A MAN who tried to spook Blandford residents with a clown mask was fined for a parking offence.

Police stopped the 23-year-old local man after he parked his car on a zig zag line in East Street on Sunday, October 16.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said the man was given a Fixed Penalty Notice of £120 and three points on his licence.

“Officers also gave him strong words of advice about a clown mask in the car and the concern it could have caused to people, especially young people," the spokesperson said.

Police have dealt with a number of reports of clown sightings across Dorset since the ‘killer clown’ craze hit the UK.

Last Wednesday, they received eight individual calls reporting clown sightings, including one at the copse behind Bournemouth School and another opposite The Bishop of Winchester Academy on Mallard Road.