Balaclava ban comes into force in Nottingham - with police powers also including on-the-spot fines

Nottingham will become one of the first cities to bring in a balaclava ban as new powers aimed at tackling intimidation in the city come into effect.

Under the restrictions, police and council officers can ask people to remove a face covering when their identity is being hidden to commit a crime or behave anti-socially, Nottinghamshire Police said.

The powers will include £70 on-the-spot fines, confiscation of face coverings and referral to an immediate justice programme requiring community work.

Those who continue to flout the order could be issued with a criminal behaviour order, which could ban them from the city centre indefinitely.

The new rules do not represent a blanket ban on face coverings.

Officers say they are targeting "crime, anti-social behaviour or intimidating conduct", and there are exemptions for people who wear face coverings for religious, health, medical or work reasons.

The new restriction that comes into effect from Tuesday is an addition to the city centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) issued by Nottingham City Council.

A consultation dubbed 'Operation Reclaim' that was launched last month by the authority received more than 2,200 responses, with more than 90% supporting police action.

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

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Gary Godden, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said he believes the new powers will make it easier for police to take away "the veil of anonymity that some people try to hide behind".

It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for a ban on full face coverings in public, including those worn for religious reasons, after masked anti-migrant demonstrators gathered in Dover earlier this month.

Timothy Miller, 76, from Southampton, was charged with concealing his identity after police warned they would arrest demonstrators wearing face coverings at an anti-immigration protest in Portsmouth at the weekend.

Superintendent Chris Pearson, the city commander from Nottinghamshire Police, said an "awful lot of people" have described being intimidated by balaclavas.

He said: "We've seen ourselves CCTV and video footage of people wearing balaclavas, throwing fireworks, chucking things off the roofs of buildings.

"The problem is substantial. They are predominantly very young people, normally young males wearing balaclavas, and sadly, in a lot of circumstances, they are involved in drug dealing, carrying weapons."

He said police had seen some "particularly nasty" incidents in Nottingham city centre last year involving weapons where people had their faces covered.

Supt Pearson said body-worn camera footage will be used for "scrutiny and oversight" of officers' interactions to make sure restrictions are not "affecting any community in a disproportionate way".

Neghat Khan, leader of Nottingham City Council, said last week: "We have listened to people across Nottingham who have told us that they can feel intimidated when they see individuals wearing balaclavas, skeleton masks or other face coverings without a legitimate reason in our city centre.

"Our residents should be able to live, work and spend time in Nottingham without feeling frightened or unsafe.

"That is why we are taking decisive action and becoming one of the first cities in the country to introduce a restriction of this kind."

Wolverhampton City Council introduced powers governing face coverings in 2024, also under a public spaces protection order, to help clamp down on anti-social behaviour in the city centre.

The order gives West Midlands Police the authority to ask people to remove face coverings if they have no reasonable grounds to wear them, or if they are using them to intentionally disguise their identity.

(c) Sky News 2026: Balaclava ban comes into force in Nottingham - with police powers also including on-the-spot