Police say they have not received any reports of a clown committing crimes in Bradford, despite dozens of claims on social media.

Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been alive with chatter about the “Bradford Clown,” with some people claiming the clown is responsible for burglaries and muggings in the city and peering into windows.

Some of the more fanciful claims stated the clown has “snatched children”.

One person even posted a photograph of somebody dressed as a clown standing in the city centre, outside McDonalds.

But West Yorkshire Police yesterday confirmed no clown-related crimes have been reported in the city.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “This seems like it might be a hoax. We haven’t had any reports of crimes committed by a clown.”

The alleged sightings coincided with similar posts on social media about clowns appearing in Sheffield, Hull, Leeds and Scunthorpe.

Last month the “Northampton clown” became an international phenomenon following a number of photographs posted online of a costumed prankster in otherwise mundane locations.

For much of yesterday the word ‘clown’ was the most seached item on the Telegraph & Argus website.

Yesterday afternoon, a tweet was posted on the official West Yorkshire Police feed saying: “There have been no actual sightings reported to police.”