Couple confronted by '˜ten clowns' down Chesterfield path at night

Ellie Turner, 19, of Avenue Road, Whittington Moor, was walking with her partner along the new cyclepath in Chesterfield which links Queen’s Park to the train station, on Sunday night at about 8.30pm.

To her horror, she was confronted by a line of ten clowns, who she says were about 6ft tall, staring at her in silence.

The apprentice teaching assistant told the Derbyshire Times: “We were walking down the path and my partner just said ‘clowns’.

“I was looking at the floor but when I looked up I jumped back. I thought ‘I’m not walking through them’.

“But my partner said we shouldn’t let them get away with it so we walked towards them and as we got closer they finally parted and let us through.”

Ellie said that the clowns tried to follow her and her partner but they carried on walking and they managed to warn other people who were heading that way.

“There was eight to ten of them all stood there staring at us,” Ellie said.

“They were all about 6ft tall.

“I looked to see if they had weapons.

“When we walked passed them they mumbled something to us.

“They were waiting for people to come.

“It is a very worrying thing.

“We managed to warn a lad and he turned around and went a different way and there was also a man with a dog.

“If there had been anyone walking down there who had a heart problem or who was with kids then they could have had a heart attack.”

Ellie said she called the police but said the force could not locate exactly where she was so is unsure whether officers attended or not.

The Derbyshire Times contacted Derbyshire police who said they had no record of the incident.

In the last two weeks there have been dozens of reports of people dressing as clowns in public places as part of a new ‘craze’ which is sweeping the nation.

On Monday, October 10 a clown was spotted waving outside Hollingwood Primary School and scaring children.

“I am not going down that path again unless it is light,” Ellie added.

“It is a very, very full on joke.

“It was terrifying.

“It is something I will never forget.”