NESTLED away behind a high 20ft sea wall in the heart of a suburb on the south coast is a secret “unofficial” nudist spot.
The beach is a long stretch of pebble where naturists can get away from the bustle and crowds of the nearby town centre and feel free, sunbathing and swimming in the buff.
Nudists say they are being put off by public sex acts at the beach[/caption]
The beach near is a secluded non-official nudist area popular with naturists[/caption]
Graffiti at the beach reads ‘Costa Del B******’[/caption]
But there’s trouble brewing in paradise at Portslade-by-Sea Naturist, near Brighton – with local naturists complaining about grim public sex acts taking place on the sands they frequent, with “leering older men” taking sneaky photos – and some are vowing never to return.
The spot is said to have become so notorious that allegedly swingers propositioning people for sex is now also a regular occurrence.
Naturist Facebook groups who used the beach are up in arms.
They describe having seen a series of sex acts take place – particularly along the west side of the beach – with one woman reporting she had to quickly flee on spotting two men in an intimate encounter.
There are also descriptions of “baseball cap-wearing” voyeurs in sunglasses who “just stare in your direction all day”.
Data on the Sussex Police website shows 21 violent or sexual acts were reported in the area in June – compared to 26 in each of the two months before.
The Sun headed to the beach – owned by Shoreham Port Authority – to investigate.
The beach itself is accessed through several gaps in the sea wall, with red graffiti announcing: “Costa del B*******”.
It’s here we meet Edward and his wife Jayne who are keen naturists but say they won’t be going back to beach because it is too “seedy and intimidating”.
Edward, 72, says: “We only recently moved to the area from Dorset and have been naturists for many years but our experiences have been very mixed.”
He said often the beach is “exclusively older men who are not there to enjoy the naturist experience but, in my opinion, are looking for sex”.
“They leer and smile at you while encroaching on your space. My wife and I like to bathe naked, we’re not interested in anything else but they are convinced we’re there for some other sexual adventure.”
Jayne, 66, says: “I’ve been with my husband and the looks we got were intimidating.”
Billy, who was there with his partner Deena, both in their 50s, said even worse is neighbouring Kemptown Beach.
He said: “There’s a shingle dune which allows men to go off and have sex out of view. When I went on my own I got accosted by an elderly gent – in a polite way – but nonetheless it made me feel very uncomfortable.”
Public sex acts are illegal in the UK, and while naturism itself is not illegal, public nudity can lead to legal issues depending on the circumstances.
They leer and smile at you while encroaching on your space. My wife and I like to bathe naked, we’re not interested on anything else but they are convinced we’re there for some other sexual adventure
Ed, a local nudist
While naturism is a recognised lifestyle and there are designated naturist beaches and clubs, public nudity can be considered indecent exposure or a public order offence if it causes alarm, harassment, or distress to others.
During our visit to Portslade, one sunbathing man said: “There will be those blokes that wander down and you’re not quite sure what they’re doing.
“I have seen some things that I don’t really want to see on the beach. I just want to sit here, quietly, be left alone, and enjoy naturism in its simplest form.
Local Adam Baldwin, who is not a nudist, doesn’t think the area should be fenced off[/caption]
A man walks across the shoreline[/caption]
A naturist lays in the shade of a beach umbrella[/caption]
“It annoys me because I think it reinforces a tone around what should be a fairly simple thing.
“I don’t want to see people performing sexual acts and things like that on the beach. I have seen it. It’s older men, generally.
“I’ve quite often seen people taking photographs of nude women and things like that, you know, so there’s lots of things going on.
“And that’s not what we want. We want to be able to sit on the beach quietly, not offend anyone or disturb anyone.
“We just want to get on with what we want to do – which is, in some countries, a relatively normal thing.”
Local non-nudist Angela Gardner told The Sun: “The only thing I would say about the nature of the beach is that we’ve seen one particular man a few times.
“He stands on a big mound of pebbles, facing the road, and he displays himself. So that makes people feel uncomfortable.
“See there’s nothing wrong with people in a designated area with people lying there with no clothes on. It’s absolutely fine.
Her husband Keith added: “We don’t have a problem with that at all. They’re just getting on with their business aren’t they?
Locals are demanding the beach be more shielded from public view[/caption]
Across the road are industrial estates with many passing lorries[/caption]
Nudists enjoy a dip in the sea[/caption]
“But it’s when people do things like that where these men stand there and want to expose themselves. It’s a bit intimidating.
“That’s when it crosses the line from people being in a designated area enjoying them to people exposing themselves.”
His pal added: “We went down there fishing. And there was a group of people sitting there with their kids.
An “old bloke” sitting nearby is said to have had “everything out”.
They said: “I thought, ‘Do you know what, that is wrong. That is wrong. They should lock it off, shouldn’t they?’
“Like certain bits that kids can’t go to. They need signs out to say no kids. It’s not signposted at all.”
“It’s a tricky one, isn’t it? It doesn’t bother you, but it’s the kids you’ve got to worry about.
“It does concern me. It does need fencing off. But there is nothing there, not even a little sign.
“It’s unofficial. And if you’re in the know, then you know. We’re used to it, aren’t we? Because it’s there.
“Most people around here will know. But others might come up with their kids and they won’t be so aware? Not until they get there.”
Resident Adam Baldwin said: “As a local, I’ll be honest, I don’t have a problem with it.
“But there are some aspects of it that you think, well, you could be a bit more considerate.
“And you’ve got to remember, there’s lots of locals that go there. They go down there just for that.
“If you took that away from them, it’s taking something away from their beach life. I don’t think it should be fenced off. Let people know it’s nudist.
“Don’t take the choice away, but give them the option. Just to let people know that’s happening, and that’s it.”
‘He was trying to intimidate me’
One mum, who stumbled across the beach while avoiding crowds in Brighton, was left shaken after being harassed by a “fisherman”.
Opening up on the horror, she told us: “There was one incident which was particularly scary. I noticed a fisherman who had climbed over the rocks.
“I was literally the only person on this beach. The only person. And he walked straight towards me, pretending to be fishing, I think.
“He stopped in front of me and dropped his rod, turned around and just stared at me. I thought he was going to jump on me.
“I then got up and started walking away, but he started following me. He was still behind me. And I thought, what do I do?
Sex acts have allegedly become more frequent at the beach[/caption]
The beach is accessible through gaps in the wall, though is not an official nudist spot[/caption]
“I’ve never walked across stones so fast in my whole life. I was just trying to get away from him.
“And then I got up to the rocks and stood at the top watching him, pretending I was on the phone.
“He was still just watching me the whole time.”
She explained the incident had made her reluctant to return to the beach on her own in the future.
The sunbather continued: “I quite like coming to the beach when it’s really dark and rainy – there’s something about it.
“And I purely come here to escape stuff at home and work and the stress of all that.
“But, in retrospect, I wouldn’t come here on my own. I generally feel safe, but that was scary.
“It was a shock, but if there had been a load of people here, he wouldn’t have tried to do that.
“He was trying to intimidate me. But I did honestly think to myself, ‘This is it – bye kids’.”
One regular, who was with her partner at the beach, admitted she had been forced to ask some people to move further away.
She said: “We have had people sitting too close. And we have asked them to move. Invariably they do.
“It’s difficult to work out from a feminine point of view how to say something politely but firmly.
“Just because I’m here on my own doesn’t mean I’m here for any other reason than lying here naked. I don’t want attention from men.
“I know it happens on other beaches as well – people sit too close. It’s just because you’re vulnerable because you’re naked.
“There is a sense of general freedom and I’m quite happy to be here. You get lurkers, but I suppose that’s the same for any beach.”
She also hailed the “sense of community” at the beach, despite it not being officially recognised as a naturist beach.
“It’s a nice community, they look after you. I don’t really need looking after, but if I ever did they would be there”, she added.
She went on to say, one woman she knows got “really fed up” from being hassled by men.
“She was there with her 13-year-old daughter and some guys were being really creepy,” she said.
The woman set up a Facebook group called Women Who Want to Feel Safe on the Beach.
“If women want to go down, they organise little gatherings,” she said, adding that she believes several people have been arrested at the beach after being flagged up on the group – though this has not been confirmed by the police.
“There’s a couple of persistent offenders on the far beach there,” the woman explained.
“She takes pictures. And she’s got a good liaison with the community safety people and the police.
“It was becoming a bit of an issue down there, but I think she’s changed the whole atmosphere of it.
“I think these beaches remove the body shame thing too, because people of all different shapes and sizes come down here.
“I think it can be quite revolutionary for people to know you can just be yourself.
“I’ve brought friends down to show them it’s safe, nobody’s really giving a s*** what you look like, and just enjoy yourself.
“You can feel good in your own skin. There’s nothing better than swimming in that sea without anything on.”
The Sun has contacted the port authority and Sussex Police for comment.