Flash-mobbers stage city 'freeze'

People adopted a range of poses for the five-minute freeze

Hundreds of people came to a standstill in the centre of Edinburgh as part of a flash-mobbing event dubbed the Big Freeze.

The gathering had been inspired by a similar "freeze" in Grand Central railway station in New York.

Participants struck a pose outside the National Gallery of Scotland at 1530 GMT on Sunday and had to stay still for five minutes.

The event had been promoted on websites such as Facebook and CouchSurfing.

Different poses

A similar freeze has also taken place in London, but the Edinburgh event was thought to be the first on such a scale in Scotland.

Those taking part adopted a range of static poses, from sports scenes to a human wheelbarrow.

On the Facebook site, one participant, Alex Pole, commented: "That was good. It was never going to be [a] perfect start and finish but I think it went well. Good on everyone for doing it."

The term 'flash mob' refers to a group of people who meet in the same location, do something unusual and then disperse.

It is usually organised using internet message boards.

Video footage of the Edinburgh event has been posted on the YouTube website.