What are the weirdest bans that have been imposed to stop people doing certain activities?

That’s what we’ve been thinking about after Chessington World of Adventures ordered people to stop doing Tarzan impressions on its Go Ape adventure course because they have been disturbing the resident monkeys.

It turns out there are plenty of other things that have been forbidden in south London, Surrey, Kent and further afield that are just as likely to raise eyebrows.

You won’t believe the actions that places have actually outlawed or which people have been told not to do.

Scroll through the gallery above or read on to see the crazy bans.

Swearing in a pub

Nobody should have to tolerate people swearing like a trooper in the street or on public transport but maybe in a pub it’s a little more acceptable? Well, one boozer in Gravesend took a different view, with management of the Rum Puncheon issuing a swearing ban along with a set of rules for potty mouths to abide by. Dropping the C or F-bomb resulted in punters being asked to leave.

Reading the Sun newspaper

Love it or hate it, The Sun newspaper is very popular – but that didn’t matter when a school in Thornton Heath banned teachers from reading the “inappropriate” tabloid. The reason given? Because young children were around, even though staff did their newspaper reading in the staff room.

Taking pictures of clothes

When can an innocent looking Christmas jumper land you in hot water? When you try taking a photo of it in Primark. An unfortunate shopper encountered the wrath of staff at the retailer’s Bexleyheath store and was told she was banned after she snapped a pic of some festive clothing.

Wearing animal-print clothes

The Tarzan ban isn’t the first time Chessington World of Adventures has issued an odd edict. It previously told visitors not to wear animal-print clothes. This was again because the park’s real wild animals were being bothered, with a spokeswoman for the attraction saying: “It's no wonder animals are getting confused when they see what looks like zebras and giraffes driving across the terrain in a 7.5 tonne truck.”

Bending over in front of your neighbours

Ah, Asbos, they were all the rage once. Many of them were given to teenage tearaways or abusive drunks to keep them out of certain areas. But some were more unusual such as one given to a man who seemed to have a thing for dressing up as a schoolgirl. The 60-year-old from Northampton was banned from wearing a skirt or showing bare legs at certain times – and he was back in trouble after “deliberately bending over in front of his neighbours”.

Putting number 13 on front doors

Considering it just too unlucky for some, county councillors in Durham decided to ban house builders from giving the number 13 to new addresses.

Serving triangular flapjacks

Who would have thought the humble traybake could cause any problems? A school in Essex did when it banned dinner staff from serving up triangular portions after a pupil was hit in the face by one.

Touching men’s muscles

Bodybuilder Akinwale Arobieke from Liverpool has become a “modern-day bogeyman” around the north-west due to allegations around his “unusual interest” in young sportsmen and their physiques. In 2006 he was given a unique order banning him from touching men’s biceps and asking them to do squats. After a long-running legal battle, he eventually managed to get the order overturned.

Having sex without giving 24 hours’ notice

A York man is also hoping to overturn an unusual order, one which bans him from having sex with a new partner unless he informs police the day before. The ban, part of an interim sexual risk order imposed despite him being acquitted of rape, could be lifted or extended at a court hearing in August.

Having loud sex

"Screaming and shouting whilst having sex" led to jail for a Birmingham woman who had previously been banned from making "loud sex noises" after a neighbour complained.

Smooching at the station

Virgin Trains put up no-kissing signs at its busy Warrington Bank Quay station over concerns passengers were causing congestion during their romantic embraces. Rail bosses later had a change of heart, replacing them with ‘kiss me quick’ signs to encourage brief snogs and ‘kiss me longer’ directions to a car park for people wanting lengthier clinches.