Devon and Cornwall Police have joined condemnation of clown craze
Devon and Cornwall Police have become the latest force in the West Country to condemn so-called "killer clowns".
They say some pranksters have been trying to upset children and they've received unsubstantiated reports of one clown carrying a weapon.
It follows similar calls from the Gloucestershire and Avon and Somerset forces.
A Plymouth man has filmed what he says was a confrontation with someone dressed as a clown and brandishing a hammer.
George Birkbeck was walking home from the supermarket on Friday night when he says he spotted someone dressed as a 'killer clown'.
He says the clown was stood in the way of his route home and so decided to confront him.
Police have not confirmed Mr Birkbeck's story.
The creepy pranksters have been spotted wielding knives and terrorising children in more than 20 towns and cities.
The craze originated in America last month and has taken social media by storm, with copycat pranksters in the UK donning outfits in a bid to scare the public.
One school in North Devon used assembly to tell children not to be scared, but to report any clown sightings at once.
Meanwhile groups of vigilantes dubbed 'clown hunters' are recruiting volunteers across the region to carry out night patrols and hunt down so-called 'killer clowns'.
And now hundreds of volunteers have taken matters into their own hands and launched themselves on Facebook as The Clown Hunters.
So far more than a dozen patrols have taken place, which have been attended by up to 20 people in towns including Taunton, Yeovil and Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
Their Facebook page declares they are "a group of normal guys who have a mission to STOP these idiots dressed as clowns scaring people."
People have posted numerous photos of clowns spotted in our region on the Faceook site "Clown Sightings UK". ITV News does not know whether the sightings were genuine or whether any of the clowns pictured were intending to cause distress.
It's not just clowns out there- people have also reported seeing men in sinister masks at Torpoint.