A 'KILLER clown' craze which took off in the UK last year with a number of sightings, appears to be back.

Police were called after a person dressed as a killer clown was sighted in the Essex town of Chelmsford on Sunday (September 3).

It has been speculated that the return could also be linked to the release of the remake of Steven King’s film “It” – which features a murderous clown.

A spate of incidents were reported across South Gloucestershire and Gloucesteshire and the UK last October as the ‘killer clown’ phenomenon gripped the nation, sparking widespread terror.

Last year, people dressed as clowns were seen in green spaces in Thornbury and by the Dudbridge roundabout in Stroud, holding balloons and chasing motorists.

At the time, Avon and Somerset and Gloucestershire Police both urged people to be vigilant after receiving several reports of people dressed as clowns acting suspiciously, following people or wielding knives.