Extinction Rebellion protesters have sailed a house down the River Thames in a bid to draw attention to rising sea levels.
Stunning pictures show the property, complete with aerial, chimney and burglar alarm, floating near the Tower of London as it heads towards Tower Bridge.
It comes after the Met police’s London-wide protest ban was ruled unlawful in the high court, meaning the eco-group could receive millions of pounds worth of compensation in false imprisonment claims.
Sea levels have risen on average five to eight inches worldwide since 1900, according to the Smithsonian, and they claim is expected to rise even more quickly towards the end of this century.
Extinction Rebellion protesters have floated a house down the River Thames in a bid to draw attention to rising sea levels
The property, fitted with a TV aerial, burglar alarm and a chimney was seen floating near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge before it reportedly sunk
The shocking images show the house, which appears to contain one room, bobbing down the capital’s river before reportedly sinking.
In a post on Twitter, the group wrote: ‘This morning, a house was seen floating then sinking into the Thames in an attempt to send an SOS to the government on climate inaction.
‘As the ongoing UK flooding disasters have so starkly illustrated, our homes, businesses and families are at very real risk.’
Human rights lawyer Tobias Garnett, who is also an activist for the group, won a case against the Met police in the High Court on Wednesday, which claimed that the decision to launch a London-wide protest ban in the Autumn was unlawful.
The judicial review was brought on behalf of Extinction Rebellion by Baroness Jenny Jones, Caroline Lucas MP, Clive Lewis MP, David Drew MP, Ellie Chowns MEP, Extinction Rebellion and Labour activist Adam Allnut and journalist George Monbiot.
The home, which is one room, was floated to draw attention to how homes, businesses and families are at very real risk from rising sea levels
The house was aiming to draw attention to government ‘inaction’ on climate change
It comes after the High Court ruled that the Met police’s decision to create a London-wide ban on protests was unlawful. Pictured: Police arrest an Extinction Rebellion activist near the gates of Downing Street in central London on October 8
Pictured: A police officer arrests an Extinction Rebellion member in Fleet Street, central London
Extinction Rebellion argued that the ban was an unprecedented and unlawful curtailment of the right to protest.
The group said the action risked criminalising those who want to call attention to what they have termed a climate and ecological emergency.
Law firm Bindmans, which represented XR, said the Met now faces claims for false imprisonment from ‘potentially hundreds’ of protesters who were arrested after the ban was imposed.
Torrential downpours amounting to a months worth of rain across the Midlands and Northern England this week led to floods which swept former High Sherriff of Derbyshire, Annie Hall, to her death.
The ferocious flood waters also caused hundreds of families to be evacuated as homes, businesses and railway lines were submerged.
The village of Fishlake in Doncaster, pictured completely submerged yesterday due to floodwaters formed after a month’s worth of rain fell this week
The bottom floors of houses were submerged in the village of Fishlake, Doncaster, which has been pictured yesterday
Flood conditions pictured in Matlock and Darleydale at lunchtime yesterday
More than 400 homes in Doncaster and South Yorkshire were evacuated while the Environment Agency was prompted to issue a ‘danger to life’ warning as rivers continued to swell.
Yesterday as many as 240 flood warnings were issued.
Scientists have predicted that sea levels may rise from between less than a metre to as high as five metres by 2100.