Nude protester walks into trouble

More than half a dozen policemen arrived to arrest Mr Gough

A man who planned to walk naked from Land's End to John O'Groats has been arrested and charged.

Steve Gough was making the journey to protest about the law which he says prevents people from being naked in public.

Mr Gough, from Southampton, Hampshire, had arranged to meet reporters on the coastal path near St Ives in order to publicise his campaign for a change in the laws on nudity.

But officers from Devon and Cornwall Police arrived as the 44-year-old father-of-two was being interviewed.

Mr Gough was taken to Camborne police headquarters where he was charged with behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace.

I think people in this country are paranoid about the human body

Steve Gough

Mr Gough said he believed people should be allowed to remove their clothes whenever they want.

"It's a protest about this," said Mr Gough as he was arrested by police.

"I'm getting arrested for it.

"I'm a human being, and I think people in this country are paranoid about the human body.

Mr Gough was arrested near St Ives

"It's just gone absolutely crazy."

Bemused walkers on the coastal footpath near Porthmeor beach looked on as more than half a dozen officers arrived to carry out the arrest.

But Devon and Cornwall Police say they believed an offence had been committed and were required to take such incidents seriously.

"It's a nice day and there's going to be lots of people walking up on the cliffs - women and children," said Inspector Ken Wilkins from Devon and Cornwall Police.

"We need to guarantee that the public are not going to be offended by protests of this sort."