A CYCLIST who shocked a woman by his nudity as he was about to embark on the Sandbanks ferry was putting his clothes on at the time, a court heard.

Electrical engineer Richard Collins, 54, from Hardwick, Cambridge, denies committing a public order offence during a nude seven-mile cycle ride from a friend’s home in Charminster to Sandbanks on June 30 last year.

One witness told of her distress after spotting Collins cycling in the buff in Bingham Road while another woman was “alarmed” when she saw Collins on his arrival at the Sandbanks ferry.

Defending, Annabel Timan told Bournemouth Magistrates Court: “Ironically, he was getting off his bicycle to put his clothes on.

“Out of thousands of people that must have seen Richard Collins cycling naked, there were only two complaints,” she added.

Prosecutor Simon Jones argued that Collins’ behaviour could be described as “disorderly”, adding: “This is not about persecution of a man’s strongly-held views on naturism.

“It is not our case that he intended that people be alarmed or distressed.

“What we say is he had a very clear awareness that people may have been insulted or found the behaviour to be disorderly.”

Mr Jones said that in 2006, Collins emailed police to tell them that he planned to attend a different protest naked, which “suggests that Mr Collins is aware of issues surrounding what he intended to do”.

Collins had also been told by police that his plans might be “considered offensive by Muslims”, added Mr Jones.

Ms Timan told the court that Parliament has not said that nudity is a crime.

She added: “He was cycling and didn’t approach anybody.”

The trial reconvenes on June 13.