A US couple accused of having sex inside New York's landmark St Patrick's Cathedral has appeared in court.

The man and the woman - who were arrested last Thursday - have been charged with public lewdness.

God is mad at you! You should be ashamed of yourselves

Courthouse by-stander

The stunt was part of a regular feature on a New York radio station where couples can win prizes for having sex in risky places.

The station - WNEW-FM - has taken the show's two disc jockeys off the air over the incident, which has led to calls for the station's licence to be revoked.

As the couple left the courthouse in New York, one man shouted: "God is mad at you! You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Brian Florence, 37, and Lynn Harper, 35, were detained after having sex a few feet away from worshippers in St Patrick's Cathedral, police say.

Their tryst was described on air as it happened by one of the show's producers, who has been charged as an accomplice.

Faking it?

In their show, WNEW's two "shock jocks", Gregg Opie Hughes and Anthony Cumia, regularly challenge listeners to have sex in public places.

The cathedral is one of New York's landmarks

Different locations are given different values, with a church scoring 25 points.

A lawyer for the defendants has said the couple were simulating sex.

A public outcry followed the incident. The 350,000-member Catholic League urged the Federal Communications Commission to revoke WNEW's licence.

The station has withdrawn Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia from the air.

"The show is in rebroadcast (of previous programmes) for an indefinite period," a spokeswoman the group that controls WNEW said.

The groups has also suspended the station's general manager and programme director.