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Members of a green-fingered charity and Jeremy Corbyn swapped gardening tips as the Labour leader visited Macclesfield to discuss tackling climate change.

The politician was at St Barnabas Church, on Lyme Avenue, where he took a look at Cre8’s community garden and allotment.

He met with volunteers and schoolchildren and praised their attempts to create a sustainable and cheap food supply.

Parliament declared a climate emergency earlier this year, as has East Cheshire Council - which is bidding to become carbon neutral by 2025 - and Macclesfield Town Council.

Mr Corbyn said: “We have no time to waste. The scale and severity of the climate emergency requires urgent action in every community across our country and across the world.

“Local government and local communities are absolutely essential to confronting the climate emergency. Action from above by people sitting in offices in Whitehall and Westminster alone will never be sufficient.

“An emergency of this magnitude requires concerted and urgent action at every level to take on the polluters and secure our planet’s future.

“The people of Macclesfield should be very proud of the community action taking place here.”

As part of the visit Mr Corbyn gave a hand in the garden, planting a blueberry bush and discussing the best way to ward off slugs.

He also met with councillors and Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Macclesfield Neil Puttick.

Mr Puttick said: “It is brilliant that Jeremy has come to see the work we are doing in our area, and to listen to the local people quietly making a green revolution. We know Jeremy is a keen gardener, so we thought we would show him one of Macclesfield’s community gardens.”

Jenni Hardy, chair of trustees at Cre8, which provides activities and services for young people, said: “I am delighted that the hard work of our local charity has been recognised in such a way. Our community garden, taken care of by our young people, certainly highly impressed our VIP visitor.”

Anyone interested in getting involved with the garden can visit www.cre8macclesfield.org .