AN apprentice bricklayer swam across the River Ouse naked and exposed himself to families and tourists who were visiting York during the Easter weekend, a court heard.

Brandon Tyler May, 21, risked his life and offended tourists, magistrates said.

They heard that, standing naked on the riverside wall, he performed an indecent act, making sure people nearby could see, and "mooned" at people on a tour boat as it passed below him.

North Yorkshire bench chair Erica Taylor told May: "What you did was not a minor offence. It is something that could have resulted in very much more danger than you experienced."

She told May that York had seen several cases of people dying after jumping into the River Ouse.

"This city relies very heavily on our tourists," she said. "We do not expect our tourists to be subjected to naked men standing at the side of the river while these tourists are enjoying themselves having a ride on a boat."

May, of Scalby Road, Woodlands, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency. He was fined £150 with a £20 statutory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.

Martin Butterworth, prosecuting, said May was part of a group of ten drinkers on the riverside balcony of Pitcher and Piano, off Coney Street, at 3pm on Saturday, March 26, when he jumped naked into the Ouse and swam across to the North Street bank.

He climbed on to a wall and "horrified" people by his indecent acts, egged on by his friends.

Duty solicitor Neal Kutte said his punishment would include public shame when others read of his actions, and he was now ashamed. They had been a prank after drinking.

He had had far too much alcohol and couldn't remember how the incident had come about.

"He knows he might not have lived through that incident. He regrets it and is very glad he was able to climb out," said Mr Kutte.

Mr Butterworth said the incident ended when police officers arrived and got May to put his clothes on, though he was initially reluctant to do so.

Mr Kutte said May put his clothes on as soon as the police gave them to him.

The previous weekend, specialist rescue teams from Lancashire and Humberside had spent two days searching 36 miles of the same river as part of a months-long search for a 29-year-old man who is believed to have drowned in the Ouse last November. He is still missing today.