GALE force winds did not deter a small band of naturists determined to fight a ban on baring all at Fraisthorpe beach.
Ten members of Fraisthorpe United Naturists (FUN) – including teachers, a university lecturer, farmer and solicitor – staged a lie-down protest on the sands on Sunday.
They are angry that East Riding of Yorkshire Council has put up signs warning n
ude sun bathers that they face prosecution.
John Wymark-Hoar, a York-based drug addition counsellor and a regional leader of British Naturism, said: "This is the only naturist beach in Yorkshire and we are going to defend it forever."
And FUN group spokesman Max Pratt said: "We are being persecuted as a minority in a way they would not dare treat an ethnic or religious group."
Some residents have claimed the naturists were part of an ongoing problem of anti-social behaviour on the beach, which also included people seeking casual sexual encounters.
A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "There is no designated naturist beach within the East Riding.
"If any organisation wishes to have an event on council land they need to obtain a licence to do so."
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