Is it OK to sunbathe naked in your own back garden? Police warn sun-worshippers to tell their neighbours first

A woman sunbathes
Shutterstock / Axel Bueckert
Lucia Binding3 July 2018

Police have issued a warning to sun-worshippers planning to sunbathe nude in their back gardens.

In the midst of the heatwave where temperatures are predicted to hit 33C (91F) this week, Surrey police have clarified the law on whether people can sunbathe naked in their own back yards.

They advised women sunbathing topless in their gardens to let their neighbours know they plan to do so first in a bizarre social media post.

It comes after officers were called to a row between neighbours over the issue in Reigate.

Surrey Police wrote in a Facebook post: “If you want to wander around your garden naked and you are overlooked by neighbours then you have to be careful - an Englishman's home is not quite his castle and your garden is not exempt from the law.

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“In an ideal world, your relationship with your neighbours would be such that they would not object to you gardening in the buff and they would never dream of calling the police.

“In the real world, however, you would be well advised to take some simple precautions,” it added.

The force also suggested that sunbathing naked could be confined to one part of the garden which can be screened from the view.

The post added: "You will have to decide whether your desire to be naked in your garden is more important to you than being on friendly terms with those around you.

"No-one has the right to spy on you and if you find that your neighbour is leaning out of an upstairs window or standing on the top of a step ladder in order to see you then he or she may well be committing an offence."

Weather forecast 1st July

Surrey Police also said that officers “may well be reluctant” to become involved in a dispute between neighbours over allegations of indecent exposure.

While it is not illegal for women to remove their tops in public, the Crown Prosecution Service states: “In the case of naturism a balance needs to be struck between the naturist's right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress.”