Naked case heard in police cells

Mr Gough and his friends have been walking naked for over a month

Magistrates were forced to hear a case in cells after a nude walker refused to get dressed to appear in court.

Stephen Gough, 46, of Bournemouth, his girlfriend Melanie Green, 33, and male companion Jeffrey Woodhouse arrived in Wem, Shropshire, on Tuesday.

West Mercia Police said they arrested the trio, who are attempting to walk across Britain naked, after a complaint from a member of the public.

All three have been asked to return to court in Shrewsbury on 15 August.

Ms Green did agree to dress for her appearance at Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court but the two men refused.

All three denied a charge of causing a breach of the peace.

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: "We had a call from a member of the public that there were some naked people near Wem.

"When we found them we asked them to cover up, but they refused. We had no choice but to arrest them."

Challenging attitudes

Mr Gough was arrested 14 times and served two jail sentences during an unclothed trek from Land's End to John O'Groats in 2003/04, when he was based in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

As he set off with his two friends on the same 887-mile walk last month, Mr Gough, a former marine, accepted they ran the risk of arrest.

It is the first time the trio have been detained since they began their journey.

The two-month trek across Britain is intended to challenge people's attitudes to public nudity, something which Mr Gough believes should be a basic human right.