Exposed! Property boss admits: I’m the Naked Rambler II
A WEALTHY property developer who enjoys the ‘liberation’ of nudity this week admitted walking naked in the hills.
Paul Edney, managing director of Hillfoot Homes, was seen wearing only a cap, boots and rucksack while hiking close to the luxury property firm, based in Dollar, Clackmannanshire.
The 56-year-old and his wife developed a taste for naturism following a trip to Yugoslavia 30 years ago, Stirling Sheriff Court heard. But his hobby has more recently seen him enjoying naked rambles in the Ochil Hills, sparking a series of complaints from other walkers.
The original Naked Rambler, former marine Stephen Gough, walked naked from Land’s End to John O’ Groats in 2003 and has spent much of the last decade in prison over his refusal to cover up.
The court heard Edney’s unclothed excursions took place near the summit of 1,371ft Dumyat, close to the National Wallace Monument.
Graham McLachlan, prosecuting, said a holidaymaker from Warrington, Cheshire, was sunbathing on the hill in June 2015 when Edney walked up to her and said hello.
Mr McLachlan added: ‘She noticed this male was completely naked apart from a blue baseball cap, a pair of dark boots and a blue rucksack. He then sat six feet away from her. He appeared to be relaxed and was looking at the view, then he got up and walked off.’
The woman took a photograph of Edney on her mobile phone and forwarded it to police.
Last May, another woman saw Edney approaching on a hill path and asked if he was naked. He replied that he was and apologised for any offence.
On August 29, two men and a woman reported a similar sighting and police later found Edney in a car park popular with hillwalkers, ‘clearly naked from the waist down and pulling on some trousers’.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of public indecency, causing alarm and annoyance.
Police began receiving complaints of a ‘Naked Man of the Ochils’ as long ago as 2013 – but his identify remains a mystery as Edney denied it was him in those previous instances.
Defence solicitor Ken Dalling said Edney, who has a grown-up family, was sorry if he had upset anyone with his nakedness, adding: ‘He is not a crusader, he has no banner to fly for naturism. Mr and Mrs Edney have been naturists for 30 years.
‘They discovered a nice beach in Yugoslavia in 1987 and the price paid to access that beach was nudity. He tells me he went from finding it an odd circumstance to being liberating.’
Sheriff David Mackie ruled there was no significant sexual element and Edney, of Dollar, was admonished. He was not placed on the sex offenders’ register, with the sheriff saying the fact a respected businessman with 20 employees now had a criminal record should be punishment enough.
‘No banner to fly for naturism’