Bulwell climate campaigner backs Extinction Rebellion calls to boycott Shell and BP stations in Nottinghamshire

In a press statement, the group said: “Ordinary people are struggling with the massive rise in household bills and at nearly £2 per litre petrol is now over £8.50 per gallon.

"Meanwhile Shell’s profits have tripled and BP’s have doubled.

"Together they are on course for more than £40 billion pounds profit this year.

“Oil companies profits are increasing and so are global temperatures."

Katherine Buckland, 22, a climate activist from Bulwell, said: “There’s no ‘good’ oil company, but we’d like to discourage people from filling up at Shell or BP.

"Both Shell and BP have plans for massive expansion, against the advice of scientists.

"As if they’re not wealthy enough they want even more money.

With temperatures forecast to hit 40 deg C or higher in some parts of the UK the coming days, the Met Office has issued an unprecedented red warning – meaning ‘potential serious illness or danger to life’ – for extreme heat.

And experts warn that the continued use of fossil fuels will make these heat waves more frequent and more dangerous.

Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s executive director, said: “If governments are serious about the climate crisis, there can be no new investments in oil, gas and coal, from now – from this year.”

In 2018 analysts said Shell spent $55 million per year advertising itself as a green, eco-friendly company.

But former Olympic gold medalist and now climate campaigner Etienne Stott says accused the company of what campaigners call ‘greenwashing’.

Stott, 43, from The Meadows, said: “They paint themselves as the company that’ll save us all from global warming, but actually they’re the ones who are causing it!”

“We want to warn motorists what we’re doing, so try to fill up your tank at a different petrol station.

If enough of us can avoid these greedy, greenwashing companies, they’ll get the message that we want a sustainable future for our children.”