'The clowns are coming' 

This message has been spray painted across a sign in Harrow.

A 'killer clown' craze is sweeping the UK, and people have reported sightings in North London over the last few months.

This sign could be a reference to this craze or the Fantasia circus that caused controversy after people feared it would damage Alexandra Park. 

There have recently been several reports in London of people dressing up as ‘killer clowns’ to scare and intimidate residents, with rumoured sightings including in Harrow and  Barnet. 

Pinner’s West Lodge Primary School in West End Lane, was on guard after receiving ‘warning letters’ from ‘killer clowns’.

This prompted the school to give children “stranger danger” talks and given tips to avoid dangerous situations, although “killer clowns” were not explicitly mentioned.

In just one week, ChildLine received 120 calls from children terrified over ‘killer clown sighting’ in the UK.

In an Autumn nights campaign launched by the Met Police, a report read: “London has also had a number of so-called 'Killer clown' incidents in the last few weeks, whereby people dress as clowns - sometimes armed with weapons - in order to scare and intimidate others.

“Whilst the number of these incidents which are considered crimes is low, it is important that those who are out and about during Halloween understand that intentionally causing fear, alarm or distress is considered a criminal offence under the public order act.

“We will be working closely with our partners to detect and respond to any incidents.”