A man was arrested in West London on Tuesday afternoon (11 October) after police received reports of someone driving in a 'killer clown' mask and holding a firearm. The man was arrested on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm.

Reports came in to police in Hayes, West London, around 3:45pm on Tuesday and the man was stopped in Hillingdon and taken to a west London police station.

The 'killer clown' craze has been sweeping the US and UK in recent weeks, prompting one force to say that it was 'tying up police resources'. Commander Julian Bennett also released a statement Tuesday saying that there had so far been three 'killer clown' incidents that "meet the threshold of a criminal offence."

"Anti-social behaviour can leave people feeling scared, anxious and intimidated and I would urge those who are causing fear and alarm to carefully consider the impact their actions have on others." He added that they thought there would be an increase in incidents in the run up to Halloween.

"Whilst we do not want to stop people from enjoying themselves it is important that while having fun they remember to act in a responsible manner and understand that they could be prosecuted if a criminal offence is committed."

Though some people are not being scared so easily. Cambridgeshire police were called after someone in a clown mask jumped out at a passer-by, possibly while holding something. That clown got more than he bargained for when the pass-by reacted by punching him in the face.

Even Ronald McDonald isn't safe from the hysteria, with reports saying that McDonald's has decided to restrict the amount of outings Ronald McDonald gets for the time being.

London