A MAN is planning to go on hunger strike because he has to give police 24 hours’ notice before he has sex.

He has issued a statement in which he says his action is a protest against an application by North Yorkshire Police to confirm a Sexual Risk Order (SRO) on him. An interim SRO is currently in place and includes a term that the York man cannot have a sexual relationship with any woman without giving the police 24 hours’ notice.

A separate court order forbids the public identification of the man, who is in his forties, and who is contesting the confirmation of the order. A full hearing in the case is listed before York Magistrates Court on August 19.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “North Yorkshire Police will only make an application to the Court for a Sexual Risk Order in circumstances where it is considered necessary to do so to protect the public from the risk of sexual harm.

The full details of this case cannot be provided for the man’s own protection, but we are satisfied that our actions are justified.”

Yesterday, the man announced he would start a hunger strike and that it would “continue to either a satisfactory or a natural conclusion”.

He claimed that the terms of the order breach Home Office guidelines on SROs and that the case breaches his rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees a fair trial. He also made allegations about the conduct of North Yorkshire Police.

SROs can be applied to any individual whom the police believe poses a risk of sexual harm, even if they have never been convicted of a crime. They are civil orders imposed by magistrates at the request of police. The man has previously admitted to having an interest in sado-masochistic sex. He is next due before York Magistrates Court on July 14 for a case management hearing. The full hearing was due to be earlier this month, but was adjourned after he and his solicitors parted company.