People dressed as Plague Doctors frightening communities across Dumfries in social media 'craze'

People across Dumfries have been dressing up in a crow mask and a black cape as part of the ‘latest craze’ on social media.

Police in the area have released an appeal hoping to trace individuals who are dressing up in these plague doctor outfits as they are frightening the public.

They did add that despite social media reports that those dressing up in these outfits have acted violently, no crimes of this nature have been reported to the police.

Their statement confirmed: “You will have seen our previous post seeking to identify a person or people reported to have been in various areas of Dumfries wearing a crow mask and a black coat or cape in recent days.

People have been frightened by 'plague doctors' appearing across Dumfries.

“It would appear this is the latest craze circulating through social media platforms and across many areas of the country.

“To date, local officers have received 3 separate reports about people dressed in so-called “Plague Doctor” outfits which has caused the public concern.

"In one such instance they have purposely frightened two children by their behaviour and in another have been seen near to a school where parents and teachers were understandably worried about their presence and intentions.

“Whilst some may see this as harmless, these costumes and this type of behaviour combined can be very upsetting and cause young people and others in the community to be frightened and anxious.

"That is unacceptable and a person whose behaviour places another in a state of fear or alarm can be charged with a criminal offence.

Anybody with any information should contact the Police on 101 quoting incident number 1560 of 22/03/21.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.