A naturist who was punched off his bike during a charity ride said he was mistaken for a ‘pervert’ and has vowed to continue cycling nude.
Robert Brown, 59, was biking through Colchester, Essex, during a Four Seasons World Naked Bike Ride event on August 9 when he was assaulted.
Earlier this month, binman Lee Turnage, 46, was handed a suspended prison sentence at Ipswich Crown Court for causing actual bodily harm.
Mr Brown, from Tendring, was left with grazing to his hands, arm, and legs and now relies on a walking stick for longer distances.
The website designer, who has been participating in the charity rides for 15 years, said it was important for the public to understand why nudism in public is not illegal.
‘If I don’t go on another ride then he’s won. It won’t stop me,’ Mr Brown said.
‘It takes the attitudes of a generation to change generational attitudes. Things are shifting but very slowly.
‘To change people’s opinion and improve the perception of naturism, we need to have more events like this so it becomes the norm and acceptable.’
He added: ‘Unfortunately, these attacks are an occupational hazard but they shouldn’t be. We are not perverts.’
Robert Brown, 59, (pictured) was biking naked through Colchester, Essex, during a Four Seasons World Naked Bike Ride event on August 9 when he was assaulted
Binman Lee Turnage (right) was caught on camera punching Mr Brown during the naked charity ride
Mr Brown is seen naked on his bike in public wearing only a blue baseball cap
A group of naturists ride on their bikes during a nude charity bike ride
Naturism is defined by British Naturism as a ‘philosophical belief in a natural, naked lifestyle wherein persons espouse nudity as part or possibly all of their lifestyle’.
The College of Policing say naturists have a right to freedom of expression and it is only a criminal offence if they commit a sexual offence or engage in behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
The common law offence of outraging public decency applies when a person’s behaviour is lewd, obscene or disgusting as to shock.
It also states that ‘a naturist whose intention is limited to going about their lawful business while naked will not be guilty of sexual offences’.
Mr Brown said he had been a naturist ‘all his life’ and has even participated on charity rides globally.
A survey commissioned by British Naturism in 2022 found there are an estimated 6.7 million naturists in the UK.
He explained: ‘When I started school on Canvey Island, it was quite commonplace in that era for children to strip off and go in completely naked.
‘I’ve never been embarrassed about a naked body, it is the plumbing that’s different.
‘It’s nice to let the air get to every part of you and be yourself.’
Mr Brown is a ride leader for the Clacton division of the Four Seasons World Naked Bike Ride – a protest against the ‘destructive elements’ of car culture and a celebration of the bicycle and body.
Turnage, 46, walked free from court last this month after assaulting the man while on his motorcycle
A survey commissioned by British Naturism in 2022 found there are an estimated 6.7 million naturists in the UK
Mr Brown is now keen for the public to familiarise themselves with the law around naturism in public and stressed it does not equate to perversion
Mr Brown, who is also part of the Naturist Action Group, said Turnage had rode past them on his uninsured motorbike and made a ‘filthy’ gesture with his fist.
Riding in Colchester, he said: ‘It started out as any other ride. The town crier saw us off and all around the route was perfectly fine.
‘I saw him coming down the road and he made a filthy gesture with his fist and called us ‘wankers’.
‘I moved in front of my deaf friend so they could read my lips to tell them to move over to the layby because I knew he was going to come back.
‘I heard him turn around and rev. Before I knew what had happened, I felt this almighty whack to the head.
‘I thought, ‘What am I doing down here’?’
Mr Brown had been punched from his e-bike and hit the pavement as Turnage sped off – and later claimed he had mistaken Mr Brown for a ‘pervert’.
Mr Brown added: ‘I knew I hadn’t broken anything because I could move my legs. But I had gravel in places I didn’t think you could get gravel into.’
Two members of the public phoned the police while a ring of bystanders moved around Mr Brown, including his fellow riders.
He attempted to get back on his bike but found it damaged – with the handle bars out of line, the back brakes broken and the motor in the front wheel stem crooked.
Police came to take a statement from Mr Brown that evening and the following day he attended hospital for scans.
It was confirmed he had not broken anything but was told it would take two to three months for the swelling in his left leg to go down.
Mr Brown said: ‘I do find it very hard. If I drop something, I can’t bend my knee to pick it up.
‘I’m alright getting around my house but when I walk outside, I need my walking stick.’
Mr Brown attended court for Turnage’s trial and said he couldn’t fault the police or legal system.
Turnage was also found with a knife and attacked two police officers who tried to arrest him outside The Leather Bottle pub in the city.
Mr Brown was left with grazing to his hands, arm, and legs and now relies on a walking stick for longer distances
He said: ‘The judge made a point of saying the assault was worse for me because I was naked.
‘My case is a first. It has set a legal precedent. Judges haven’t had another case to base their decisions on at crown court level and now they have.
‘You can’t go around assaulting policemen either.’
Mr Brown is now keen for the public to familiarise themselves with the law around naturism in public and stressed it does not equate to perversion.
The Four Seasons group have their own investigation unit where they help to catch offenders and passing information onto the police.
Mr Brown explained: ‘Nudity anywhere in the UK, whether it is socially or private, is perfectly legal.
‘Most of the general public who turn up to see our bike rides push their kids to the front and we see them waving and cheering.
‘We quite often find that having a naked female in our group tends to pacify people – it’s when we just have men that we get the comments of ‘paedo’ or ‘pervert’.
‘We live in a society where consenting adults have rights. We want to try and get people to think in a different way to what they are.
‘A lot of people have pointed out online about the ‘harm’ to children seeing us ride.
‘No child has ever been harmed by the sight of a naked body and never will. We just hope to change people’s mindset.’