More than 100 ‘killer clowns’ invaded Cheshire in the space of a single week as the sinister craze reached its peak in the UK.
In the weeks leading up to Halloween, Cheshire police were inundated with reports of pranksters dressing in clown costumes and frightening members of the public.
And a request made by The Chronicle to the force has revealed that a worrying 106 incidents involving killer clowns were reported inside one week.
After the terror prank started in America, the clowns crossed the Atlantic and reached Cheshire on October 6, when the first two sightings were reported.
A total of 15 incidents were reported on the next day, and 14 the one after, but the craze really reached endemic levels in the following two days.
On both October 9 and 10, 24 incidents involving killer clowns were reported. It eventually slowed down on October 11 and October 12 when 12 and 14 incidents were raised.
Of the 106 incidents reported to the police in Cheshire, 38 were directed at children or happened near schools.
A total of 26 different incident reports from Cheshire Constabulary also reported clowns roaming together in groups as large as 10.
The incidents prompted Cheshire Police to issue a warning to anyone considering taking to the streets dressed as a creepy clown.
A spokeswoman for the force said: “We are aware of the current trend in America of people dressing up as clowns, which has reached the UK and received some publicity in the media.
“While we appreciate Hallowe’en is just a short time away, scaring people – especially children and vulnerable people – in this way is completely unacceptable and could constitute an offence.”
