Exclusive: Burnley Clown’s 100 death threat fears

Spot the Burnley Clown has exclusively revealed to the Burnley Express that he has received almost 100 death threats through his Facebook page since first donning the wig in September.

He said he only started clowning around to try and make people smile and could not understand why some members of the public were running scared and posting death threats.

“I have received some messaged privately and some on my Facebook wall. It is very scary but the people sending them don’t realise I am quite a big man.

“I have been all over Burnley, including Rosehill, Rosegrove and Gannow. No-one threatens me when they see me they just run away for some reason or else shout ‘get off my windows’ and nasty things like that. Woof woof.”

When asked what he’d like to say to the people threatening him, he replied: “Stop threatening me, I am just a clown trying to make new friends. Woof woof.”

His outrageous escapades have not only become the talk of the town but have also firmly divided it. Many see it as harmless high jinks but some believe he needs to grow up and stop scaring people.

Police have moved to reassure the public after receiving a number of calls from concerned residents while schools have sent out letters to parents advising them about “stranger danger” in light of the rumours.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said: “Police have received a number of calls from concerned members of the public in Burnley and the surrounding areas with regards to a man dressed as a clown reportedly in possession of a baseball bat.

“The calls have come as a result of various postings on Facebook as well as a dedicated page ‘Spot the Burnley Clown’, with comments becoming more and more exaggerated.

“We would like to reassure people that there is no foundation for any of these reports and we have had no first hand reports of any incidents of violence or intimidation.

“We would urge people to only report first hand instances of suspicious behaviour and try to avoid repeating gossip and third hand information. When people start to talk about incidents like this on social media, without any malicious intent, stories can become confused and sometimes exaggerated and people should bear this in mind.”

Spot the Burnley Clown still believes there is room for clowns in Burnley though.

“I have become a clown because I want to make the world a nicer place.

“I would like to live in a society that accepts clowns for who they are but sadly anti-clown racism still exists. Maybe they should have parks where clowns and people can co-exist like multi-faith centres. Woof woof

“I would never scare a child. Children are the future. The one thing I am sorry about is if any children have been scared by me being a clown. That wasn’t my aim and I make sure not to go clowning around when children are going home from school as I would not want to scare them. Woof woof.”

With only size 10 feet, a fear of clowns himself and an apparent inability to juggle, it may be some time before this Burnley clown leaves for the circus, although the cold weather may have some bearing on that.

“I am going to keep clowning around until a strong frost settles then it will be too cold,” he said. “Woof woof.”