Starkers raving bonkers... naked romp in snow sparks net frenzy over electrician

Colin Dobson thought he might raise 20 for charity by going starkers in his garden in Hemsworth, near Wakefield.

But he watched in disbelief as his Facebook and Twitter accounts went haywire as thousands logged on to get an eyeful.

The super-fit cyclist's own internet page is getting 250,000 "hits" a day, up from the usual 20.

Mr Dobson, 38, has been interviewed by radio stations in America, New Zealand and Australia.

His antics have caught the attention of Twitter users including Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross and Matt Lucas. About 500,000 Twitter users are now aware of his charity stunt.

He has now raised 3,500 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, in memory of his mother-in-law Brenda Fox, who died of the muscle-wasting condition in 2004.

He has also been offered his own calendar shoot and a greetings card maker has offered to donate money to charity in exchange for use of his photos to create some cheeky cards.

"I had to shut Facebook down because it could not cope with the traffic and kept crashing. I used to have 20 followers on Twitter but now have 700," he said.

"Then I started getting calls from radio stations across the world wanting interviews. I got a message from Matt Lucas who said he admired the photos."

Mr Dobson said he was delighted with the money raised so far.

His previous charity work has involved cycling 888 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats, which he managed in eight days, but he can no longer do endurance rides because of arthritis in his knees.

But rolling around in the snow to make a "snow angel" was almost as painful as pedalling the length of the country.

"It was beyond pain. It was more agonising than you would imagine, the worst part was the snow angel. I laid down in snow one foot deep. It was agony, like a million little knives going in. I went completely numb and had to go back inside.

"The charity is very pleased and I am told ladies in the office have me as a screensaver, which is a bit embarrassing."