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Two men arrested in connection with incidents of a masked gimp terrorising a sleepy North Somerset village have been released without charge.

Terrified locals in Claverham in Somerset spent the summer in fear after reports that a man clad in a black bodysuit and head mask was approaching people late at night.

Residents spoke of being scared to walk home alone with the latex clad pest on the loose with various stories emerging about freakish encounters.

Some then speculated the area had been plagued by the 'gimp' for years - with police revealing they had already received numerous reports about the odd behaviour.

(Image: BBC)

A police search got underway using helicopters and sniffer dogs and an investigation launched which resulted in two men being arrested on suspicion of indecency offences.

The last reported sighting of the gimp was in July this year.

But whoever is behind the incidents has laid quiet ever since.

Police have now confirmed the two men have been released without charge - and say there have been no further gimp-related incidents.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “Detectives carried out a thorough investigation into a series of incidents in which a man wearing disguises approached people in the Claverham/Yatton area.

“Two men, aged 28 and 34, were arrested on suspicion of indecency offences but due to insufficient evidence were later released with no further action taken against them.

(Image: Copyright unknown)

“Thankfully, we’ve not received any more reports of similar incidents since the most recent report of a man wearing a black body suit approaching a woman on 11 July."

Speaking after an incident in July, one victim said she was afraid to go out following her brush with the leather-suited man.

She told the BBC: "Everything was running through my head. I thought: 'This is it, I'm going to get attacked'.

She added that she had been left feeling "panicked" by the ordeal, which saw her confronted down a dark lane.

She said: "It's not just a man jumping out at me going boo. Every time I close my eyes I just see that face."

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