A naked woman brought traffic to a standstill when she stood in the middle of a busy roundabout waving and making peace signs.

The red-haired woman, thought to be in her 20s, picked her way through traffic before standing in the middle of the Seven Dials roundabout in Brighton yesterday.

She wore nothing but a big grin and lipstick on her breasts outlining a ban the bomb motif.

A local resident saw the "Rubenesque" nude when he looked out of his window after hearing a series of motorists tooting their horns.

He said: "She created a big sensation and everything came to a standstill. The kitchen staff from Seven Dials restaurant came out and had a peek and you should have seen the looks on the faces of people on the passing open-top tour bus. It was very funny.

"A fire engine went past and all the firefighters leaned out and waved. I phoned up my friends and girlfriend because they would never have believed it otherwise."

The red-haired woman stood there for 20 minutes from 2.15pm yesterday until a strike of lightning seemed to scare her off.