Is this video evidence that creepy clowns really are in the UK?

As sightings of creepy clowns spread around the world, a video has emerged of a scary clown in the UK.

It's not clear if it's genuine evidence of an ongoing menacing trend or a harmless joke. But it has raised concerns.

The video shows a man wearing a scary mask while walking down the road in Ashton-under-Lyne, near Manchester.

Graham Alan Lowndes-Buckley was on his way home when he spotted a figure wearing a hockey mask and a "blood-covered poncho".

He posted a video of the sighting to Facebook.

"I swear to f*****g god I've just seen a clown walking through Ashton," he wrote. "The guy had a hockey mask covered in blood, a poncho with blood on the back and front...just walking down the street staring at people and pointing then shouting. They're here. #Ashtonclown."

He later told Manchester Evening News: “I’ve seen the videos in the news about America and how this ‘craze’ is spreading but never expected to see it for real. I’m just glad it wasn’t around the time schools finish, otherwise there would have been madness.”

At least six clown-related incidents have been reported in Newcastle since Sept. 30, leaving parents and teachers very worried, according to Northumbria Police. 

Nobody has been attacked or injured in the incidents, which saw pranksters dressed up as clowns, leaping out from bushes and chasing pedestrians down the streets. 

A teenage boy has been arrested in Blakelaw, near Newcastle, in possession of a "bladed article" in connection with the incidents, police said. 

Police believe the pranksters are inspired by similar behaviour in the U.S., where there have been clown sightings in at least six states.