Coventry nudist campaigner Vincent Bethell has struck a blow for the right to go naked after a jury unanimously cleared him of causing a public nuisance by walking around with no clothes on.

He had been charged of causing a public nuisance by stripping off in public on four occasions last year.

The jury at Southwark Crown Court cleared Bethell, of Stoney Stanton Road of the charge, allowing him to walk free.

He did so naked, clutching a bag of clothes that he has refused to wear while on remand.

When the verdict was announced Bethell, aged 28, punched the air and shouted from the dock:

“Being human is not a crime.”

The judge warned him that the law had not been changed, but he had been found not guilty on this occasion.

Outside the court supporters of the Freedom To Be Yourself campaign cavorted around naked to celebrate the verdict and test the precedent they claimed the jury had set.

Bethell said:

"On the other occasions I have been convicted by magistrates, but this is the first time I have been tried by members of the public. The jury trial is so important for justice."