Creepy clowns prompt calls to Childline

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Childline says it has received 120 calls in the past week from children frightened by people dressing up as "creepy clowns".

The callers came from all across England, and a quarter were under 11.

A 14-year-old described being chased by a clown while walking with his brother. "My little brother has not stopped crying, and I am really worried about him," he told the helpline.

And a 12-year-old said he had heard about clowns in his area with knives.

"Someone has told me that they saw a note on our school gates saying, 'We're coming,'" he told the charity.

'Hammer and axe'

Police have been called to an increasing number of such incidents in the UK.

After-school activities in the Milton Keynes area were suspended after a child was chased earlier this week, and in County Durham a clown, said to have a knife, followed a group of children to school.

It follows hundreds of similar incidents in America and Canada through the summer.

British police have already warned those dressing up to scare members of the public will face arrest, as they deal with a wave of reports.

They also told the charity that such people had been hanging around near schools and frightening children.

More serious cases have involved a 10-year-old boy in Plymouth being chased by a clown with a hammer, and in another incident an 11-year-old girl in Workington, Cumbria, was pursued by a clown with an axe.

'Twisted and warped'

A spokesman for the NSPCC, which runs Childline, said: "People getting dressed up as 'creepy clowns' and frightening children should take a long hard look at themselves.

"Clowns are meant to make children laugh, but these people are abusing this idea and turning it into something twisted and warped.

"Increasing reports that these 'clowns' are not simply seeking to frighten children but using them to intimidate, commit crimes, abuse or bully are deeply worrying, and this trend needs to be stamped out."

He added that if a young person saw a "creepy clown" out on the streets or near a school, they should report it to their parents, the nearest responsible adult or the police, if necessary.

Schools in some areas are warning parents to be vigilant, and the National Association of Head Teachers is producing guidance for heads on how to deal with the situation.

NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said: "These incidences, when they have occasionally occurred near schools, have left children upset and worried.

"School leaders' first priority is the safety and well-being of the children in their care.

"They should not hesitate to report to the police anyone behaving strangely or threateningly near school premises."