Woman 'absolutely terrified' by man dressed in latex gimp suit in small Somerset village

A woman has described the moment she felt "absolutely terrified" after seeing a man walking around a small Somerset village in a latex 'gimp' suit.

In the early hours of Sunday morning (26 June), Kiera Elston was walking on Yatton High Street after a night out in Bristol with her boyfriend and a friend when she saw the person in the suit.

She said: "We were just having a normal chat and just walking along as you would.

"We came up to the alleyway and out of nowhere at all, my boyfriend said to me 'there's a man' - and this man then started walking towards me and my boyfriend.

"We both realised at the same time what he was wearing and how he was presenting himself in a way to scare us."

Kiera said her boyfriend then told the group they need to run.

"As we announced that we were going to run, the man actually stopped and just stood in a way where he had his arms out a little bit.

"We were running but I was too scared to look back, so for all I knew he was still behind me and I was absolutely terrified. It was such a scary moment."

Kiera said she remembers being scared after first hearing about a man wandering the streets in a suit years ago. 

Avon and Somerset Police officers are investigating the most recent incident after finding no trace of the man in the area.

A spokesperson from the force said: "Police were called just after 1am on Sunday 26 June by a woman reporting seeing a man dressed in a black latex body suit and wearing a mask on Yatton High Street near the Claverham Road roundabout.

"She described him as more than 6ft tall and slim and said the incident had caused her alarm and distress.

"Officers carried out a search of the area but found no trace of the man. Neighbourhood officers are following up on the incident and carrying out extra patrols.

"We’re keeping an open mind as to whether the report is linked to previous incidents in which a similarly-dressed man caused alarm to people in the Claverham and Yatton areas.

"If you have any information, dashcam or CCTV footage which could help to identify the man, please call 101 and give the reference 57 of 26 June."