SHOPPERS were stunned as a woman stripped naked and sat down in Walthamstow town square.

The woman ran into the busy shopping area at about 11am this morning (Friday) and sat in silence for 20 minutes before police arrived.

She was then covered with a red blanket before being taken away without resisting.

Witness Katy Andrews said she first thought the woman was staging a protest because she appeared calm and considered as she placed herself in the middle of the square and lifted her knees across her body.

Ms Andrews said: “I assumed it was some kind of demonstration or protest. She did not seem to be unwell; she was very calm as she talked to the police officers - it was very peculiar.

“She was covered in a red blanket and looked like a Masai herder. She was not crying or in any distress as she was led away.”

"People were standing around watching and could not believe what was happening."

Police confirmed the woman was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Amercian singer Erykah Badu was this week charged with disorderly conduct after stripping naked for a video at the site of John F kennedy’s assasination in Dallas.