12 of the strangest laws in the UK (some of which you might have broken!)

Most people in the UK probably like to think of themselves as law-abiding citizens. However, as many of the laws in the UK date back to medieval times, there are some rather archaic laws that are still in place today. Some of which you might actually have broken!

We’ve rounded up some of our favourites – some stranger than others! Have you ever broken any of them? (We promise not to tell!)

1. It’s an offence to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances.

2. It is against the law to carry planks, casks, tubs, or other similar objects along a pavement in London, unless loading/unloading them from a vehicle. 

3. It is illegal to be drunk in a pub or any licensed premises in England and Wales. 

4. It is illegal to walk a cow through the streets between 10am and 7pm.

5. It is also illegal to be drunk in charge of a cow (or a horse).

6. The Library Act of 1898 prohibits gambling, using abusive language, or being disorderly in a library. 

7. It’s against the law to shake or beat a carpet or rug in a street in the Metropolitan Police District. Though it is not illegal to shake a doormat, as long as it’s before 8am.

8. If a whale or sturgeon becomes beached, by law it must be offered to the reigning monarch.

9. It is illegal to beep your car horn aggressively/in anger.

10. It is illegal to wear a suit of armour in Parliament.

11. Keeping pigs in a pig sty in public view at the front of your house is illegal.

12. It is illegal to import potatoes into England if it is known or there is any reason to believe that the potatoes are from Poland.

HOWEVER, no matter what your parents might have always told you when you were a kid, it is NOT illegal for a car to be driven at night with the interior light on.

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