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" The creepy clown craze that has been taking over the US, has recently made it&amp;#039;s way to UK soil \u2013 and the worrying trend has prompted concern from many. The distressing nature of this fad has meant the charity Childline was contacted by 120 frightened children in just one week. The charity said 25% of these calls were from under-11s, while a third were from those aged 12-15. The majority of calls came from Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham.  What is this &amp;#039;clown craze&amp;#039; all about?  The perturbing phenomenon started in Greenville County, South Carolina over the summer, where reports surfaced of clowns trying to lure and scare children. Clown sightings then emerged across various other states.  Reports suggest hundreds of copycat incidents have occurred across some parts of the UK, such as a man being chased down the street by a stranger in a clown mask and claims that children have been scared by an axe-wielding clown. Greater London Metropolitan police have warned that those dressing up as &amp;#039;killer clowns&amp;#039; and intimidating others may be accused of a criminal offence.  Children have also been targeted online, with a reported case of a girl being violently threatened via a social media platform.   What are the experts saying?  Head of Childline John Cameron said:   &amp;quot;There is a worrying trend at the moment with some individuals, be they older children or adults, deliberately seeking to dress up in a way not to entertain but to behave in a very scary and threatening way\u2026 That&amp;#039;s a conscious behaviour and should not be tolerated. Sometimes people don&amp;#039;t understand the impact that can have.&amp;quot;  He urged people to act responsibly around Halloween and has asked parents to remind older children that they have a duty when running around the streets not to be threatening or intimidating. Fancy dress shops have also been urged not to stock clown costumes this Halloween.  As well as blocking or reporting abusive messages on social media, the NSPCC has highlighted the importance for children to talk to parents or teachers, call the police if they feel immediately threatened while out and about or contact ChildLine for help and advice.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a27117/clown-craze-sweeping-uk-causes-surge-of-calls-to-childline/>