A series of steamy nude photos of supermodel turned doting mum Miranda Kerr, which were first published three years ago, have suddenly resurfaced online.

The flirty black-and-white shots were taken by French fashion photographer Laurent Darmon, and, according to Triple M, were published in 2009 before Kerr, left, tied the knot with actor husband Orlando Bloom.

The eyebrow-raising shots caused a stir when they suddenly appeared on Darmon's website at the weekend, and while they were quickly taken down, they have since been re-posted on to other sites.

They appear to be more "artistic" than "risque".

Kerr is believed to have done several nude photo shoots during her time but it is not often that the images have been posted on the internet.

The photos come not long after recent rumours that Kerr's relationship with Bloom is "on the rocks", though the claims have since been quashed by the 29-year-old's representative.