The woman said police who arrived at the scene initially told her they could not arrest the man because of an unofficial naturist area 400m north of the surf club at Ocean Beach.
A spokesperson for the Hastings District Council said there were no nudist beaches in the district, including Ocean Beach.
Council bylaws specify that a person must not appear nude or insufficiently dressed on a beach, except for a beach the council has designated as a “clothing optional” by publicly notified resolution.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.