Embarrassed naturist thought he was in the right

A Featherston man is baffled to be the first nude sunbather to get the bum's rush from a Kapiti Beach for offensive behaviour.
The 26-year-old, who declined to be named, was awkwardly asked by a female police officer to cover up while tanning himself on Paraparaumu Beach last Sunday.
After reading a front-page article in a Wellington newspaper, the man assumed he was allowed to strip off on beaches there and decided to stop by just before 3pm to soak up the sun.
He had been lying nude in a "sheltered, out of the way" part of the beach for just minutes when an infuriated local man approached him.
"He said 'hey mate, this is a family beach, get your shit and f**k off'. I considered that to be more offensive than what I was doing."
However he dismissed the angry comments and continued his bathing, unaware a crowd of young onlookers had now formed.
As his face was covered by a throw he did not see two police officers approach him about 30 minutes later.
"I heard a woman say, 'excuse me sir, would you mind putting your pants on?'
"I thought it was a bit unexpected. They said it was not a nudist beach and I should go to Pekapeka. I was a bit embarrassed for a while but that was pretty short-lived."
He was given a warning and his name being sounded over a loud police radio further added to his ordeal.
He said he and his mates had "had a laugh about it" but he remained angry at the newspaper for giving the impression nude sunbathing was permitted on the beaches.
"I didn't know I was the only guy doing it, that was the thing. Then I found out that I was in the news a week later. My former boss asked, 'oh that was you on the news' and I said, 'I was in the news?'."
He believes there should be a section in the beach clearly marked as "clearly optional".
"It's a culture thing in New Zealand I guess. Some people think it's pretty naughty to be nude on a beach, but you should be able to say, 'sweet as' and do it. I don't think it's a big deal. A family member said parents should have the right of choice."
He has felt comfortable in his skin since losing weight and said sunbathing nude meant he did not get a tan line.
Previously, he had climbed Australian mountains without a thread on and bathed naked at many New Zealand spots, Lake Wairarapa among them.
Asked if he would join a Wairarapa nudists club if one was formed, he replied:
"If I got along with the other people, yeah I would."
Kapiti Coast Detective Sergeant James McKay said man had acted co-operatively when asked to put clothes on.
He said the offence was a rare one, and came with maximum penalties of three years imprisonment or a $1000 fine.
"In this job, you see all sorts of things, but not this too much. However the issue is quite a contentious one here at the moment. I myself don't really have an opinion about it."
Kapiti Coast district councillors decided last month to remove any reference to naked sunbathers from the proposed 2008 beach bylaw, on the grounds that it would be unlikely that the council could successfully prosecute anyone for being nude on the beach.
Instead, any behaviour regarded as lewd or offensive would be dealt with by the police.