A NAKED man shut down part of central London when he straddled a statue of the Duke of Cambridge.

It was not a likeness of Prince William that was being assaulted - but the statue of the Duke of Cambridge was the previous owner of that title, Prince George, The Sun reported.

Police closed 100 metres of road outside Whitehall - where a number of government departments are situated - to keep the public away from the potentially dangerous man on the Duke of Cambridge statue as several ambulances and police cars gathered for about three hours, Sky News reported.

"I was on a school trip, on my way to the National Portrait Gallery and I looked up and saw the naked man on the statue," school girl Savannah Severn, 16, told The Sun.

media_camera The unidentified man sat and stood naked on top of the statue of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, in Whitehall in central London for almost three hours. AFP/JUSTIN TALLIS

"There were police on horses pushing the crowd back and firemen were trying to get him down.

"I was really shocked but it was quite funny. It looked like he was posing and he had his arms stretched out wide."

media_camera The naked man sits on top of a statue of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, in the heart of Whitehall, London's government district. (AP Photo/ John Stillwell/PA)

The naked man was seen waving his arms and speaking to the emergency services on the ground as he sat astride the statue. Prince George, the Duke of Cambridge, died in 1904.

Scotland Yard police said it was believed that the man might have a knife. He was coaxed down and put into the back of a police van. He was believed to have been clothed when he climbed on to the statue.

media_camera A naked manstands on top of a statue of George, Duke of Cambridge in Whitehall, London, for about three hours. (AP Photo/ Stefan Rousseau/PA)





Originally published as Naked man straddles Duke of Cambridge