'Lady Godiva' care home protest

Simone Christiaan went almost naked to pretend to be an elderly version of the Anglo-Saxon campaigner at Stafford's county council building.

Ms Christiaan, 41, is the guardian of a resident in Springhill Home in Leek, one of the homes under threat.

The council said no decision has been made and it is still consulting those affected.

Ms Christiaan, who only had two plasters to cover her modesty, said that during the protest on Wednesday morning she was nearly arrested by a police officer.

She said: "They said just covering the nipple part was not good enough, it had to cover the whole breast. I said that if I was wearing a bikini I would've shown more.

"I nearly got slightly arrested and had to cover up a bit."

'Meaningful discussions'

According to legend, Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest at her husband's heavy taxes.

Ms Christiaan said she hoped her re-enactment would raise awareness of her campaign.

She said: "If this is what's needed to help change the council's minds it's worth it.

"The council is trying to take everything, so they might as well take the shirt off our backs."

Council leaders have previously pledged that none of the 500 people affected by the Changing Lives proposals would be made homeless in the changes.

A total of 22 care homes and 10 day centres could be affected by the plans.

The council's spokeswoman for care provision, Susan Woodward, urged the campaigners to meet with her and other officials.

She said: "We have already demonstrated that we do listen to people's views and enter into meaningful discussions through a thorough and comprehensive consultation with residents and families from each and every care home.

"We feel very strongly that this alone clearly reflects our commitment to taking people's opinions about the care they wish to receive on board."

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Staffordshire County Council
BBC - Lady Godiva
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