There was once road rage, and then came trolley rage and now there's surf rage.

An Australian surfer has been banned from riding the waves on nine Sydney beaches for harassing several people, including a church minister and a local lifeguard after clashes in the surf. The surfer, John Dunne, 34, is facing 29 counts of assault, stalking and malicious damage to property.

At a first court appearance last month, Dunne was banned from all beaches in the New South Wales state, but a magistrate on Wednesday reduced the ban to cover nine Sydney-area beaches, according to local reports.

"I think the decision to prevent him going to any beaches is a bit beyond the pale," magistrate Andrew George was quoted as saying by Britain's Daily Telegraph.

But the magistrate refused to allow Dunne to visit the beach where his father's ashes were scattered, stipulating that he not go within 100m of any of the nine surfing spots until the court case is completed.