Nudist slams Wetherspoons after being told to leave for 'bending' without pants

20 October 2023 , 13:17

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Richard Collins was left shocked after a mum and daughter walked out of wetherspoons after he 'accidently' flashed them (Image: Kennedy News and Media)

A furious nudist has slammed Wetherspoons and accused the pub of "discrimination" after he was asked to leave for "bending over with no underwear on."

Richard Collins, originally from Enfield, said he "accidentally" exposed his bum in front of a young girl and her mother as he tried to pick up a poppadom from a chair at The John Logie Baird in Hastings, East Sussex.

The 67-year-old said he bent over to "flick off" the food and didn't realise they were sat behind him. He believes the pair should have "avert[ed] their eyes" and said they looked up his skirt on October 8.

Richard, who is the founder of Naturists UK, says he has been visiting the pub four times a week for ten years. He is campaigning for naturist rights to be formally recognised in legislation so that people can "walk into any pub naked" and get served following the incident.

Richard said The John Logie Baird tried to kick him out earlier this month (Kennedy News/Google Maps)

He believes the pub asking him to leave was "a bit extreme" and said he was left anxious after the incident. Richard said: "The manager could have just said, 'we just had a complaint, could you be a bit more careful and not bend over.' When I got my dinner, I was sitting there quite upset and anxious but I wasn't going to make a big scene. I don't want to get banned. It's one of the places I eat regularly. I thought about picking the seat up and tipping it, but it was easier to bend over and flick it. I didn't even think about what I might be showing by bending over, or who might be sitting behind."

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Richard claims the "agitated" mother of the teen girl spoke to a staff member at the bar before a manager asked him to leave. Richard added: "A minute later the manager appeared, a young woman, and said, 'It appears you're not wearing any underwear and the child on the table behind saw when you bent over! I'm going to have to ask you to leave.' I thought that was ridiculous. I was told I could have a refund but when I repeated about moving, and that I was hungry, she relented and I was able to sit in a different area.

"I asked if I could sit somewhere else and she said I can sit in the lower area which is well away. I went into Wetherspoons the next night and had a steak and stayed for quite a while. It was all as normal." Despite being no stranger to uproar over his public nudity, Richard claims most people have no problem with his choice to be naked.

"I normally wear a skirt and sweatshirt to go into a pub, and if it's cold I've got the hoodie," he explained. "I prefer to wear nothing at all. If I'm out on my bike, I cycle naked and I walk naked through town if it's particularly warm. Most people aren't bothered. It's all about fun and freedom. For two years I've been cycling in Hastings naked and everybody accepts it. I'm well known."

Richard says he is 'well-known' in the area (Kennedy News and Media)

However, Richard says he has had the police called on him twice over the years for being naked outside pubs - and was even wrongly arrested in May this year by an off-duty police officer, before being de-arrested. He says guidelines by the College of Policing explain it is not an offence to be naked in public unless a person is doing so with intent to cause harm and distress. But the naturist wants to take it further, and says he will be writing to the Equalities Commission to get naturism formally recognised under a "philosophical belief."

Richard said: "Many naturists would argue that naturism constitutes a 'philosophical belief' and under the Equalities Act 2010. It should enjoy the same legal protection as any other 'protected characteristic'. Under the Equalities Act, you can't discriminate against customers if you're providing a service. In terms of a pub or a Wetherspoons providing a service, you shouldn't discriminate against people based on their choice of how they like to dress.

"I don't particularly want to walk into Wetherspoons naked, I'm content to cycle naked and have a naked drink outside my local pub when it's warm enough." In a Facebook post, Richard wrote: "It's hateful being discriminated against in Wetherspoons! If you or your child is going to look up someone's skirt, don't complain if you don't like what you see! Avert your eyes! Don't go complaining, discriminating and committing a hate crime! I don't wear pants ever! Not for you, not for anyone. We all have a bottom and they all look the same! Get over it!"

A Wetherspoons spokesperson said: "In accordance with our dress policy, we ask all our customers to dress appropriately and, more specifically, in a way which would not cause offence to employees or other customers. The pub's management, quite rightly, did not consider that Mr Collins was dressed in such manner. Mr Collins is of course more than welcome in all our pubs, should he choose to adhere to our dress policy. We do not consider that there has been any breach of the Equality Act."

Monica Charsley