A climate group in Machynlleth has denied “defacing the town” after residents reacted angrily to posters advertising a London protest being “plastered all over everything that wasn’t moving”.

Machynlleth Town Council and town residents were left “angry” after Extinction Rebellion posters advertising a mass event in the UK capital on 7 October appeared overnight on Wednesday.

The Machynlleth Extinction Rebellion (XR) group denied responsibility – and members of the group cleaned up the posters on Thursday after the town clerk declared the stunt would see them “lose all public support” for their cause.

Clerk Jim Griffiths condemned the action as “wanton disregard for our lovely town”.

Former mayor Gareth Jones called it “wanton vandalism”, adding it was “counterproductive” and will “turn people away”.

“Nothing from bins; to former banks; to bus shelters; to lampposts; to benches escaped the attention of those who found the time to deface the beautiful town which so many of us are so proud to call home,” he told the Cambrian News.

“Destructive actions such as these have no place in our town.”

A spokesperson for XR Machynlleth said the fly-posting “was not organised or condoned” by the group.

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