CLOWNS costumes have been “banned” from this year’s Harwich Guy Carnival to prevent the spread of a terrifying craze.

The “killer clown” fad, which sees people dressed as clowns chase or attack members of the public, originated in the USA and has spread to the UK, Australia and Canada.

Organisers of the Guy Carnival have warned people against dressing as clowns for the town’s family event.

The carnival, which is in its 162nd year, sees residents dress up for a procession through the town, poking fun at topical news items or local issues in a tradition known as “guying”.

Carnival spokesman Chris Root: “We would advise people not to use the Guy Carnival as an excuse to further the crazy clown craze.

“Because of the nature of the Guy Carnival, where people make fun of a topical issue, people may dress up as clowns to poke fun at the craze.

“But the main concern is there are a lot of young people and families here and it could put people off.

“It is a family event and people should not use this as an excuse to dress up as a scary clown.”

The warning comes following an unsubstantiated report a man dressed as a clown chased a teenage jogger in Marine Parade last Thursday night.

Acting Chief Insp Darren Deex has addressed “a number of reports” from concerned residents in Essex and cited posts on social media as being responsible for inaccurately reporting incidents.

Mr Deex said: “It would appear the intentions of these ‘clowns’ is to scare members of the public, however to date there have been no reports of physical threats of harm or violence being caused.

“These incidents follow on from a craze originating in the USA whereby persons dressed as clowns have been photographed or filmed carrying out various acts with the intention of scaring or causing fear.