Merthyr Tydfil tops the Earth Hour League Table

9.32.55am GMT Thu 18th Mar 2010

Following an online campaign started by Amy Kitcher, Merthyr Tydfil has topped the UK chart for Earth Hour participation. Merthyr now has a higher percentage of its residents committed to Earth Hour than anywhere else in the UK.

Last year, iconic international landmarks like Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and Big Ben were plunged into darkness for 60 minutes as part of Earth Hour 2009.

Lib Dem campaigner, Amy Kitcher, said, "Just a few days ago we just 5 places from the bottom of the list. I knew we could better than this so I went online and asked local people to sign up and ask their friends to do the same. I am absolutely delighted with the results - we've gone from bottom to top in three days!"

Amy Kitcher, who is the Lib Dem candidate for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney in the upcoming general election, asked her followers on Twitter and Facebook to sign up to the Earth Hour campaign. The campaign asks everyone in the whole of the UK to turn off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on the 27th March.

Amy added, "I am amazed at how positively local people have responded to Earth Hour, it just just goes to show how many environmentally 'switched on' people live in our area. I'm sure 'switching off' on the 27th of March won't be a problem though.

"Climate change is something we are all responsible for. I hope that as many local people as possible continue to sign up to Earth Hour so we can stay at number one and make a real impact."