Polish authorities seek ban on 'kilt drunks'

Published on Wednesday 21 March 2007 00:06

A BAN on "men in skirts" is being considered by authorities in Poland, because of the number of drunken Scots that have been upsetting locals on stag night weekends.

Poland has become a major destination for UK tourists mainly attracted by the cheap beer.

But Scottish visitors have been gaining an unwelcome reputation for showing off the fact that they have nothing on under their kilts.

Authorities in major towns and cities including Warsaw have already complained about drunken British tourists often coming for stag parties, but now they say the kilted Scots have added an extra dimension that they want to clamp down on.

In the city of Wroclaw, in the south-west of Poland, officials are exploring a kilt ban after being horrified by groups of drunk Scottish men who lifted their kilts to strangers to reveal their buttocks.

Local police admit they have been unable to control the groups of maurauding Scots, despite complaints from outraged locals and fed-up bar owners, who claim Scots are rowdy, break glasses and leave pub toilets in a shocking state.

Polish police admit a blanket ban on kilt-wearing would be impossible to enforce.

But they have promised to start cracking down on the partying Scots to make sure they keep their kilts down at all times - or face a spell in a Polish jail cell.

The local newspaper Dziennik that went on the streets to photograph naked Scots said: "It's easy to spot these so-called 'tourists' from a mile off.

"They wear kilts - the traditional Scottish outfit - and leave behind them in bars broken tables and chairs.

"Then they stop people, smile at them and lift up their kilts to show what's underneath. But what is worst is that they go around doing it unpunished and our police do nothing."

The paper demanded: "It is time to act."

Residents of other Polish cities also expressed their shock at the behaviour of many of the Scots tourists they have seen on their streets.

Agnieska Gaspar, 23, from Krakow, said: "You can't go round the corner without seeing a Scot showing off what he has under his kilt while one of his mates photographs him.

"I saw one lying in the gutter the other day with his kilt round his waist. He was drunk, and it was freezing cold - I am surprised he did not get frostbite."