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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Charlotte Hadfield

The streaking phenomenon that swept through Merseyside in the 70's

A streaking craze swept through Merseyside and across the country in the 1970's.

Streaking was a bizarre trend which started on college campuses in the United States before coming to the UK.

It arrived in Merseyside in 1974 and soon became a trend at sporting events and with runners, who took to the streets wearing nothing but a pair of trainers.

In Southport, a naked man carrying nothing other than a brolly and a briefcase was seen streaking down Lord Street that year.

He is reported to have been stopped by police and charged with public decency.

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HMP Liverpool, then known as Walton gaol, became the first to see streaking among inmates, with three running around the yard for exercise wearing nothing but shoes and socks.

They were fined 75p each and lost seven days remission as a result.

Despite becoming a real craze in the 70's, the region's streaking history stretches back much further than that.

The first report of streaking in Liverpool was found in an article in the Liverpool Mercury in June 1750.

According to the report, a man called Cave who was a regular at the Durham Ox Tavern, took all of his clothes off in the pub.

When he appeared in court, the report said he told them he had a vision of the devil who had told him to run through the streets naked or die.

The court let him go without punishment on the understanding that his friends would see that it didn't happen again.

In later years mark Roberts became known for streaking at a wide variety of events, while Kinsey Wolanski made headlines for almost-streaking - she wore a revealing swimsuit - during the Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham.

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