Naked hiker arrested hours after release from jail
Good God, man; it's the end of November, and you're walking the length of England naked? Do the words "too much time on your hands" mean anything to you? Apparently not.
LONDON, England (AP) -- A man attempting to walk the length of Britain naked to promote the right to go without clothes in public was arrested Saturday, hours after being released from jail.
Stephen Gough -- wearing only a pair of boots, socks and a knapsack -- was arrested for breach of the peace after complaints from residents in Evanton, a village in the Scottish Highlands.
Gough, from Eastleigh in southern England, has endured multiple arrests since setting out in June to walk the 847 miles (1,363 kilometers) from Land's End in southwest England to John O'Groats in Scotland's far north.
Gough, 44, was released Friday from jail in the Scottish city of Inverness, where he had served time for being naked "in circumstances likely to produce a road safety hazard," and returned to the scene of his last arrest to resume his walk. He was arrested again Saturday about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away and 80 miles (130 kilometers) short of his goal.
"I'm just doing this walk and I'm not doing anybody any harm and I get arrested all the time," Gough said before the latest arrest. "I think people need to work out what tolerance really means."
There is no law in Britain against public nudity. However, there are laws against indecent exposure -- which requires proof of intent to insult a woman -- or any behavior likely to cause "harassment, alarm or distress."
You know, frostbite normally begins in the extremities, and Scotland can be a wee bit frigid this time o' year. You might want to put a sock on that, Mr. Gough, before it falls off.
For displaying his assets and assuming that anyone would actually want to see them, Mr. Gough has clearly met the stringent criteria stipulated by the DUMASS AWARD committee. Let's just hope that our latest DUMASS doesn't freeze the family jewels off while he is making whatever statement it is that he is trying to make.
