Girl, 10, approached by killer clowns with ‘sledgehammer’, as boy, 13, in clown mask ‘seriously injured’ after being hit by car
A GIRL of 10 has been approached by killer clowns with a sledgehammer while a boy of 13 in a clown mask was left “seriously injured” after being hit by a car.
Lacie Payne, from Bridgend, Wales, was playing in a park in Cefn Glas with her nine-year-old friend when she said four people in clown masks emerged from behind some trees.
Her mum described her partner getting a frantic phone call from the terrified little girl screaming “Dad, dad, dad!” after heading to the park at around 3.30pm on Saturday.
Kayley Payne told that by the time Lacie’s stepdad Peter Maton got to the park the sinister figures had gone.
She said: “My daughter said she thought it was older boys because she could hear them saying ‘Ha ha ha!’
“Then as soon as they saw her pulling out her phone they ran off.”
But the mum-of-five revealed the incident has had a serious effect on her daughter.
She said: “I have noticed that since it’s happened she won’t go to bed without the light on, she doesn’t want to walk to school or go to after school clubs.
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“I am all happy for Halloween – we dress up ourselves – but this is taking the biscuit.
“My main concern now is my daughter because she is so jumpy and she is never like that, she is really confident.”
The news comes as a 13-year-old boy in a clown mask was badly hurt after being hit by a car in Southampton.
The teen was left with head and wrist injuries when he was struck by a Honda Civic at about 6.40pm on Windermere Avenue, Milbrook.
Medics arrived at the scene to find the boy in a “serious condition” with wrist and head injuries, the reports.
Police in both areas have now issued a stark warning to would-be pranksters, amid strong feelings the killer clown craze is getting out of hand.
Superintendent Paul Bartolomeo, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: “We don’t want to be killjoys but some of these incidents have been extremely frightening for those involved.
“We would ask people to think about the impact of their actions.
“What to them is a harmless prank, could be an intimidating and threatening experience to others, especially young children and vulnerable people.
“Also, by taking part in this craze, people could find themselves in a situation which leads to a public order incident.
“They could be arrested and ultimately end up with a criminal record.
“These incidents are also taking up valuable police time and resources, and will ultimately have an impact on other calls coming into the control room and officers attending other incidents.”
The craze has now got so out of control that popular circus, Zippos, has announced its shows will no longer feature clowns.
In Wales, the first person to be charged over the craze is Connor Jones.
The 18-year-old was seen hiding to scare kids as they left their lessons, and wearing a black and white jumpsuit with a scary mask.
He was given a Fixed Penalty Notice and fined £90 for a public order offence.
The Sun revealed today that the teenage son of an England football star has been suspended from his private school for making “killer clown” threats to other kids.
The lad was ringleader in a sick social media stunt that caused eight schools to be evacuated. Police were called in.
The craze has become so frustrating for some, that they have formed Clown Hunter groups on Facebook to try and patrol the streets.
Police have warned that taking part in the "killer clown" craze could land you in trouble, and even arrested.
Today, a group of pranksters appeared on Good Morning Britain to defend dressing up as clowns and scaring people, but distanced themselves from the people taking part in the current trend.
Drivers in Manchester were startled to see two clowns running at their cars on Sunday, and a mum-of-two was left with terrified children after one jumped on her car.
Yesterday morning, an Instagram account promised 20 clowns with knives would descend on Essex schools this week.
As many victims have revealed, spotting a killer clown can be a terrifying experience but the police are doing their best to deal with the incidents.
Assistant Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson of Greater Manchester Police told The Sun Online: “The safety of people is our upmost priority; we want people to feel safe going about their daily lives.
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