One of the co-founders of Extinction Rebellion has revealed she began the movement after taking 'psychedelic medicines' - just days following the shutdown of central Manchester by climate protesters.

Gail Bradbrook, 47, a molecular biologist, said she 'prayed in a deep way' while taking the substances on a retreat.

She told a BBC Inside Out West documentary that her prayer was answered within a month, with Extinction Rebellion formed last year.

Since then, protests in London and around the country have caused chaos, with a week of protests in July causing widespread disruption in the capital and the latest protest in Manchester on Friday bringing misery to drivers.

Gail Bradbrook, one of the co-founders of Extinction Rebellion, has revealed she began the movement after taking 'psychedelic medicines' - just days after climate protesters shut down central Manchester

Ms Bradbrook said: 'I've always been interested in how things change, in social change,' she told the documentary.

'I was involved in the animal rights movement as a young woman, I've been involved in thinking about gender and issues around racism and so on.

'I'd been focused on trying to start civil disobedience since 2010 and I've tried many things and they didn't work, so I went on a retreat and prayed in a deep way with some psychedelic medicines.

Ms Bradbrook, a molecular biologist, said she 'prayed in a deep way' while taking the substances on a retreat. She told a BBC Inside Out West documentary that her prayer was answered within a month, with Extinction Rebellion formed last year

'It was a really intense experience and I actually prayed for what I called the codes for social change, I thought there must be something I don't understand, and within a month my prayer was literally answered.'

Extinction Rebellion began in Stroud, Gloucestershire, with large protests spreading quickly across the UK.

Dr Bradbrook described how it started with around 12 people in her house but went global within a year.

'We know we've got about 100,000 people on the database in the UK and we reach about a million people with the social media,' she said.

'We've got 130 groups across the UK. We're in 59 countries and it's growing all the time.'

Since the group was formed last year protests around the country have caused chaos, with a week of protests in July causing widespread disruption in the capital and the latest protest in Manchester on Friday (pictured) bringing misery to drivers

The movement has three demands for the UK Government: to declare a climate and ecological emergency; to act to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025; and to create and be led by the decisions of a citizens' assembly on climate and ecological justice.

During the documentary, cameras were allowed into an Extinction Rebellion meeting in Stroud.

A number of those taking part in the meeting are seen holding each other and crying.

Simon Bramwell, another co-founder, told the BBC: 'Depending on the group, we'll have prayers. We have a lot of Christians and Quakers involved in Extinction Rebellion.

'Sometimes we'll have a prayer or a small ceremony or sometimes we'll have what we call an "intentioning" - just a way of like focusing ourselves, just a grounding or an acknowledgement around the room.

'People are starting to feel the grief and the fear of what's happening and the meetings are a great way for people to admit this to one another.

'In that vulnerability, as it were, there's also a great strength and there's great cohesion and there's great community, which is something else that a lot of people are missing in this day and age.'

Mr Bramwell, the ex-partner of Dr Bradbrook, spoke about protests in Bristol that blocked a main route leading to the M32.

One man previously told how he was unable to be at his father's bedside when he died because of the blocked traffic.

Mr Bramwell told the BBC: 'My mum is quite ill, she's in a lot of pain, she's disabled. I know how I'd feel if I didn't make it to her bedside for her death, and I can't communicate with any degree of real depth of how sorry I am it happened.'

On Friday, campaigners wheeled a large boat reading 'planet before profit' into the normally busy Deansgate crossroads to kick off the rally which was attended by hundreds over the weekend

The demonstrators reportedly chose to occupy this particular junction owing to its allegedly unlawful levels of air pollution. Above: Protesters block off a section of Deansgate, Manchester

He said he wasn't present that day but highlighted that 'thousands of people are dying in Britain from air pollution'.

Dr Bradbrook insisted it is only by causing disruption that people will 'have a conversation about an issue'.

'We are killing life on Earth, we're in the sixth mass extinction event and it's possible that human beings will go extinct. We're in a culture that doesn't want you to think about that.'

Their comments come after the chaos caused in Manchester by Extinction Rebellion protesters on Friday.

Campaigners wheeled a large boat reading 'planet before profit' into the normally busy Deansgate crossroads to kick off the rally which was attended by hundreds over the weekend.

The demonstrators reportedly chose to occupy this particular junction owing to its allegedly unlawful levels of air pollution.

It mirrors the protests earlier this year in London which resulted in the crippling of the capital's transport routes and saw more than a thousand arrests.