tom Martin/WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr Hallam said: "When I look at the sky, I see death."

"Because what I see is a process through which I will starve to death. The sky is basically what gives life. If that sky doesn't rain, we're dead.

"And I know that because I grow food. So I've got that - I got that frontline peasant orientation which obviously has been completely lost in western society."

Since its formation, Extinction Rebellion now has 100,000 subscribers on its email list.

(Image: Robert Melen) (Image: PA)

Last month, protesters blocked the three entrances roads leading to the Valero oil refinery site in Pembroke Dock.

And last week in Dover, a 91-year-old man was among 10 people arrested during a protest that blocked roads to Dover Port.

Now, starting on October 7, they are planning their biggest international action to date - and hope to bring cities including London, New York and Paris to a standstill in its October Rebellion.

Cities like Buenos Aires and Delhi are also expected to join in - echoing the hundreds of thousands that took to the streets last Friday to follow in footsteps of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg.

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Mr Hallam said: "What I'm aiming for is the biggest disruption since 1968.

"We'll bring thousands of people into the street and they're going to blockade central London.

"There could be 20 or 30 cities."

In a statement, XR said: “It is expected that thousands more ordinary citizens – with parents, builders, footballers, doctors, teachers, musicians, scientists, CEOs, farmers, with other movements aligned to the cause – will join and peacefully block more than 11 key areas until Extinction Rebellion’s demands, for truth, action and a democracy fit for purpose, are met.”

At the moment Mr Hallam, 54, remains in custody after being accused of attempting to cause disruption at Heathrow Airport by using a drone.

He will appear in court on October 14, charged with conspiring to cause a public nuisance between 1 August and 14 September.

A splinter group of Extinction Rebellion (XR), called Heathrow Pause, had allegedly been trying to interrupt flights by flying drones in the 5km exclusion zone around the airport.