BANDS from Swindon are turning up the tempo in the fight against plastic waste with a series of gigs starting this Friday.

The Castle Inn in Old Town will host the first No Plastic Bands gig, organised by the Swindon Climate Action Network (SCAN) to spread awareness about the damage single-use plastics have caused to the environment.

Organiser Ben Bell, from SCAN, said: “It’s a community event as well as being about plastic. That’s really how we’re going to do anything about this problem - communities coming together and saying they don’t want to put up with this situation anymore and we’re going to do what we can to change that.

“All the performers care about the situation and are environmentalists of sorts. We have some decent bands playing, everyone is playing for free and all the venues are free, so people are getting quite behind it.

“It’s a good way for people to come together to say they care about something and also have a good time and enjoy some music and come together as a community. Music is a very powerful way to communicate certain things and bring people together.”

The event hopes to raise awareness and inform people about taking more personal responsibility, but also to put more pressure on local representatives and businesses.

Local duo Canute’s Plastic Army will join Palm Rose and Frances The Farmer on stage tomorrow to kick start the initiative.

Lead singer Anish Harrison, said: “When you go shopping everything is wrapped up in plastic, it’s so difficult to avoid.

“I think what SCAN are trying to do is raise awareness with individuals who can put pressure on companies and the government.

“There’s really only so much individuals can do, even as consumers. It has to come from government and corporations as well.

“We all live and share this planet, and I want to see it continue long after I’m gone. We think we’re winning against nature but we’re killing ourselves and the planet by what we’re doing.

“The more we put that message our there and get people to think about it, the more pressure we can put on the places we shop,” she said.

“We have to do our best to preserve our planet for the future because it’s a beautiful place.”

Adam Edward-Bond, lead singer of Palm Rose, added: “As a band this is the first thing we’ve done and we’re really looking forward to it.

"It definitely seems people are becoming more aware of trying to cut down the plastic they use, so it’s a good time to give it a boost now.”