More than 1,000 people marched down the road between Rabat and Attard this morning, waving placards denouncing the uprooting of trees in the area.

"Only when no trees are left, they’ll realise that they can’t breathe money," read a placard, held up defiantly by a young boy.

"Toroq wesgħin, pulmuni mifqugħin," ("roads widened, lungs stuffed"), lamented one protester.

"Cut the greed not trees," and "Uproot corruption instead," read placards brandished by others.

The sound of percussion and horns rang into the air as people chanted "Save our Trees", and sang songs like "We are the World".

Impressed with the turnout, the protesters became more impassioned as the morning drew on.

"We need to stand our ground," one older protester said. "We've had enough."

Policemen patrolled the crowd to keep the road clear, but towards the end of the demonstration, people poured out onto the tarmac and began clapping and chanting.

"I’m definitely overwhelmed by the response," Sasha Vella, the organizer of the protest, said. "I’m glad to see that people are taking action."