A MAN dressed as a clown has been flooding our Facebook page for the last week.

It follows a nationwide craze which has seen people dressed as creepy clowns lurking around streets at night and staring into house windows.

Users on Facebook and Twitter posted that someone dressed as a clown was standing at bus stops in Barnsley holding balloons, outside people's homes and knocking on windows.

A 'Barnsley Clown' Facebook page was set up and has so far had nearly 3,000 'likes'.

According to internet reports, the clown in Barnsley has been seen on streets in Goldthorpe, Darfield, Wombwell, Lundwood and Ardsley.

The man claiming to be the 'Barnsley Clown' posted: "I'm not out to tap on people's windows or carry weapons.

"Rumours have started about the Barnsley Clown and some are getting out of hand. People who have seen me know I'm out for a laugh."

The clown sightings prompted a flurry of comments from Facebook users, prompting innumerable parents to urge the clown to stop as kids in the borough were becoming scared.

Some slammed the clown's attempts at 'having a laugh' while others encouraged him to continue.

Lisa Millward Slater said: "If you like dressing up (which obviously you do) and entertaining people then why don't you grab yourself a cute bear costume or something similar and entertain the poorly kids on a children's ward at a hospital?

"This would be a much more constructive thing to do with all this spare time that you obviously have."

Sophie Elizabeth Johnson wrote: "Sorry but this clown thing is really annoying and it's upsetting children, I think you really need to think about it."

But other users saw the funny side. Ebony Bailey posted: "Can you come to Goldthorpe again tomorrow near Ben Bailey's estate and can you give me a balloon please?"

South Yorkshire Police confirmed it was aware of a number of reports circulating on social media of a clown being seen on the streets of South Yorkshire.

Det Ch Insp Mark Wilkie said: "There are plenty of clowns in Barnsley but we have not had any incidents reported relating to these types of clowns."