Police have issued a warning to those looking to sunbathe nude in their gardens.

In a slightly unusual post, Surrey Police has advised women wanting to sunbathe topless to check with their neighbours first, after the force was called to a row between neighbours.

The force wrote online: “If you want to wander around your garden naked and you are overlooked by neighbours then you have to be careful - an Englishman's home is not quite his castle and your garden is not exempt from the law.

“In an ideal world, your relationship with your neighbours would be such that they would not object to you gardening in the buff and they would never dream of calling the police.

“In the real world, however, you would be well advised to take some simple precautions,” it added.

The force also suggested that sunbathing naked could be confined to one part of the garden which can be screened from the view.

"You will have to decide whether your desire to be naked in your garden is more important to you than being on friendly terms with those around you.

"No-one has the right to spy on you and if you find that your neighbour is leaning out of an upstairs window or standing on the top of a step ladder in order to see you then he or she may well be committing an offence."

While it is not illegal for women to remove their tops in public, the Crown Prosecution Service states: “In the case of naturism a balance needs to be struck between the naturist's right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress.”