A man dressed in a gimp suit who was heard speaking ‘demon language’ as he writhed in the dirt was sent packing by two young chefs ‘a few beers down’.
The bizarre encounter took place last Tuesday night as the two young men made their way back home from a pub in Cleeve, Bristol.
Alex Warren, 19, and his friend Charlie Bond, 20, had been out celebrating the latter’s birthday and had consumed a few drinks, when they were approached by the man wearing the bodysuit and mask.
It was then they said the man dropped to the ground and began writhing around in the dirt as he spoke ‘some demon language’.
The encounter, on a quiet rural road, is the latest in a string of strange incidents that have seen the gimp suit-wearing man terrorise sleepy west country villages since 2018.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Warren recalled the meeting and how the man was wearing the suit and covered in an ‘earthy liquid’.
He said: “After a minute or two [of rolling around] he realised that we are two lads, a few beers down. My mate is 6ft9ins and a force to be reckoned with. Once the initial shock had turned into humour he got up and took the cigarette.
“I tried to talk to him - human to human - about what is going on and then he gets off. He takes the cigarette off the bench and starts walking away.”
Similar sightings of a gimp suit-wearing man have been reported in surrounding villages over the past few years.
Mr Warren added that whilst the stranger wasn’t a ‘bogey man’ he brought an ‘invisible threat’ to the local community that was causing fear.
He said: "It's not just about the encounter, but the effect it has in waves through the community. It's quite gut-wrenching.”
After the unusual encounter, Mr Warren contacted the police, who brought officers, a dog unit and a police helicopter and swept the area and later arrested a man in his 30s from a local address on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.
Whilst the man has been released on bail he has been subject to a night-time curfew and isn’t allowed to leave his home between 9pm and 6am.
Acting Inspector Lee Kerslake, of the neighbourhood policing team, said: “We responded quickly to this report due to its similarity with other previous incidents which have caused significant alarm and distress to members of the public.
“No one has been physically harmed during any of these incidents but we know they have caused concern to the local community and we are determined to identify the individual or individuals responsible and stop them.
“We continue to keep an open mind about the intentions of the man on Millier Road and whether the incident is linked to any others.
“To reassure the community, we will be carrying out extra patrols in the area and anyone concerned about this, or any other incident, is encouraged to speak to an officer.
"Anyone who saw a man acting suspiciously in the Cleeve, Claverham or Yatton areas overnight Monday/Tuesday or has CCTV, doorbell footage or dashcam which could help our inquiry is asked to get in touch."
Earlier this year, in the earlier hours of June 26, 19-year-old Kiera Elston and her boyfriend Lewis Webb encountered the strange masked man when walking home in the village of Yatton - just over two miles from Cleeve.
The couple were left terrified by the man and Keira told the Daily Star it was “the most terrifying experience of my life.
“I've got the image in my head of him walking towards me and staring. I dread to think what would have happened if I'd been on my own. I'm still really shaken up by it.”
Previous police hunts following sightings left officers empty-handed, and even when two people were arrested they were later released without charges.
