Bathers yesterday got more than they bargained for when they witnessed two men, who are probably foreigners, stripping off and going for a dip in the buff.

This newspaper was told that the nude swimming session took place yesterday in Fond Ghadir in Sliema.

Under Maltese law it is illegal to swim naked. Even topless swimming (for women) is against the law, though the authorities close their eyes to the unofficial nudist beach at Ghajn Tuffieha.  Indecent exposure carries a potential three month prison sentence and a fine.

There have been several occasions where foreigners were dragged to the courts for nude on the beaches.

Two years ago two Swiss youths were fined €100 each for skinny dipping in Sliema. Last year a video clip of a police officer slapping a drunk foreign man who was swimming in his birthday suit in St George's Bay went viral.