World Naked Bike Ride proves to be all a bit too much for Clacton on Sea

Clacton on Sea is to ban nudist events - after World Naked Bike Ride was a step too far for the delicate sensibilities of the seaside town.

Peter Halliday, Leader of Tendring District Council, reckons enough is enough after two months that saw residents strip off for both the protest ride as well as a skinny dip on behalf of Marie Curie Cancer Care. 

Last weekend, around 35 naked cyclists participated in a 17-kilometre protest ride around the town.

Mr Halliday said he was appealing to the police to put a stop to it all.

He told the East Anglian Daily Telegraph: “Clacton is a traditional family seaside resort and in my opinion people riding around on bikes with no clothes on does nothing to enhance our image – in fact it harms it,” he said.

“They did not apply to use land under our responsibility so there was little we could do other than work with other agencies on a bit of a damage limitation exercise

“However, I now want to get together with the Police and others round the table and come up with a plan to put a halt to naked events in our area before it all goes too far.”

Essex Police however said: “There has been precedent from similar events held in Brighton and London in the past and it was deemed that there were no legal grounds to prevent it going ahead.”

Robert Brown, who organised the Clacton event in a series of World Naked Bike Rides, said that the councillors were missing the point of the rides.

He said: “The event was to protest against car culture and the idea of riding naked is to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists. Being naked in public isn’t an offence in itself.

“Similar events are held in towns and cities around the world and across the UK in places like Brighton, Portsmouth and London. The London event attracts thousands of people and benefits shops and traders in the area.

“There were more people in favour of our event than against it. On Saturday we were given a huge cheer as we rode down the High Street.”