i wasn't sure what to do

I prefer to be non-judgemental, we don't know his situation, any of us could one day be in his position. He was obviously discreet, so what harm was done. I feel sorry for anyone where life has bought them down to that way of life.

You did the right thing, I.e. Nothing. He was harmless. Public loos are getting as rare (and as unused) as public phone boxes. I heard a very respectable looking man asking for a loo in the library the other day: he was politely but firmly turned away.

GandTea this is not about you. It was about a public gardens. I suspect that like most of us, you would take sufficient personal responsibility not to have to pee in a location like that.
A client of mine was arrested in mid flow by 2 policemen btw. He made damned sure he never did that again. I reiterate this was not a poor sick man, not a small child and was in a public recreation area. Still unacceptable. Alcohol has a lot to answer for.

Well, I've peed in a hedge (and worse) on occasion. As needs must. It's better than the alternative.

No harm done. In past times, women used to pee where they stood. They had to.

Make the park stink, what about all the dogs that pee on the grass where people sit ? At least he went in the hedge.

Public loos ???? the nearest to my house is 8 miles away.

It's wrong. He should have gone to public Loos. Using public gardens as your own personal toilet shouldn't be allowed

Ive seen mothers holding their children over the gutter to pee! Where I used to live a new neighbour moved in and she had two boys under svhool age, she used to lock them out of the house to play in the garden. If they banged on the back door to be let in because they wanted the toilet they were told to pee in the garden!!

I heard a commotion outside my house, as happens when it's holidays and good weather and young people congregate on the beach at night, to see a young lady dropping her drawers, propped up against my wall and peeing. She was very drunk and yes, I was shocked. So I went back to bed and in the morning chucked a bucket of disinfectant over the wall and pavement. Not happened again {phew} . Obviously people get caught short on occasions. This reminds me of a very long thread we once had on she-wees a few years ago

Yes,I worry sometimes.my poorly poorly husband often has to go in a hedge.I walk on,worried sick.But it's iether that or he will wet himself.Hes done that often too.

When a child needs to pee urgently, don't you take him (usually a boy) behind the nearest tree? I never encouraged mine to make a habit of it, but in an emergency, needs must.

Eurgh! Could make the park stink.

I might complain to someone. Probably the council.

He was obviously trying to be discreet as it was not imiediatly obvious to you what he was doing. He wasn't urting anyone, so just ignore him.

I hope people walking past my broken down car didn't realise what I was doing under my coat. It was that or the hedge.

Ignore him. There was an elderly man called Tom who lived alone in a very isolated cottage on a hill near here - he was often to be seeing giving his bits an airing when the local bus went over the hill - no-one took any notice. His nearest neighbour used to say "Oh put it away Tom" and he did. He was harmless; no-one batted an eyelid.

Its very good for the plants. Bob Flowerdew often recommends men pee on their plants (for some reason female urine is not as efficacious). Anyway it will soon soak in and the fresh air and microbes will deal with any odour - and it does rain a lot in the UK.

I am certainly not advocating urinating in public spaces. There are very good hygiene reasons for discouraging such habits but that was not the point of the OP. I am merely saying that the sight of a man having a discrete pee in a public place does not offend or embarrass me, although I would think it inappropriate.

In fact as we drove down the A34 yesterday we saw a car parked at the side of the road in open countryside and its owner inspecting the hedge at very close quarters. We realised what he was doing because we recognised his stance and are used to seeing it in France. I doubt many other people noticed.

If I had had the GC with me I would have said something. Not in aggressive way, just: just be careful where your 'going' there are children about.

Shameless indecency is a Scots Law offence. The next one up is Lewd and Libidinous behaviour -the situation described by the OP wouldn't be considered as that.
All you people shrugging and saying its OK -how about if we all did that and turned our public parks and gardens into open toilets? We don't need to do this here.

When I was in Zambia travelling on a decrepid coach long distance, it pulled up every so often, the men would pile out and stand in a line with their backs to the road and pee on whatever was there - a crop of corn or a rubbish tip. . When we pulled into a place with public loos it was so disgusting we ladies would have given anything to have been able to emulate the men.

I'm sorry for the hedge. And for the person who has to,cut it.

I've never heard of a charge of "shameless indecency". I thought he was behind a hedge, though? The op saw him doing up his trousers, that's all (unless I've missed something). Be difficult to get a charge to stick based on that!

In a formal garden in full public view this isn't acceptable here. Is it somehow OK because he was drunk or he's always doing it? There's something about personal responsibility here. He made at least 2 people uncomfortable. Apart from anything its against the law. When in France do what the French do -this wasn't in France.

I couldn't get worked up about it either. When you gotta go, you gotta go! It sounds as though he was pretty discreet and "not waving his todger" as MOnica so eloquently put it.

As MOnica says. I sometimes wish we women had the same physical makeup to be able to do that, discreetly.

Perfectly common behaviour in France. Men do not think twice about stopping their cars and peeing into hedges, even on main roads, back to traffic. I have seen it done in back alleys in towns but not in the the local park.

Providing it was done without ostentation, and he wasn't waving his todger to the crowds, I would have ignored it and if I had one of DGC with me, I would have been perfectly factual and unbothered about it.

That behaviour in a public place would lead to him being charged with 'Shameless indecency'. A wonderful name for a charge. Its a pity he wasn't seen by the police. Its not right that it went on in such a public place. I suppose its too late now but you could tip off your local community police officer?