London: A couple making love in a private garden which can be seen from the street could face a fine or upto six months in jail, according to new Laws introduced in Britain, which seek to ban sex in public places.

However, the Sexual Offences Bill published on January 29 says it will be safe for couples to leave their curtains wide open when they have sex in the bedroom, even if they know they can be seen from the house opposite.

This apparent confusion in the Law stems from the first attempt by civil servants to define how a ban on offensive sexual activity in a public place can apply to some private premises which can be seen from a public place.

The new offence is designed to replace the old crime of gross indecency and the common Law offences of outraging public decency and causing a public nuisance, which were mainly used against cottaging and overt gay sex in public.

Civil servants have tried to draft the Bill so it does not put at risk every courting couple who choose a secluded spot to go about their business.

"But a couple who make love in a private garden which can be seen from the street can face a fine or up to six months in jail," the explanatory notes say.

Legal experts say that the clause will ensure that two men or two women who kiss, cuddle or hold hands in public will not face prosecution.

Home Office Minister Hilary Benn made clear that couples who had sex in public toilets would no longer be prosecuted as long as they could not be seen.

"No one wants to be an unwitting spectator to other people having sex in a public place," he said.

PTI