Student arrested over 'killer clown' incident says it was for a YouTube video that got 'blown way out of proportion'

A student who was arrested for brandishing a chainsaw dressed as a "killer clown" on a university campus has claimed he did not intend to terrorise people, saying it was for a YouTube video.

Police said the teenager was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence after he was seen dressed as a clown and chasing people with a chainsaw at Brunel University in Uxbridge.

But the 19-year-old, known as Kenny, has denied he was participating in the “killer clown” movement currently sweeping the UK, explaining he was filming a “pre-planned” video for his YouTube channel and that it had been “blown way out of proportion”.

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In response to video footage of the incident posted on Twitter by an onlooker, Kenny tweeted: "I was filming a video with my friends and it looks like I was terrorrising. I didn't expect it to be like this. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube similar to mine.

"My mistake was not asking for permission before filming therefore people thought it was a terror act. I took my mask off and explained to everyone that I was only filming a video but they didn't record that part. It got blown way out of proportion."

The Media Studies student is reportedly facing disciplinary procedures from Brunel’s security team and is no longer allowed to film on campus without permission after he turned himself in for the prank.

In a statement, Brunel’s security operations manager, Terry Vass, said: “Someone dressed as a clown and carrying what appeared to be a chainsaw was seen on the campus on Saturday night.

“Although we can’t confirm whether the chainsaw was real or not, we take such incidents and our students’ safety extremely seriously."

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest, saying: “Police in Uxbridge are investigating a series of public order offences at Brunel University on Kingston Lane have made an arrest.

“It was reported that between 7.30pm on Saturday, 8 October and 1.30am on Sunday, 9 October, a man dressed in a clown costume had deliberately frightened a number of people.

“The incident was reported to police on Tuesday, 11 October. On the same day, a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. He is currently in custody at a west London police station.”

There has been a wave of reports of so-called 'Killer Clowns' incidents in London and across the UK over the past week, after the craze took hold in the US in September.

Commander Julian Bennett, lead for the Autumn Nights Campaign for the Met Police, said: “We are currently accessing a small number of reported 'Killer Clown' incidents in London, three of which meet the threshold of a criminal offence.

“Our primary responsibility is indentifying and investigating those incidents where a criminal offence has occurred. However, anti-social behaviour can leave people feeling scared, anxious and intimidated and I would urge those who are causing fear and alarm to carefully consider the impact their actions have on others."

Commander Bennet added that "in the run up to Halloween it is likely that these types of incidents will increase", but reassured people that the police would be carrying out "additional reassurance patrols" during this period to protect those who are "especially vulnerable".

She warned: “Whilst we do not want to stop people from enjoying themselves it is important that while having fun they remember to act in a responsible manner and understand that they could be prosecuted if a criminal offence is committed.”