The mysterious origins of Oxfordshire's White Horse inspired a South African to get a tattoo of the famous landmark.

Ian Baker, a computer software programmer, had a long-standing interest in English mythology even before he came to work in this country last May.

Ian and tattoo

The 21-year-old was so bewitched by Uffington's White Horse that he took a picture of the 360ft by 126ft monument to a tattoo parlour in his native Cape Town and got the image tattooed on his right shoulder.

He said: "I'm a really avid reader of mythology and the interesting thing about the White Horse is that there is no real clue as to why it's there."

According to legend, the cone-shaped hill below the White Horse landmark was where St George was believed to have slain the dragon.

And Mr Baker has just visited the landmark to get a closer look.

He said: "It's smaller than I thought, but it's far more impressive because it's on the steepest hill around and it goes round the curve of the slope which must have been much harder to make."

Mr Baker said the tattoo has provided an unusual talking point.

"People say it's a pretty cool and tasteful design. Some have seen it before or say it reminds them of something but find it mysterious," he added.

The White Horse is about 3,000 years old and dates from the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age.

The shape was formed by cutting trenches in the hillside and filling them in with chalk blocks.

Picture: Anthea Kemp