The scary clown epidemic which has swept the United States appears to have made it to New Zealand, with calls to the police and an apparent sighting in Porirua.
Police have fielded a number of calls from people "genuinely concerned" by some of the videos posted to social media of people dressed as clowns and confronting the public.
Police believe these are videos from overseas, rather than any shot in New Zealand.
One Porirua mother posted on a community Facebook page that her three sons were playing basketball at Discovery School around 6pm when they spotted a clown.
"My eldest son who is 16 went to go retrieve the ball that bounced away around the back of the building... when he walked around the corner there was a man dressed like a clown lurking behind the building," she wrote.
"He quickly gathered his brothers, ran home and told me what happened. Obviously I called the police."
A police spokesperson told Newshub they went to the school, but couldn't find anyone who matched the description.
"At this stage it appears to be somebodies (sic) idea of a joke, and those who have contacted us have said it isn't very a funny one."
Police told Newshub they don't think there is a risk to public safety and it doesn't appear any laws are being broken.
However, if anyone has concerns for their safety or sees any suspicious behaviour, they should call 111.
They say the alleged incident in Porirua is the only one they're aware of at this point.
The calls to police come after a spate of creepy clown appearances across the US, which are being investigated by police.
In one incident, a schoolgirl allegedly hired a clown to kill her teacher.
Newshub.
