INTIMIDATING clowns have been spotted in the Thames Valley with one threatening to target girls at a Slough school.

A craze sweeping the country of people dressed in scary clown outfits and threatening or intimidating members of the public arrived in Berkshire early in the week.

A post on social media threatened to target pupils at Baylis Court School in Slough on Monday, and there have also been reports of a man being chased as he left work on Monday evening.

The Clown of Baylis Instagram account posted a picture on Sunday of a clown on a tricycle, with the message “Beware pretty girls I’m coming”. The description of the account is “Clown of Baylis... going to Baylis school on Monday for all the pretty girls.”

The comments underneath the image indicated that the clown did not appear at the school on Monday. The Gloucester Avenue school confirmed it had received reports about the clown, but declined to make any further comment.

Another Instagram account also threatened to visit Burnham Grammar School, with the ominous message of “we’re coming”, and there were reports of a clown entering Dedworth Middle School in Windsor on Tuesday lunchtime.

It was also reported on social media that a man was chased from work in Dundee Road by a person in a clown outfit who was carrying a hammer, and a girl was chased in Maidenhead close to the Magnet Leisure Centre on Tuesday night.

Thames Valley Police declined to provide any further details of the incidents or whether they are being investigated.

Police officers were called to a number of incidents across the Thames Valley, with 14 incidents recorded in a 24 hour period over Saturday and Sunday of people being intimidated or frightened by others dressed as clowns.

Chief Supt Andy Boyd, head of neighbourhood policing, said: “While we do not want to be accused of stopping people enjoying themselves we would also ask those same people to think of the impact of their behaviour on others and themselves.

“Their actions can cause fear and anxiety to other people, this could be perceived to be intimidating and threatening which could lead to public order offences, arrest and a criminal record.

“In addition, their behaviour is causing multiple reports to our call takers and is tying up police resources which could impact on calls to other incidents.

“While we realise that reports of this kind are not restricted to the Thames Valley area, the issues of intimidation, potential arrest and waste of public resources are the same across the country and we would urge people to refrain from such activity.”

Anyone with concerns about the clowns should report them to police on 101.