THE council has reassured residents after naked people were spotted riding the city's shared bikes.

Hundreds saddled up and rode through Brighton on Sunday as part of the Naked Bike Ride.

The nude cyclists decorated their bikes and rode to loud blaring music, joined by clothed officers from Sussex Police.

However, some residents were left "disgusted" after spotting "sweaty" riders on the hire bikes rented from hubs across the city.

One man wearing a skin-coloured mask and a blonde wig was pictured riding a BTN Bikeshare bicycle in Western Road.

READ MORE: Hundreds take part in Naked Bike Ride 2021

"It was pretty grim," said an eye-witness who saw the nude cyclist.

"He was really shiny from sweat."

Footage captured several other naked riders using the rented bikes for the event in celebration of "human-powered travel".

Conservative transport spokesman Robert Nemeth said: "I was a little surprised to see keen cyclists using public bikes in the Naked Bike Ride this year.

"It would probably be advisable to bring strong wipes if using these bikes over the next few days.”

Men and women mingled wearing body painted and hung flags in a festival-like atmosphere, before setting off at 2pm.

The Argus:

It was the first time the ride had taken place since it was called off during the Covid lockdown last year.

Residents expressed their horror after seeing the shared bikes being used.

"To be honest, it's bang out of order to used a rental bike for this, kids use them," said one.

"Absolutely disgusting using a rental bike, hope you cleaned the saddle afterwards," said another.

READ MORE: Hundreds take part in Naked Bike Ride 2021

Brighton and Hove City Council, which is a partner in the BTN Bikeshare scheme, but does not run the service, has reassured residents the bikes were cleaned.

A spokesman said: "BTN Bikeshare was very aware of the recent Naked Bike Ride and took appropriate cleaning actions.

“BTN Bikeshare also has a dedicated cleaning team which has focused on cleaning all contact points on bikes at every hub throughout the summer.

The Argus:

“Users of the scheme are regularly reminded of general hygiene protocols. These include wiping down all contact points themselves with anti-bacterial wipes.”

Not everyone reacted with disgust after seeing the naked rental bike riders.

Reacting online, one resident said: "It's only a naked body. Why do people have such an issue with human skin. We all have a body.

"And taking your clothes off doesn't make you 'weird' or 'disgusting' or a sexual deviant. What is weird and disgusting is people reacting in such a ridiculous way."

Donna James, who took the pictures of the naked riders, said: "I had just finished a lunch at Six and got an unexpected and rather spicy dessert."

Brighton Naked Bike Ride said: "We have encouraged everyone, and been posting for weeks on all our social media, the health and safety guidance for the participants that whoever uses the rental bikes should use a bike seat cover. And we had them and provided them at the start of the ride as well. Similarly we had a sanitising spray available at the start and at the end of the ride. From what we have seen, most of the hire bikes on the ride seemed to have the covers on.

The Argus:

"Sometimes people do join the tide spontaneously and just get their kit off and get on the nearest bike so we guess those weren’t using a seat cover as their decision to join in was truly spontaneous.

"We do understand that the idea of a naked rider on a hire bike can make some people feel uncomfortable and and have hygiene concerns. That’s normal.

"However at the same time one should be very weary about anyone using the hire bikes as most people nowadays seem to have stopped washing their hands or sanitising their hands all the time like it was at the beginning of the pandemic. So I think a bigger point of concerns from the hygiene angle could be the grips that are most likely contaminated with various strains of bacteria and viruses rather than a saddle that the next person won’t come in direct contact with if riding dressed.

"We do our best and we don’t want to upset anyone nor cause any health and safety concerns to any members of the public. And the riding naked in a hire bikes has been on our radar as a potential issue therefore we have been putting measures in place before, during and after the ride to minimise the risk of such an incident."