Stephen Gough was remanded in custody at Southampton Magistrates Court. Photo: Basher Eyre CC-BY-SA-2.0
The Naked Rambler is back behind bars, this time south of the border.
Stephen Gough was remanded in custody today for allegedly breaching an anti-social behaviour order that banned him exposing himself in public.
The 54-year-old, of Eastleigh, Hampshire, has spent much of the last few years in Scottish jails after refusing to put on clothes.
He has twice walked the length of Britain in just his boots and carrying a rucksack.
Southampton Magistrates yesterday granted an interim Asbo effective in all of England and Wales until 10 May.
Roger Trencher, force solicitor for Hampshire Constabulary, said after the granting of the interim order: “Hampshire Constabulary sought an anti-social behaviour order because Stephen Gough has caused much offence nationwide, and he has used a considerable amount of police time in England, Wales and Scotland.
“This is because he insists on rambling naked. He refuses to be deterred by the criminal law. He believes the law is uncertain on the issue of public nudity.
“We applied, in consultation with Eastleigh Borough Council, for an Asbo to bring some clarity to the situation.
“We hoped the court would agree that, because of the public offence that has been caused and the police time used, it is in the public interest that Mr Gough be required to wear clothing sufficient to prevent the offence.
“We sought an order for him to wear sufficient clothing in public to at least cover his genitalia and buttocks.
“The constabulary and many residents of Hampshire are pleased with the court’s decision to grant the anti-social behaviour order.
“Any breach of the order could result in a prison sentence for Mr Gough.”
But he was arrested shortly after walking naked from the court hearing and magistrates remanded him in custody to appear at Southampton Crown Court on 25 March.
Judderman
02 March 2013If you ever see this guy walking naked and think you might be offened look the other way let the guy walk naked if he pleases.
Maggie
02 March 2013How much is it going to cost public money keeping this guy locked up. A years wages for a nurse. cancer treatment for someone. Pot holes repairs. I could go on what a waste of public money because a guy walks past someone naked and they are offened let's spend public money on something worth while.
stigofthenest
02 March 2013I'm known to do the comedy nudity thing every now and then.. on the beach etc
but this guy is taking the mick big time.
I'm with you 100% Maggie. The country is on its knees and we're having to spend a fortune on a guy who thinks its appropriate to walk past schools etc in the starkers.. The arrogance of the man is just beyond belief.
Chris
03 March 2013Think you have misunderstood Maggie, Stig. She is, quite rightly, querying the need of our forces of law and order to crack a nut with a hammer.
Since when was the human form so offensive it warranted this kind of overreaction.
stigofthenest
04 March 2013Chris, on reflection yep - you may be right... my point is though that this fella has nothing but contempt for the opinions of others.. if he was respectful of others then yeah - fair play. but he's been seen in full view of small children etc, its not fair on them or the parents. I suppose if he walked around draped in a nazi flag that would be ok too...
i have nothing against nudity at all.. as stated above, but there's a line of decency towards others which he cant get into his head... and quite rightly he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. - maybe HE ought to take the view that he's costing the taxpayer the money - i mean - what is his agenda really?
rob mcewen
05 March 2013Not good for the economy naked ramblers.Places like go outdoors would soon be out of business if this became the norm!!!! And nikwax...they would be history.
TH
05 March 2013Saw people dressed worse than him at the Eastleigh by-election last week.
cavenut
05 March 2013I can confirm that being a nude fruitcake is not a criminal offence - the offended people should just soooo get over it !! Too many mountains to climb and too many lovely pints of real ale to drink, to spend time worrying about this sort of thing ....
Tom Jones
08 March 2013This is a serious abuse of the law. Public nudity is perfectly legal. Giving someone an ASBO for it, because it offends the police or council, is not on.
And what is the issue with youngsters? Are you going to ban breast-feeding next?
Personally, I find owners who allow their pets to foul the street to be offensive as it can pass on toxocariasis that can blind kids. Nudity doesn't.
Second-hand smoking, even outside schools can cause cancer. Nudity doesn't. Alcohol is responsible for untold crime and using NHS resources, and sets a bad example to kids. Nudity doesn't.
Where are the ASBOs for these people?
PJ
16 March 2013The "much offence nationwide" is a lie. Gough's lawyers should get a survey out asking people if they're offended by him being harmlessly naked and present it on appeal. Scottish folks seemed to have more of a problem but Scotland is not the nation. Most English people don't give a toss, regardless of whether he harmlessly happens to walk past a playpark on his journey somewhere.
David Harris
08 May 2013I don't understand how the police can take you to court as a "test case" to clarify the law. The issue is whether his behaviour was "anti-social", not whether there is a lack of clarity in the criminal law.
If they couldn't arrest him under the criminal law then his behaviour was not "anti social" any more than walking around wearing a bathing suit or a woman being topless on a beach.
If he continues to be nude in public, is the answer to lock him up for life. I think this is an example of a police force doing what they think is "politically correct" without any sense of their actual role which is to protect society from criminality. Here, they can't figure out whether it is criminal to do what he is doing so they though they would just have him locked up because it seemed like a good way of getting some clarification.
What sort of a society has England become when a person is jailed because he is alive and has body parts like anyone else and there isn't any reason to say he is criminal or is hurting anyone.