Model inspired by Lady Godiva rode horse while naked in protest at bar and club closing time law

A model who suddenly found herself out of work by a new law forcing bars and clubs in Chile to close at midnight has protested by riding on a horse naked through Santiago. Patricia Aguirre, 27, who is originally from Paraguay but now lives in the Chilean capital, said the new rules had devastated the city's nightlife.



She said: "People just can't have any fun now that they've introduced this law. And it has also been a disaster for performers like myself." Ms Aguirre is a regular performer on the city's club scene as part of a dance troupe, and said that since the new rules none of the clubs were hiring either models, musicians, dancers or hostesses. But inspired by the story of Lady Godiva, who protested against unpopular laws in the UK by riding naked through the town, she decided to do the same.

And as a result she spent 15 minutes riding naked through the city to protest against unpopular council decision. It has already had one positive benefit, with the council announcing that they would allow off-licences which sold alcohol to stay open until 3am instead of also forcing them to close at midnight. She added: "I was a bit nervous but at the end I loved it so much, I'm thinking of buying a horse. I've had a lot of compliments from both men and women, and very few people were critical."



She confirmed that she had been inspired by Lady Godiva, an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to a legend, rode naked – only covered in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom had watched her ride through the town, and was struck blind. Unlike the story of Lady Godiva though, people did not avert their gaze from Ms Aguirre.