GILES Fawssett of Crediton has been co-opted as a new Town Councillor for the Lawrence Ward.

Giles recently said: “I am delighted to have joined the team as a Crediton Town Councillor, ironically on the date that the UK smashed its record temperature. I am an environmentalist on a mission!

“NASA’s Artemis will carry nearly one million gallons of fuel on each trip to the moon. Our mission, should we wish to accept it, is to reduce, reduce and reduce.

“We need to reduce our use of private cars, reduce air travel, and reduce our diet of meat and dairy.

“When I was a student at Exeter in the 1980s my mission was to date the daughter of the Crediton Rector. I didn’t know then the damage that fossil fuels were doing to our planet. But the Oil Companies knew, and they did nothing!

“In 2001 I returned to Crediton to put down roots. I live and work locally and all my children have gone to QE. I enjoy the people here and the pace of life.

“I want to have a proper conversation about our impact on the planet, but this must start with an acceptance that trans-national corporations, like the oil companies will not be responsible to society.

“We cannot ignore the fact that we and this message are about to self-destruct. Only with a huge collective effort, like Artemis, can we both save humanity and make a better world.”