A man attempting to walk the length of Britain stark naked for a second time was arrested once again — seconds after walking out of jail, police revealed on Monday.
So-called “Naked Rambler” Stephen Gough (46) was stopped by officers as he left the gates of Edinburgh’s Saughton prison on Friday and taken to the city’s Sheriff Court.
The former royal marine was released on bail and will appear in court in December.
He was thrown in jail on September 9 after being found guilty of breaching of the peace just south of the Scottish capital on September 1.
On Monday, Gough vowed that the Naked Rambler will not be stopped in his quest to make it to John O’Groats on the north-east tip of Scotland, accompanied this time by his girlfriend.
“I think the thing that we are standing for is really something everyone should be concerned about — how we feel about ourselves,” Gough said.
“We talk about human rights and the dignity of man, and yet man in his natural state is locked up. It’s crazy. It does not make sense.
“We are supposed to be reasonable, our justice system is based on reason, and yet I’m being put away as if I’m some sort of disgusting animal. I’m just a human being.”
Though public nudity is not strictly illegal in Britain, other laws are used to prosecute those who remove their clothes and behave in ways that are seen as indecent or harmful. This has not stopped Gough attempting a second trek wearing nothing but boots, a hat and a rucksack.
He walked the 1Â 363km length of Britain from Land’s End in south-west England to John O’Groats in 2003 and 2004 and was arrested 14 times during the trip, serving two jail terms.
The journey to mainland Britain’s most northerly settlement should take another two weeks — providing he is not arrested again. — Sapa-AFP