Killer Clown craze: 22 children receive counselling in Scotland in one week

Childline says the youngsters have made phone or email contact with their Glasgow and Aberdeen bases seeking help with their fears about the sinister trend, which involves people dressing up as clowns and trying to scare or intimidate members of the public walking in the street.

Across Britain Childline has been contacted 120 times by children in the last week by either email or phone scared by the clowns with a quarter being under the age of 11.

Scotland's Childline base in Glasgow has conducted 12 counselling sessions with worried children while the centre in Aberdeen has carried out 10. The charity says the children are likely to have been faced with a clown or were having concerns or nightmares about their existence.

The charity says that the "sudden deluge" of contacts to Childline reflected an increase of reported incidents across the UK.

Earlier this week in Dunbar, East Lothian people wearing were spotted chasing chasing children and stopping traffic by jumping onto the road.

Last week children were reportedly chased by clowns in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

Police in Scotland last week warned that action may be taken against people who take part in the craze having had received a "few sporadic reports of individuals" in some areas in Scotland.

The force said anyone "seeking to cause distress and potential harm to anyone" should be aware that action would be taken.

The craze appears to have been inspired by clown-related pranks in the US and has seen a string of copycat incidents across the UK recently.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) which is concerned about recent incidents highlighted that children have been targeted online. In one instance a 13-year-old girl was messaged on Instagram from someone posing as a clown who threatened to cut her throat and rape her.

"The sudden deluge of contacts to Childline reflects an increase of reported incidents across the UK. Cases reported to police have involved clowns chasing children with weapons such as knives or baseball bats and in some instances clowns have been specifically targeting schools," said the charity.

Childline counsellors have reassured children, by getting them to talk about their feelings and what they are frightened about and suggest they talk to a parent, teacher or trusted adult They advise that they should contact the police if they are threatened by a creepy clown in the street and block and report abusive messages from on social media.

An NSPCC Scotland spokesman 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.

“Young people should stay well away from them. And if they do happen to see a ‘creepy clown’ out on the streets or lurking near their school they should immediately tell their parents or the nearest responsible adult and report it to the police where necessary."

Last week a hoaxer admitted a "sighting" in Glasgow was faked.

A Facebook page called "Killer Clowns in and around Glasgow" said a clown had been spotted underneath a bridge.

The post was shared more than 1,000 times before the poster admitted the picture had been taken elsewhere.

Police reports have included a 10-year-old-boy in Plymouth, Devon being threatened by a clown who jumped out of a bush carrying a hammer, and in a separate incident in Workington, Cumbria a clown brandishing an axe chased an 11-year-old girl.