Gimp Man is BACK: Latex-clad weirdo terrifies 19-year-old teaching assistant and her boyfriend in late night Somerset village encounter
- Kiera Elston and her boyfriend were walking home on Sunday when they saw him
- The pair were left terrified by the man, who was dressed in a black latex bodysuit
- Police are carrying out extra patrols after searches for the man did not find him
- There are fears ‘Gimp Man’ who scared villagers in Yatton and Claverham is back
A latex-clad weirdo terrified a 19-year-old and her boyfriend in a late night encounter in their Somerset village, prompting fears that ‘Gimp Man’ is back.
Kiera Elston was walking home in the village of Yatton at around 1am on Sunday, June 26, when her boyfriend noticed a masked man dressed in a gimp suit in the road.
The pair were left terrified by the creepy occurrence and ran away to get away from the bizarre man, who Kiera says looked ‘proud’ with his arms outstretched.
The spooky sighting has prompted fears it is the same ‘Gimp Man’ who has terrorised sleepy villages in the West Country over the last few years.
There have been suspected sightings of the man the nearby village of Claverham in last year and 2019, with police searches for the person responsible coming up empty, with two people who were arrested later released without being charged.
One person who was targeted in July 2019 even managed to get a picture of him, showing him dressed in an all-black latex suit, with a mask covering his entire face.
There are fears ‘Gimp Man’ (pictured here in July 2019) has returned with this latest sighting over the weekend
Kiera Elston (pictured) was walking home with her boyfriend when they came across a man in a latex bodysuit
The latest sighting left Kiera, who works as a teaching assistant, terrified and ‘really shaken up’.
‘It was the most terrifying experience of my life,’ she told the Daily Star.
‘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.’
Kiera’s father, Steve Elston, appealed for help on Facebook finding the man and said he is ‘on the hunt for him’.
He said: ‘Last night my daughter and her boyfriend were approached by gimp man at around 1am at the top of Claverham Road where it meets Yatton High Street.
‘Could you pm me if you have any suspicions as to who he is. Also could people in that area check their doorbell footage please.
‘Kiera was absolutely terrified. She contacted the police who didn’t even come round to take a statement. So I’ll be on the hunt for him myself.’
Kiera’s father, Steve Elston, said she was ‘absolutely terrified’ after the early morning incident
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said the man had not been found after searches by officers.
Police were called just after 1am on Sunday 26 June by a woman reporting seeing a man dressed in a black latex body suit and wearing a mask on Yatton High Street near the Claverham Road roundabout,’ he said.
‘She described him as more than 6 feet tall and slim and said the incident had caused her alarm and distress.
‘Officers carried out a search of the area but found no trace of the man. Neighbourhood officers are following up on the incident and carrying out extra patrols.
‘We’re keeping an open mind as to whether the report is linked to previous incidents in which a similarly-dressed man caused alarm to people in the Claverham and Yatton areas.’
There have been more than 15 sightings of the man since 2018, with the main hotspot being the neighbouring villages of Claverham and Yatton, between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare.
‘Gimp Man’ (pictured here in July 2019) has been terrorising sleepy villages in the West Country since 2018
The last reported incident came in September last year, when a couple who were watching TV spotted a masked man lying in their garden watching them through the French doors.
On that occasion the person responsible fled after the home owner chased him away, while police who were called after the incident were ‘unable to locate the man’.
It came after a break of more than two years, with previous sightings starting in November 2018 and ending in July 2019.
Following a police search in 2019, using helicopters and sniffer dogs, two men, aged 28 and 34, were arrested on suspicion of indecency offences.
However, due to insufficient evidence they were both later released without charge and no further action was taken against them.
The last reported incident was in July 2019, when a person in a black latex bodysuit and mask touching his groin reportedly approached a young woman on the streets.
Officers said they were keeping an open mind as to whether the latest reported incident and the July 2019 incident are linked.
But a woman, who asked not to be named, told the BBC: ‘I’ve got older children and even my kids are saying ‘it’s the gimp man again’.
‘They’re really freaked out by it.
‘But it could be anyone and I want to come from a practical point of view and do something to help people feel safer.’
She said people had reported ‘weird things happening’ recently in the village.
‘I’m not too bothered to walk around on my own but it freaks my children out and I want them to feel safer,’ she added.
One previous victim Abi, 25, said when she heard about the latest sighting: ‘My heart felt like I was running a marathon, [there was] an instant feeling of panic, anxiety and anger again which took me over a year of private counselling and medications to control.
‘If I’m not worrying at home, I’m worrying at work because my wife’s at home and so are many other women.’
Describing her attack she said the man was fully covered in the suit and was ‘coming towards me and was touching his groin, grunting and breathing heavy’.
If you have any information, dashcam or CCTV footage which could help identify the man in the latest incident, please call 101 and give the reference 57 of June 26.
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