Posted on 03/23/2006 8:01:01 PM PST by Marius3188
Police chiefs have hit out at the dangers posed by the spoof ‘Bigfoot’ craze after a teenager almost lost her baby when a joker clad in a gorilla suit jumped in front of her car.
And the concerns have been echoed by a leading councillor and conservationist, who fears the ‘irresponsible idiots’ are causing harm to wildlife as well as people.
The warnings come as a growing army of Cannock people take to the Chase, often dressed in monkey suits. They have been tempted by The Post’s offer of a free meal for anyone who capture on film the elusive Chase Bigfoot, rumoured to frequent the most secluded areas of our beauty spot.
We reproduce on this page just one of the dozens of ‘sightings’ submitted by our eagle-eyed readers.
The bizarre weekend incident left the eight months pregnant teenager - who does not wish to be named - fearing she would lose her child due to the hysterical state the ‘monster’ left her in.
“I screamed so loud,” the teenager told us from her Heath Hayes home, where she is recovering from the terrifying ordeal.
“It was a real scare. It left me with fears that the trauma of it could have fatally harmed my baby.”
The incident took place around 11pm, in a deserted, dimly-lit woodland road in Brocton, as the 19-year-old girl and her family drove home after a meal in Milford.
“We noticed a BMW parked in the road. Suddenly it flashed its lights.
“Just then, out of nowhere, this person dressed in a gorilla suit jumped out in front of our car, flailing their arms like mad. Then they started running at the car like mad. It was terrifying.
“Looking back it was obviously a fake suit, but late at night, in an isolated area like that, it was a very scary experience.
“In broad daylight, I suppose it could be quite funny, but this was 11 o’clock at night, with no-one around.
“It’s very lonely there.
“If that had been someone with a heart condition, they could’ve had a heart attack.”
The family believe the BMW was in on the act, signalling the ‘monster’ when traffic passed.
The girl’s furious father, who reported the incident to the police, told The Post this week: “If I’d have caught the idiots, I’d have pasted them.”
A spokesperson at Staffordshire Police HQ said yesterday: “We take it very seriously because it may result in a Public Order Offence.
“The person (in the gorilla suit) may very well be in high spirits, but this would be viewed as a criminal offence.”
And leading local councillor John Burnett told us: “This is the behaviour of an irresponsible idiot.
“At this time of year, there are all manner of ground-nesting birds in that area; the partridge, the pheasant, woodlarks, skylarks - many rare birds whose habitat and nesting could be destroyed by this kind of activity.”
n Sightings of a ‘Bigfoot’ creature on Cannock Chase have rocketed in recent months, with eye-witness accounts pouring into The Post on a regular basis, but there have actually been regular occurrances in our area for more than a century.
“The Chase Bigfoot legend has even reached the attention of America’s X-Files,” reported Nick Redfern, who believes readers are seeing something more than a regular animal.
He told The Post: “I think that these creatures are some sort of paranormal thing. I think we are looking at something paranormal, rather than a flesh-and-blood animal.
“I believe the people are definitely seeing something, and don’t believe for one minute they are hoaxing or suffering hallucinations.”
Recent sightings have also placed the beast as far afield as Castle Ring.
Additional reporting by Janet Lee
This is a Darwin award just waiting to happen.
Damn good way to get run over. Or possibly shot. Never bring a gorilla suit to a gunfight.
I looked, but I can't tell.
If "Bigthigh" goes on the rampage, we've got a whole new world of cryptozoological problems to contend with. ;)
Please add me to your crypto ping list. Thanks.
You're welcome.
That's subtly different than "a dingo ate my baby".
But pleasantly similar to "raped by a leprechaun."
Well I'm blind now... I hope you're happy.
Becareful about leprechauns. They are real, and in Mobile, Alabama.
Warning, you will spill coffee watching video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8&search=leprechaun
Also, if you execute a FR search for bigfoot, you get this: Search - Keyword - Bigfoot
Sure there are tons of laughs but it can also be taken seriously. : )
"It might be a crack head."
It's as stupid as Chris.
Some people have a fetish for what Hillary has to offer... You'd be surprised.
Crackhead Leprechaun video ping!
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