It was a case of bare all or butt out at an eco group’s naked cycle ride took place on Saturday.

Daring bikers from West Norwood with a passion for all things natural met at a house in Knight’s Hill to strip off in preparation for the annual World Naked Bike Ride.

They joined more than 1,000 people in a nine-mile cycle trip from Hyde Park past some of London’s most famous landmarks, including Big Ben, even stopping to give the Queen a wave (and a shock) at Buckingham Palace.

The event, which was also staged in San Fransicso, Amsterdam, and Madrid, was organised as part of a global protest against Western car culture and oil dependency and to promote greener ways of getting around.

Organisers of the ride said it also aimed to highlight the vulnerability faced by cyclists on London’s roads, though it didn’t enforce a ‘100 per cent nakedness’ rule.

A spokesman said the trip was a “wheelie liberating experience”.