Shouting and stroking ponies outlawed by rural councils as antisocial behaviour

Civil liberties groups say swathes of new rules, including for swearing and wild swimming, criminalise normal behaviour

Shouting, leaving your spectacles in the sun and stroking a pony are among the rural activities outlawed by councils under the banner of managing antisocial behaviour this summer, according to campaigners.

The Manifesto Club, a leading civil liberties group, said swathes of new public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) have been introduced or extended by local authorities, criminalising activities and behaviours under the banner of managing antisocial behaviour or environmental harm.

It means the English countryside is being transformed into a patchwork of prohibitions, they say, with traditional countryside pursuits being clamped down on.

Elmbridge borough council has outlawed dawn and dusk angling with a ban from 7pm to 7am. In north-east Lincolnshire, all metal detecting requires a prior permit.