Can my neighbour sunbathe naked in their garden? Full laws and rules explained

WITH the warm weather continuing this week, your neighbour might decide it’s the perfect opportunity to sunbathe in the nude. But is it actually legal for your neighbour to bare all in the great outdoors? Have you been seeing too much of your neighbour lately? Credit: Getty According to the College of Policing’s guidance on public nudity, naturalism is a “belief in a natural, naked lifestyle” which falls under the right to freedom of expression. As a result, your neighbour has every right to be naked in the privacy of their own garden – as much as you might not want to see it. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But this all changes if the intent behind their actions is to harm others. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, public nudity becomes a crime if it involves “deliberately exposing genitalia towards another person with the intention of them seeing and being caused alarm or distress”. Also known as indecent exposure, this is a crime that can carry a two year prison sentence, as well as an unlimited fine, community service and a mandatory placement on the Sex Offenders Register. The Crown Prosecution Service adds that a “balance needs to be struck between the right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress”. So if you believe that your neighbour is stripping down with the intention to hurt others, you do have a legal right to complain and get authorities involved. But it is not a crime for them to simply bare all in the summer sun. Most read in The Sun And if you are seeing a little too much of your neighbour lately; A polite discussion and a suggestion to invest in some privacy fences can go a long way in reaching a happy compromise. 1 comment1