Balaclava ban comes into force in Nottingham city centre

Offenders wearing balaclavas to hide their identity cause "substantial" problems in Nottingham, a police chief has said as a new ban came into force in the city.

Nottingham has become one of the first cities in the UK to introduce restrictions on balaclavas, allowing police and community protection officers to ask people to remove them if they "reasonably believe" they are being used to conceal their identity to commit crime or anti-social behaviour.

Anyone who refuses to comply could face a £70 fixed penalty notice or be prosecuted, with courts able to impose a maximum fine of £1,000.

Supt Chris Pearson said an "awful lot of people" described being intimidated by balaclavas.

The enforcement will not apply to face coverings worn for legitimate reasons, including religious, cultural, health, work, weather or personal safety reasons.

It will be up to officers to determine whether or not coverings are being worn legitimately.

Pearson, who is the city commander for Nottinghamshire Police, said: "We've seen ourselves, CCTV and video footage of people wearing balaclavas, throwing fireworks, chucking things off the roofs of buildings.

"[The problem] is substantial. They are predominantly very young people, normally young males wearing balaclavas, and sadly, in a lot of circumstances, they are involved in drug dealing, carrying weapons."

He added: "We saw some particularly nasty incidents in Nottingham city centre last year involving weapons where people had their faces covered.

"And then there's the other side of it, which is that persistent anti-social behaviour, and I can only imagine what it feels like for a member of the public to be enjoying the city centre, everything that it's got to offer, and then seeing a masked male throwing things off a roof at them.

"That is really intimidating, isn't it? It would scare you to the point that you don't want to come into Nottingham city and that cannot happen."

The action in Nottingham comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for full face coverings, including those worn for religious reasons, to be banned in public, following masked protesters gathering in Dover .

Elsewhere in the country, Stafford Borough Council approved plans to prohibit balaclavas as part of its updated public spaces protection order (PSPO) earlier this year.

More recently, community leaders in the West Midlands said they would like to see their region follow suit following the ban in Nottingham, and bring the action in their area.