A London district council has rescinded rules that banned conventional swimsuits at a public pool to avoid offending Muslims.

All women, regardless of religion, had to wear the so-called burkini (or burquini) — an outfit consisting of head scarf, tunic and trousers — while men had to be covered from the navel to the knees.

The rules were put in place for weekend swimming sessions geared to Muslims in which men and women swam separately. Swimmers had to meet the "modest" dress code required by Islamic custom. T-shirts, however, are forbidden in public pools.

The Croydon council dropped the guidelines from its website after the news generated a backlash.

Across the English Channel, France has taken the opposite approach to the burkini. A 35-year-old woman was recently evicted from a pool outside Paris for wearing the head-to-toe swimwear because it is considered unhygienic.

The London Telegraph has more.

(A surfer in Newport Beach, Calif., wearing a "burkini" in February 2007. Photo by Chris Carlson, AP.)