Council leaders insist a planned crackdown on 'inappropriate' face coverings will not affect religious groups.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is carrying out a review of the powers it has to act against people who use face masks to commit crimes and intimidate others.

The review comes as other councils around the country have introduced public space protection orders (PSPOs) allowing officers to request people remove face coverings in certain situations.

Stoke-on-Trent currently has two PSPOs in effect in Hanley and Longton, and while neither specifically mentions face coverings, they do prohibit any conduct that causes 'harassment, alarm or distress'.

At their meeting on Tuesday cabinet members agreed to launch a review into whether the existing PSPOs and other anti-social behaviour powers are sufficient for dealing with the issue, or if further action is needed.

But they clarified that any action would not amount to a ban on all face coverings, meaning people wearing them for religious, health or other legitimate reasons would have nothing to fear.

Councillor Duncan Walker, cabinet member for safe and resilient communities, said: "This is not a blanket ban. People can still wear face coverings for religious or medical reasons.

"The current PSPOs prohibits conduct causing harassment, alarm or distress. They are straightforward and prohibit things that a reasonable person would deem as anti-social behaviour."

Cllr Walker said the aim of any further action would be to ensure that residents 'feel safe and confident in the city centre and public spaces'.

He added: "Importantly, this is about tackling anti-social behaviour, rather than face coverings in themselves."

Other cabinet members backed the review, stressing the importance of sending out a clear message to residents.

Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance, said: "I think it's really important that we get the balance right. It's about not causing harassment, alarm or distress, it's not about everybody who wears a face covering.

"You see some of the comments on social media suggesting that everyone on a burka should be stopped, but it's not about that.

"It's only when someone is causing harassment, alarm or distress. There might medical reasons why someone will wear a face mask, or it might be because it's cold – all that is perfectly reasonable behaviour.

"This is purely about those things which are not reasonable behaviour."

Councillor Majid Khan, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, added: "We need to send a clear message out that this is purely about dealing with anti-social behaviour."

Earlier this year, Nottingham City Council introduced a city centre PSPO that enables authorised officers to require the removal of a face covering where there are reasonable grounds to believe that it is being used to commit crime or anti-social behaviour or intimidate others.

Stafford Borough Council will implement a similar PSPO next month.

The report to cabinet states that any proposal for Stoke-on-Trent would need to be informed by evidence, consultation and operational considerations.

Last month, the city council brought in a revised city centre PSPO that extended its area to parts of Bucknall New Road.