Huge increase in clown craze complaints
And as Halloween approaches it is feared the troubling craze of creepy clowns will reach its peak – with individuals dressing up in clown costumes to intentionally threaten or harm passers-by, including children.
In the last three weeks Childline has been contacted 462 times by children afraid of creepy clowns – providing 84 clown-related counselling sessions on one day alone.
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Hide AdNearly a third of counselling sessions on the subject of clowns were with children under the age of 11 - reaching 139 in total - and three quarters of those who got in touch over clown fears were girls.
The deluge of contacts to Childline reflects a flurry of reported creepy clown incidents across the UK.
The NSPCC is advising children who are concerned about creepy clowns to:
Talk to a parent or a teacher or trusted adult;
Call Childline if they want to discuss their worries or get advice and support;
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Hide AdBlock and report abusive messages from people posing as creepy clowns on social media;
Contact the police if they are threatened by a creepy clown in the street.
Call Childline on 0800 1111 or via chidline.org.uk