Masked men in Nottingham defy face covering ban by taking to streets

Masked men on bikes have been spotted on Nottingham’s streets despite a ban on balaclavas and face coverings coming into force.

Several men were seen with their faces covered while riding through the city’s Market Square on Tuesday, just hours after the new rules were introduced.

Nottingham has become the first major UK city to introduce specific powers targeting face coverings in a bid to tackle crime and anti-social behavior.

However, pictures from today have already thrown into question the effectiveness of how the rules will be enforced.

The regulations allow police and council Community Protection Officers to order people to remove a face covering if they reasonably believe it is being used to conceal someone’s identity in connection with crime, anti-social behavior or intimidating behavior.

Offenders can face a £70 fine, have their face covering confiscated or be referred to an immediate justice program involving community work.

If somebody continues to disobey the rules, they could even face a criminal behavior order which would ban them from the city center.

The ban was introduced by Nottingham City Council after more than 2,200 people responded to a consultation, with more than 90% supporting action on the issue.

Ethan Radford, deputy leader of the council, said: ‘It’s the city center. It’s not a mountain. Unless you’re taking part in high-octane adventure sports or in cold weather conditions, why on earth do you need to wear a balaclava?’

Nottinghamshire Police city commander Superintendent Chris Pearson said young men wearing balaclavas were ‘sadly’ often linked to drug dealing and weapons.

He said officers had seen ‘particularly nasty incidents’ involving weapons where people had their faces covered.

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

Police evidence identified more than 180 city center incidents involving face coverings or balaclavas between June 2025 and June 2026.

However, the new measure is not a blanket ban on face coverings.

Officers can only enforce it where they have reasonable grounds to believe a covering is connected to crime, anti-social behavior or intimidation.

There are also exemptions for legitimate reasons, including religious, medical, health and work-related needs.

Similar powers have already been introduced in Wolverhampton, while Stafford Borough Council is due to bring in comparable measures in December.