A CYCLIST who pedalled through a quiet village in the nude was an organ restorer from Northumberland, it is claimed.

The naked cyclist was spotted in Waldingfield Road, Acton, near Sudbury, last Monday.

The sighting – made by a four-strong police-backed Speed Watch group armed with a radar gun for detecting speeding vehicles – triggered a series of rumours about what the man was doing.

Some thought it was a protest against speed enforcement in the village while others thought it was a prank.

The EADT has now been contacted by a friend of the naked cyclist who said the rider was just having fun.

In her letter, the friend, a resident of Norton, near Bury St Edmunds, said: “Just to put the record straight once and for all, the mystery man who rode naked along Waldingfield Road in Acton last Monday was only having fun and didn’t mean to cause offence.”

It is understood the man concerned lives in Northumberland and was visiting the area to see a church organ.

“He was visiting down here partly on business (as) he’s an organ restorer and had travelled down to view a church organ, and partly on pleasure as he caught up with a few old friends from the area where he grew up.

“He was chuckling about it on the Monday evening saying that he saw the speed camera and he thought ‘I’ll show them what someone who’s streaking through the village really looks like’.

“So he stopped and unloaded his bike and stripped. He thought it was uproariously funny at the time and didn’t mean any harm.

“It wasn’t any sort of protest. More of a comment on the situation at the time.”