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The killer clown craze is sweeping the UK and US as masked pranksters continue to terrify schoolchildren and adults in harrowing videos.

But the Northampton Clown spooked residents years earlier after he was snapped around the East Midlands town sporting full make-up and a frizzy red wig.

The mysterious fool amassed a worldwide following after being spotted waving at passers-by, carrying a teddy bear and even a bunch of colourful balloons throughout the autumn of 2013.

The menace took to Instagram today to hint he will be returning to the streets of the UK to show the "foreign clowns" that "he is the original".

(Image: NEWSTEAM / SWNS GROUP) (Image: NEWSTEAM / FACEBOOK)

He wrote: "Time to dust this old thing and show these foreign clowns who the real clown is… #northamptonclown #original #halloween #comeback #northampton #clown".

The brazen prankster was eventually unmasked as Alex Powell, 22, who was studying at Northampton University.

His odd antics appeared on TV news as far afield as US and Australia.

Speaking at the time, Alex said: "Not everyone saw the funny side.

"On Facebook I've had over a thousand death threats. It was just a bit of fun at first and a lot of people seem to enjoy it but it gets a bit hard sometimes with the death threats."

(Image: FACEBOOK / NEWSTEAM)

He added: "I just wanted to amuse people.

"Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out and then they can laugh about it afterwards.

"It's like watching a horror movie, when people get scared they usually start laughing.

"Naturally, some people would have been extremely frightened by what they saw."

(Image: DS)

The craze has led to arrests in six US states and is now gathering pace in the UK.

Knife-wielding clowns spooked kids in County Durham this week.

And terrified shoppers locked themselves in cars as scary "killer clowns" stalked a Tesco car park in Essex on the weekend.