The owners of Adelaide’s Loritz Circus have been left feeling deflated after an opportunistic thief stole one of their inflatable clowns from a petrol station.

South Australian police believe the thief, “who does not suffer from coulrophobia (a fear of clowns)”, took the four-metre clown around midday on Friday from the service station on Old South Road in Old Reynalla.

The clown was deflated at the time, and has not been seen since.

Police have appealed for the thief to stop clowning around and return the beloved spectacle.

The clown was similar to this, however police say it was smaller and not inflated at the time. (SA police)