An unexpected sight greeted a few startled early risers yesterday morning as a beautiful young woman rode naked on a white horse through city centre streets.

But Phoebe Thomas was stripping off not to shock but in the name of art as she and a film crew shot a very modern re-telling of the Lady Godiva legend.

Lady Godiva's modesty was said to be preserved only by her long tresses when she rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest against her husband's harsh taxation of his people.

Yesterday, Ms Thomas's crowning glory provided a little protection against the chill air at 4.30am.

But thanks to advances in fabric technology since the original Godiva's day, she was also able to slip into a flesh-coloured thong and tights to make the ride a little more comfortable.

She was filming the climactic scene to a romantic comedy set among the dream-ing spires of Oxford.

The brainchild of 20-year-old Vicky Jewson, the film nods to quirky British hits like Notting Hill and Bridget Jones.

It is a tale of a young woman driven to desperate measures to raise money for a worthy cause, with a few romantic disasters and triumphs along the way.

Ms Jewson started to write her Lady Godiva script straight after her A levels and decided to ditch plans for university in order to concentrate on film-making.

Remarkably she has secured £1.4 million of backing for the film from independent investors. Radio 4 presenter Nicholas Parsons is the associate producer and Adam Kempton, who made The Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp, is the producer.