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They say the law is an ass, but you can now ride your donkey on certain roads in the capital free of charge - thanks to a repeal of the 1810 Westminster Sunday Tolls Act.

It is just one of the many bizarre British laws that has recently been removed from the rule book.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw is on a mission to remove or amend 328 obsolete laws under the Statute Law (Repeals) Bill, to be debated in the House of Lords.

These include an 18th-century law forbidding servants from organising "inside job" burglaries, and one passed in 1839 requiring buskers to clear off immediately if asked to by the manservants of irritated householders.

And the end of the Unlawful Drilling Act of 1819 means that you can now meet your mates if military training is taking place nearby.

But many wackier rules still exist. Did you know, for instance, that ladies who bare their boobs in public in Liverpool will be exempt from prosecution if they work in a tropical fish shop?

We've unearthed some of the oddest laws still in force.

So, read on if you don't want to fall foul of the law by forgetting to wear your socks in the presence of the Queen...

* IT is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament. We're not sure what the punishment for this particular offence would be.

* IN a law passed in 1837, women are allowed to bite off a man's nose if he kisses her against her will.

* IF you're exercising your dog in the park and Princess Anne strolls into sight with her bull terriers, don't let Fido get overfriendly with the Regal Rovers. A law enacted by George I states that: "The severest penaltys will be suffered by any commoner who doth permit his animal to have carnal knowledge of a pet of the Royal house."

* Proof that not all loopy laws come from the olden days is the UK's Tax Avoidance Schemes Regulations of 2006. This makes it illegal not to tell the taxman anything you don't want him to know - but you don't have to tell him anything you don't mind him knowing.

* It is illegal to stand within one hundred yards of the reigning monarch when not wearing socks.

* A law passed by Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century bans the eating of mince pies on Christmas Day - because the festive treats were not considered puritan enough.

* In 1307 it was decreed that the head of any dead whale found on the British coast becomes the property of the king, while the tail belongs to the queen - should she need the bones for her right royal corset.

* Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London. This is marked by the ceremony of the Constable's Dues, where the Royal Navy moors a ship at the Tower Pier and the captain delivers his alcoholic tax.

* It's great if you are a Freeman of London. Not only are you allowed to drive a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll, drive geese down Cheapside and get married in St Paul's Cathedral, but you will not get arrested if found drunk and disorderly.

* Welshmen are banned from entering the city of Chester before sunrise and from staying after sunset.

* If it's a sunny but frosty day you can forget having any fun. The spoilsport Town Police Clauses Act of 1847 bans the use of any slide upon ice or snow.

* Londoners are breaking the law if they have a pigsty outside their homes.

* In York you really can get away with murder, if you pick the right target. It is still legal to murder a Scotsman within the city's ancient walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow...

* ...and in Hereford, you may not shoot a Welsh person on Sunday with a longbow in the Cathedral Close.

* In Lancashire, no person is permitted to incite a dog to bark after being asked to stop by a constable on the seashore.

* A motorist who feels compelled to urinate in public can do so only if he aims for his rear wheel and keeps his right hand on his vehicle.

* A law enacted by Edward VI states that anyone found breaking a boiled egg at the sharp end will be sentenced to 24 hours in the village stocks.

* It is an offence to beat any carpet, rug or mat in any street in the Metropolitan Police District, although you are allowed to shake a doormat before 8am.

* It's not the drugs - it's the titfer that's got Pete Doherty in trouble this time. A 1797 law forbids people to wear top hats.

* And finally, think before you pop that letter in the postbox - or you could lose your head. It is an act of treason to stick a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down.