The three boys took refuge with female stranger, who called the police and then went outside to chase the clown away.  

 

“It’s extremely uncomfortable because it creates so much fear,” Lars Mogensen, from the Mid and West Zealand police told the local TV Øst news station.

 

Heidi Bønlykkes, from Dalmose, a village north of Næstved in Zealand, said her 12-year-old son, who has not been chased by a clown, was now so terrified of the clowns that he was refusing to leave the house. 

 

“He's terrified of going out. He doesn’t even dare walk the ten meters from the car to my parents’ house alone,” she said.  “There are many thoughts running through his head, and I am sure that he is not the only child who is like that.” 

 

Danish Police on Wednesday warned those dressing up as clowns that they were at risk of violent attacks from the growing number of “clown-hunter” vigilante groups.

 

“Vigilantism is not the way to do it,” warned Ole Hald of the South Zealand police. “If people see a clown, they should report it to the police, otherwise it might end badly. If the people chasing clowns are carrying clubs and knives, they risk being fined for contravening the Weapons Act.” 

 

According to TV Øst more than 1,100 people have signed up on Facebook to hunt clowns around Næstved in Zealand on November 5.