Naturists fear they will be forced to cover up under new laws designed to crack-down on yobs.

It is claimed new measures designed to curb anti-social behaviour could be used by police and the courts to stop them stripping off in public.

Nudist beaches in particular could become a thing of the past if magistrates take a personal dislike to them, it is claimed.

Row: Parks and beaches could be out of bounds for naturists under new laws aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour, nudist groups have warned

The row centres on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, which is debated in the Commons today.

It includes power for the courts to grant an injunction against someone who ‘has engaged in, or is threatening to engage in, anti-social behaviour’.

Ministers say it could include not being in possession of a can of spray paint in a public place, not entering a particular area, or not being drunk in public.

Home Secretary Theresa May has argued the changes will help to cut crime.

‘We are delivering on our pledges to give victims of antisocial behaviour a stronger voice, further cut crime and improve the relationship between the public and police,’ she said last month.

Home Secretary Theresa May insist the new powers will help to cut crime

But naturist groups claim the law has been so widely drawn that police officers and magistrates courts could ‘abuse’ their position to target people who choose not to wear clothes.

British Naturism branded the legislation ‘probably the most serious attack on the civil liberties of this country in decades’.

In a statement it warned the new laws would pose a ‘major threat to Naturism’.

It added: ‘It is well-meaning, and seeks to tackle a serious social problem, but it is so open ended that it could be used and abused to prohibit or require just about anything.

‘If history teaches us anything it is that if a power can be abused then it will be abused.

‘We have absolutely no doubt that if it becomes law as currently worded then it will be used to prohibit naturism in a wide range of places.

‘Beaches and gardens are a certainty and it may even include naturist events and clubs.’

Under the new rule, an injunction could be granted if a person has ‘engaged in conduct which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person’.

Reg Barlow, chair of the Naturist Action Group, said the legislation would ‘make it so much easier for people to say that naturists have caused distress, that being a naturist and being naked in an open environment is anti-social’.

‘Because of a lack of a definition for what is anti-social, police officers are going to be put into an impossible position,’ he told The Times.

He added: ‘The only way that they’ll be able to decide what to do [if a complaint is made] is to use their own moral compass about nudity and that could be religious.’

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We want to give the police and other agencies the means to protect victims more effectively, not penalise certain behaviours.

‘The “nuisance and annoyance” test is clear and well-established in law, and it will ultimately be for the courts to decide whether it is proportionate to grant an injunction restricting an individual from acting in a certain way.’

The Bill is expected to clear its second reading in the Commons tonight.

Read more: Daily Mail