Australian clown arrested for chasing girls

Australian clown arrested for chasing girls

The clown frenzy has well and truly swept across Australia, with police kept busy with sightings - even arresting a teenager for chasing a group of girls.

A 19-year-old man was taken into custody at the weekend after it was reported he scared the group near a shopping centre in Northam, Western Australia, while wearing a mask and blue boiler suit with white gloves.

Australian clown arrested for chasing girls

 

The teen's costume laid out by officer (Western Australia Police / Facebook)

The incident happened around 9:30pm and the teenage girls were chased around 700m to the local police station.

The arrest was an easy one for police, who just had to open their front door and do a bit of chasing themselves and run the clown down a short distance away.

Australian clown arrested for chasing girls

 

It didn't take police long to make the arrest (Western Australia Police / Facebook)

He now faces charges of disorderly behaviour and possession of a disguise, the latter is only a criminal offence if used in conjunction with another crime.

In another weekend incident, a woman reported hitting a pedestrian dressed as a clown with her Holden Cruze just off the Tonkin Highway, also in Western Australia.

The pedestrian was reported to have run into nearby bush while the woman called police.

However, paramedics, the police Airwing and a dog unit, all sent to the scene, couldn't find a trace.

They're the latest in a number of creepy clown sightings across at least Australia, New Zealand and the United States which have spooked residents and sparked a flurry of calls to local police.

In Hamilton on Saturday, police started a search for two men dressed as clowns, after they allegedly assaulted a 22-year-old woman

It is a craze one New Zealand sociologist says will continue until at least Halloween, with videos only fuelling the trend.

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