The streets were packed with colourful banners and chants of “climate change has got to go” as Glasgow hosted thousands of protesters for the Global Climate Strike yesterday.

Students and workers took the day off to join marchers in Kelvingrove Park and march through the city in direct protest at government inaction regarding the crisis.

Following on from climate change icon Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Futures movement, where the Swedish teenage activist decided that protesting against government inaction

was more important than her education, yesterday’s march stood as Glasgow’s first official youth strike where adults were also invited to take part.

With protests held all over the world, Glasgow’s March was laced with Scottish magic as marchers were joined by a surprise appearance by Billy Connolly.

As marchers made their way from Kelvingrove Park in the city’s West End to George Square, The Evening Times spotted The Big Yin charging up Sauchiehall Street on his way to join in.

READ MORE: Billy Connolly joins Climate Strike in Glasgow

Speaking exclusively to the Evening Times about the march, Billy said: “I think it’s brilliant. We can rely on these young people to do the right thing.”

Organised by Glasgow Youth Climate Strike, the young activist group spearheaded by schoolgirl Erin Curtis, 15, who has been described in the Evening Times as Glasgow’s Answer to Greta Thunberg.

Authorities did not have official estimates on the scale of the protest, however organisers estimated more than 10,000 protesters took part.

Erin told the Evening Times: “I was absolutely blown away by the turn out at the climate strike in Glasgow.

“Seeing so many people standing up for what they believe in was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.

“This march will go down in history as one of the major events in the fight for the climate. It shows that we’re winning, and I couldn’t be more proud of my city.”

Scots of all ages joined the call for action on climate change on an unseasonably warm Glasgow autumn day.

READ MORE: Climate Strikes: Thousand gather across Scotland in largest environmental protest in history

School pupils from all over Scotland travelled to the march to protest with banners and whistles, including many of Glasgow’s own.

Charlotte McQueen, 16 from Mount Florida, was particularly worried about climate change and had learned about it in school.

She said: “I study it in school, so we know everything about it. It’s heartbreaking to hear about it.”

This is the second youth strike that had been organised in the city, but yesterday’s proved to be the biggest one to date.

School children who had parental consent were granted permission to march by Glasgow City Council were joined for the first time by adults and workers who join the

strike in protest of government ­inaction against climate change.

Many sub-divisions and communities in Glasgow began the day with their own protests before joining up with the larger march, such as that held by students from Glasgow School of Art.

Issy Paterson, 22 from the Cotswolds and Dom Manderson, 22 from Cumbria are students from The Glasgow School of Art who dropped their studies to join the march along to the centre of the city. Dom told the Evening Times: “We sped down Sauchiehall Street to join the march. It’s so nice to see all the unis come together.

“The march is needed. There’s a lot of tension so it’s the only way possible to get the message across.”

The march closed with a rally in George Square, where many young people in the city felt their voices heard for the first time on a grand scale.

Billy Connolly added that the march was a chance for young people to be “off that boring Brexit and talk about real things!”