Nude swimmers screened off

Nude swimmers will have to be 18 or over

Naked swimming sessions will soon be on offer at a leisure centre in Cambridgeshire.

Naturists will be able to strip off to swim at the George Campbell Leisure Centre after the local council on Wednesday agreed to their request.

But officials have ordered that poolside windows will have to be covered to spare any blushes.

The monthly sessions will run for a trial period and there will be a minimum age of 18 for swimmers.

'As nature intended'

Andrew Crawford, who set up the "It's natural swim group", said it came about after he wrote a "tongue-in-cheek" letter to the local newspaper saying there were no facilities for naturists.

"I actually got a lot of support locally. A group of us decided we would hire the hall on a private basis and use it as nature intended.

The council was a bit concerned about having the public seeing naked human beings

Andrew Crawford, naturist

"What we plan to do initially is to hire the pool once a month on a Sunday evening. If we get enough people coming along we will increase the bookings."

Fenland District Council officials had to weigh up the cost of putting up the screens against the extra revenue from the bookings.

Mr Crawford said: "There are windows that the general public can see into and the council was a bit concerned about having the public seeing naked human beings.

"There are some naturists who wouldn't like to be looked at and gawped at."

Another group in Cambridgeshire have swum naked at a pool in Whittlesey without any problems.