Call to ban naked bike rides after nude cyclist attacked by vigilante binman

A campaigner is calling on naked bike rides to be banned in the UK after a nude cyclist was assaulted by a vigilante binman.

The victim was taking part in a World Naked Bike Ride in Colchester, Essex, on August 9, when Lee Turnage rode up alongside him on a motorbike and punched him.

The cyclist fell off his bike as a result and was left with a leg injury that, he says, continues to cause him a lot of pain.

Turnage was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for two years earlier this month.

His lawyer told Ipswich Crown Court he hadn’t realised the men he saw cycling were part of an event, and assumed they were ‘perverts’.

Those who take part in the World Naked Bike Rides – an estimated 10,000 a year across the globe – say the event is a protest against car culture, a call for safer cycling and a way of highlighting environmental concerns such as climate change and the dependence on oil.

They also see it as a way of advocating for a ‘more body-positive world’.

According to organisers, it does not breach the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which states public nudity is not an offence as long as its not done with intent to cause alarm, harassment or distress.

But some say the events pose a dangerous threat to the wider public, especially children.

Campaigner Emma Jane Taylor told the Daily Mail:’Allowing the naked bike ride simply allows perverts to be seen and normalises an already difficult conversation.’ 

She has started a petition calling for the London Naked Bike Ride to be banned.

In the petition, which has 415 signatures so far, she says: ‘The London Naked Bike Ride doesn’t feel safe, and nor does keeping silent about it.

‘For lots of reasons including the grey area of “exposure” law and child protection in the UK, I believe it should be banned as a public event.

‘The Government should be united on this action for the future safeguarding of children.’

Ms Jane-Taylor told the Daily Mail: ‘My local MP wrote to the city police, Met Police and Sadiq Khan for comment on my behalf about these events.

‘No response I received was adequate, nor did it reflect the reality of what these events bring to the dangers of child protection.’

Reform MP Lee Anderson also spoke out against the naked cyclists, telling the Daily Mail police should not ignore the ‘flashers on bikes’.

The attack in Colchester was discussed on Nick Ferrari’s LBC radio show this week, with a number of callers defending naked cycling.

One man called Lloyd, from Hackney, east London said he takes part int he naked bike ride every year.

‘I’m a naturist anyway. It just feels natural, there is nothing more natural than being naked,’ he said. ‘You are born naked

‘Society has built up this whole ‘it’s disgusting, it’s disgusting’. Kids don’t think it’s disgusting, they run around naked.

‘It’s just as soon as society puts these pressures or morals on you.’

Another listener, Malcolm from York, told Ferrari he took part in the naked ride as a protest against dangerous driving around cyclists.

‘If you can see me naked, why don’t you see me with my clothes on? Be aware of cyclists when you’re driving,’ he said.

In a victim a statement, the man who was attacked by Turnage said: ‘This was a charity bike ride – nothing like this has ever happened to me when taking part in the numerous rides I have completed.

‘I have been struggling with sleep because of the pain in my leg – there is no let-up in it and it won’t go away.

‘The injuries sustained have impacted me greatly, especially in regard to my mobility.

‘I am more reliant on a stick and putting more weight through it because of the pain.

‘My leg remains swollen to this day, meaning I need to keep it elevated as pouch as possible. Some days it feels like that pain will never end.

‘Friends I do see spend time looking after me – they have become more like carers than friends.’

Turnage was also found with a knife and attacked two police officers who tried to arrest him outside The Leather Bottle pub in Colchester.

One of the officers needed medical treatment to glue part of his ear back after the assault.

Ms Taylor, who founded the Not My Shame social media movement, said she did not condone violence but believes more attacks could happen because people are angry at the way the events are being authorised by councils and the police.

She said she had been contacted by nudists who do not support the naked bike rides because they do not believe it represents ‘the beauty of what being nude means in the right space’.

In her petition she writes: ‘Thank you to all the naturists coming forward. It’s been really empowering to hear your views on body freedom and empowerment, and to learn that the Naked Bike Ride event doesn’t appeal to you either – because of the safeguarding risks I’ve raised.’

The Metro has contacted World Naked Bike Ride London for comment.

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