The number of official police reports drawn up for public indecency in the area of Belgium's nude beach in Bredene is rising higher than in previous years.
So far, police drew up 29 official reports around the beach this year, now that the beach has reopened after it had to close as part of the coronavirus measures last year.
"The rules are very clear. You can only walk around naked on private property or on the nude beach, which does not include the dunes," Dennis Goes of the Bredene police said on Flemish radio.
"It is clearly indicated where the beach begins and where it ends," he added. "Those rules really have to be respected."
All 29 police reports concern people who walk around naked in the dunes - which are part of a protected nature reserve - or have sex there, both of which are prohibited, according to Goes, who added that the police will carry out extra checks.
According to Koen Meulemans of the Belgian Naturism Federation, however, more official reports are issued now because the police have more means.
"In the past, the police could only patrol the dunes to catch people there. But as of recently, they have a professional drone at their disposal," he told VRT radio.
"They can fly over the dunes at any time of the day and make razor-sharp images to catch people, if they are walking around or having sex in the protected dunes," Meulemans added.
This year, many naturists are flocking back to Bredene, which has the only nude beach in the country, after it closed to visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic last summer.
At peak times, the beach can accommodate 1,000 guests.
