
Campaigners are set to bring London to a standstill today as thousands of activists are set to stage a mock funeral march through the capital.

Protesters have arrived in Parliament Square as they continue to wreak havoc in London. Extinction Rebellion have boasted that up to 500 people could be detained by police in the culmination of a week of 'swarming demonstrations'.

Authorities have advised motorists to avoid travelling through central London as protesters take over the city.

The protestors have sparked gridlock throughout the week by blocking major bridges and bottlenecks in protests which have spread across the country.

Environmental activists carry a coffin with 'Our Future' written on it to the gates of Buckingham Palace in central London

An environmental activist is carried away by police officers outside Buckingham Palace during a demonstration by the Extinction Rebellion group

The demonstrators stood face to face with police officers as they line the Buckingham Palace gates. The group Extinction Rebellion already caused traffic carnage in the city this week by creating timed roadblocks

Demonstrators, including a grandmother who claims she is there for her grandson, are arrested for lying down in front of the entrance of Downing Street

The demonstrators hold up a sign stating 'Rebel For Life'. Extinction Rebellion demonstrations are part of a campaign of mass civil disobedience co-ordinated online among environmental groups

Police officers watch as demonstrators try to remove graffiti from a memorial commemorating women in the Second World War, in Whitehall, during the Extinction Rebellion protest

Demonstrators gathered outside the gates of Buckingham Palace this afternoon with banners and a blow up dinosaur dummy, left

Protesters in London's Parliament Square were pushed back by police as they chanted and held up signs

Environmental activists even built a shrine for Mother Earth outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. The group demonstrating, Extinction Rebellion, are believed to be protesting about climate change

The protesters gathered around the Earth shrine, with the coffin, left, buried in photographs and wreaths. The group boasted how 500 people could be detained by police at the end of this week

One demonstrator even stood on the Buckingham Palace Queen Victoria Memorial statue in protest, complete with a sign which reads 'Rebel For Life'

Police officers lined the gates of Buckingham Palace during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration. They stood opposite activists holding a 'funeral' coffin with 'Our Future' written on it

One young woman (left) holds up a sign which reads: 'The climate is changing why aren't our politicians'. While other demonstrators (right) dressed up with a model of the earth on their head

Protesters carried the mock coffin through the streets of Westminster this afternoon, in a so-called 'funeral march' to highlight the impact of climate change

Protesters (left) were held back by police as they marched in Parliament Square, while others wore outfits with the group's name 'Extinction Rebellion'

Protesters in London have already blocked access to roads (pictured) as part of an ongoing campaign of civil disobedience

Protesters, who range in professions from yoga teacher to tech entrepreneur are led by professional activists who are opposed to fracking, a third runway at Heathrow and commercial flights.

They believe the country has reached a 'tipping point' in which direct action is the only option left to change political course.

Organisers have pledged to continue even more disruption following protests throughout the week.

The Extinction Rebellion demonstrations are part of a campaign of mass civil disobedience co-ordinated online among environmental groups.

Some protesters even wore all black and carried flowers as they prepared to march to remember the life lost by climate change

The protesters attempted to bury a coffin outside of Parliament Square for the lives lost due to climate change

Protesters held signs with messages such as 'Act Now' and 'Rebel for life' as well as others which said 'let's give our children a future this christmas'

Demonstrators from the environment protest group were confronted by police during the Extinction Rebellion protest in Parliament Square

One said: 'We will do ten bridges, we are looking at 500-plus arrests which will be the most from a political protest for a decade of two.'

University technician Nick Cooper, who has been arrested twice in a fortnight, said the aim of the protesters was to 'get the Government to the negotiating table.' Speaking as he attended another protest earlier this week in breach of his bail conditions, he added: 'I do a lot of peaceful protests like this one. We have to be disruptive like this in order for those in power to take notice.' T

Despite their enthusiasm, angry critics claim the militant activists are creating even more pollutions by creating long and unnecessary tailback.

Groups such as Christian Climate Action also joined the protests in Parliament Square in London on Saturday

Protesters have gathered in Parliament Square in London. One held a sign which read 'on behalf of life', as they march for life lost through climate change

82 Supporters of the Extinction Rebellions were arrested last week following protests involving up to 6,000 people on five bridges across the Thames.

The majority of arrests were made on Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge as police forced open routes to a major hospital.

Earlier this week protesters walked on to roads in Westminster, Tower Bridge, Elephant and Castle and Earl's Court to block.

People from across the country had attended the protest with one sign reading: 'Bristol declares climate emergency'

The protesters have been disrupting London this week and have pledged to continue to protests which have been going on all this week

There were angry confrontations with some motorists attempting to force their way through temporary barricades.

One woman, who was walking to work, said bringing hundreds of vehicle to a standstill was creating extra pollution.

'This is not the right thing to do,' she said. 'They are causing more pollution with all this standing traffic. I have got asthma and it's ridiculous.' Adam Khan, 21, from Enfield, who was caught up in Elephant and Castle on Wednesday, said: 'They are just wasting people's time.

Roads around the surrounding area of Westminster were blocked this morning as the protesters continued their tirade

There was a big police presence at the scene at Parliament Square in London, but officers seemed to be chatting to the people in attendance

Protesters were out in full force and held signs that read: 'We must stop this mass extinction' and 'change the politics not the climate'

'I need to get home to drop my car off and I'm so late, hundreds of people are now.

'If they want to protest they should do it outside number 10 Downing Street, not cause chaos for normal people like this. It's bad enough trying to drive in London without this.' Black cab driver Fokhul Miah, 35, said the protests made him late picking up his children from school in Essex.

He said: 'I just need to pick my kids up, they'll be crying and worried when I'm not there and there's nothing I can do.

One protester (left) carried a wreath and looked solemn while others (right) carried a blow up dinosaur

One of the demonstrators took the protest extremely seriously and had turned up in a full costume

The protesters looked in good spirits as they stopped traffic in Parliament Square early on Saturday

'I'd clocked off work to pick them up but I've been stuck here for ages. Protesting is fine but shouldn't be at the inconvenience of half of London like this.' The Extinction Rebellion protesters have been told to gather in Parliament Square at 10am before moving on to undisclosed locations.

Protest organiser Ronan McNern said: 'This is about causing economic disruption by slowing things down, bringing things to a gridlock.' Campaigner Clare Farrell said: 'The 24th will be another mass participation, public protest and we think there's a good chance there will be a bigger turnout.

'We have demonstrated to the public that it is possible to take radical direct action in a mass participatory way, while being peaceful and non-violent.' The Metropolitan Police tweeted: 'If you do drive into London, please note attempting to drive through protesters in the road is very dangerous and illegal.' Transport for London said the protests have caused serious disruption to buses and other traffic.