SIX naked sunbathers have been fined in a crackdown on illegal naturism at a Merseyside beauty spot visited by families.
The sun worshippers were caught without their clothes on at sand dunes in Ainsdale, Merseyside.
They were fined £80 each for public order offences as part of Operation Crow, which aims to combat nude sunbathing.
PC John Schofield, of Merseyside Police, said: "After we received a number of complaints from both visitors and residents in the area, we decided to launch an operation to stop this type of behaviour.
"This type of activity is not acceptable to the many families with young children who like to go out and enjoy the sand dunes on a sunny afternoon.
"We will continue to address this problem and will give penalty notices to anyone responsible for public order offences."
The sunbathers were caught during a two-day operation which took place last week.
Police say the operation will continue through the summer.
The operation was launched after a string of complaints from nearby residents and people who had visited the site.
Sefton Conservative councillor for Ainsdale, Brenda Porter, congratulated Merseyside Police on clamping down on the problem.
Cllr Porter said naked sunbathers had been a problem in the past, but recently the dunes have been a haunt for "couples behaving inappropriately".
She said: "We have had this problem in the past, but this time it became even worse.
"Ainsdale beach is a fantastic place to go, everyone who has been says it is the best beach in the area and there is a lot going on down there to make it even better. The families who go there expecting a nice day out should not be faced with seeing that.
"We are all very pleased that the police acted so quickly so the problem has not had chance to get any worse."
Fellow Conservative councillor for Ainsdale, Michael Ridge, said: "This is an important area as far as families and children are concerned.
"It isn't the first time we have had this problem, but hopefully now this police operation will act as a deterrent."
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