London - A six-metre condom has been placed on the Cerne Abbas Giant, a giant fertility symbol cut into a hillside in southern England.
In a publicity stunt carried out by the British Family Planning Association to raise sexual health awareness, the 60-metre tall figure famous for its erect phallus was adorned with the huge sheath overnight on Sunday.
The image, etched into the chalk rock of a Dorset hillside, is believed to date from the second millennium BC. At least one couple claim to have cured their infertility by making love in its one-foot-wide trenches.
"It does get used rather by people doing stunts... we just hope it doesn't do any damage," said a spokesman for the National Trust, which owns the chalk man.
He added, however, "We've got a sense of humour too."