More than 1,000 cyclists stripped off to take part in the World Naked Bike Ride.

The sixth annual protest against oil dependency and car culture saw riders stage nude rallies in more than 40 locations around the world.

In London, the cyclists, many of them painted with anti-oil slogans, followed a six-mile (10km) route from Hyde Park Corner past the Houses of Parliament and through the West End.

Hundreds of tourists and shoppers gathered and cheered them on as the Metropolitan police stopped traffic to allow the cyclists an easy passage through London's busiest streets.

Organiser Jesse Schust said: "It's us taking back the streets with out bodies and making ourselves visible so the politicians can't ignore our demands.

"This is naked because we want to show the vulnerability of the cyclist, the cyclist in the street now is no safer than if they had absolutely no clothing on, and we're showing that by going out onto the streets without our clothes."

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