ESSEX Police has issued a statement warning people against joining the craze of dressing as clowns to scare others.

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.

Essex Police did confirm a clown-related incident took place in Clacton on Wednesday, whereby two schoolgirls were approached by people dressed as clowns who invited them to a birthday party.

He said: "Essex Police is aware of a number of reports from concerned residents across the county relating to people dressed as clowns, specifically near to schools during opening times.

"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.

"There has been huge public interest in these photographs and videos, particularly on social media networking sites which more often than not do not represent accurate reporting.

"This inaccurate reporting is further fuelling the craze and creating a perception of fear in the community.

"We would also like to warn people who are thinking of being actively involved in this craze that in doing so they may commit offences under the Public Order Act 1986 and to be more considerate of the feelings of others, especially young children and the elderly.”

The police said they "do not have capacity to provide details of every incident which has been linked to this craze or involved clowns this week" and confirmed this would be the only statement it would release on "clown incidents".