Access & Policy
Curated from another sourceUK High Court Dismisses Naturist's Appeal Over a Naked Walk on a Public Footpath
On September 23, 2026 the Divisional Court of the High Court dismissed naturist Neil Cox's appeal in Cox v DPP. He was convicted of disorderly behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 after walking naked on the Middlewood Way footpath near Macclesfield in August 2023. The court considered his rights to private life and expression under the European Convention on Human Rights and concluded that, in the circumstances and context of this case, the conviction was not a disproportionate interference.
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Public nudity in England can still be prosecuted; the court stressed that its decision rests on the facts and context of this case.