Police investigate sale of CCTV images from nude photo shoot

U.K. police are investigating claims that staffers sold closed circuit TV images from a Spencer Tunick nude photo shoot.

Last July, the famed U.S. photographer travelled to Gateshead and Newcastle in northern England to stage one of his massive, nude, outdoor photo shoots. More than 1,500 volunteers gathered just after dawn and shed their clothes for the installation, posing next to the quay and crossing the Millennium Bridge.

Northumbria police announced Monday that they are investigating reports that footage taken that day by closed circuit television cameras has been offered for sale in the region.

"Two [civilian] members of police staff have been suspended," Deputy Chief Constable David Warcup said in a statement.

"If there is found to be any substance in these allegations we will take prompt and robust action. This is not the standard of behaviour expected from anyone employed by Northumbria Police."

Warcup added that the force has worked to instill confidence among the public over the CCTV cameras, which are used in public spaces across Britain.

"We are determined that confidence will not be undermined, either now or in the future," he said.

Tunick's official photos are on display at Gateshead's Baltic Centre of Contemporary Art, which commissioned and hosted the shoot,Tunick's largest in the U.K.

Since 1992, the U.S. photographer has hosted similar installations in cities around the world, including New York, London, Vienna, Sao Paulo and Montreal.

This past weekend, more than 1,500 people took part in another Tunick shoot in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, posing around a statue of South American hero Simon Bolivar.