
A topless activist from a feminist group has attempted to snatch a statue of baby Jesus from the Vatican's Nativity scene.

The woman stormed the display in St Peter's Square on Monday but was stopped by police as she grabbed the figurine.

Witnesses said the protester jumped over guard rails and rushed onto the larger-than-life Nativity scene shouting 'God is woman'.

The woman stormed the display in St Peter's Square on Monday but was stopped by police as she grabbed the figurine

The woman nearly managed to pick up the statue from its crib but was grabbed away at the last minute by Vatican guards

The Vatican guard is pictured in hot pursuit as he attempts to block the woman from running into the Nativity scene

At one point the guard nearly trips over as he speeds up the steps in a bid to halt the dramatic topless protest

The protester, from the controversial Femen group, had the same slogan painted on her bare back during her storming of the Nativity.

A Vatican gendarme rushed after the woman - nearly tripping over on the steps leading up to the scene - before stopping her from taking the statue. The woman was then detained.

The incident happened just hours before Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message to 50,000 people in the same square.

The incident happened just hours before Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message to 50,000 people in the same square

The woman was detained following her stunt which happened on Christmas Day as well-wishers flocked to the Vatican

The group's website identified the protester as Alisa Vinogradova and called her a 'sextremist'. It says the goal of the group, which was founded in Ukraine, is 'complete victory over patriarchy'

The guard's cape cast a dramatic shadow as he pursued the woman at high speed in a bid to prevent her from disrupting the display

A similar protest on Christmas Eve saw another member of the Femen group standing in front of the Vatican Nativity scene with the words 'assaulted by church' and '#MeToo' scrawled on her body

The group's website identified the protester as Alisa Vinogradova and called her a 'sextremist'. It says the goal of the movement, which was founded in Ukraine, is 'complete victory over patriarchy'.

A Femen activist staged a similar protest on Christmas Day 2014 but managed to take the statue out of the crib before she was arrested.

Earlier this month a woman from the group was arrested outside the Ukrainian parliament after stripping off to pose with a paddle and the words 'row the f*** away' scrawled over her body.

Her angry message was directed to Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko and his political opponent Mikheil Saakashvili.

Aleksandra Nemchinova, 36, said she was protesting against both men as they were 'ruining the country.'