The disturbing rise of men in gimp suits terrifying women across the UK

A ban on masks and wriggling hasn’t stopped gimps from terrorising the British public.

The gimp men lurking in the dark first came to attention when a figure in a black bodysuit and face covering appeared on country lanes in Somerset in 2019.

He pounced from the shadows, grunting with heathy breath, sparking fear with his red eyes, stitched mouth and a stench that lingered.

One woman said: ‘I thought [it] was a badger.

‘As I got closer I could see it wasn’t, but in fact a man with a mask on, who was crawling and writhing on the ground.

‘His mask had two white crosses on his eyes and he was in all black.

‘I have honestly never been so frightened in my entire life and drove away so fast.’

For years the ‘Somerset Gimp’ unleashed a wave of anxiety that left people travelling in packs, terrified of being chased by the latex-clad man prowling villages near Claverham and Yatton.

The gimp crawling and writhing in the mud (Picture: BBC)

Police recovered these item of clothing from Joshua Hunt moments after he said: ‘I am not a gimp, I do not own a gimp suit’ (Picture: Avon and Somerset Police / PA)

One of his victims, Lucy Lodge, said: ‘My first thought was it could be a possible abduction and the person was trying to get me out of my car.

‘It was terrifying although I had only seen them for a few seconds.’

She added: ‘I didn’t sleep more than three hours that night.’

It seemed this reign of terror was finally over after a man was arrested minutes after one last midnight sighting in May 2023.

Joshua Hunt, a gardener, was linked to 25 incidents committed by the so-called ‘Somerset Gimp’.

The 32-year-old was handed a sexual risk order banning him from ‘crawling, wriggling or writhing on the ground’ in a full black bodysuit or mask in public for five years.

It also bans him from wearing or possessing the clothing, and places him on the sex offenders’ register for the duration.

But it seems Hunt was not the only gimp on the loose.

Two of Hunt’s victims feared he was just a copycat and the ‘real Somerset Gimp’ may still be at large.

Given sightings elsewhere in the country – from a gimp watching Shakespeare to a man exposing himself to girls – they may have reason to be afraid.

Gloucester

The unidentified ‘gimp’ was described as ‘scrawny’ and ‘menacing’ (Picture: GloucestershireLive/BPM Media)

A shadowy black-clad figure scared trick or treaters in a village near Gloucester in November, less than a week after Hunt was found guilty.

The ominous figure was captured running across a Twigworth road in a picture distorted by motion blur on Halloween last year.

James Patterson, who lives in the village, said: ‘I was just taking my son out trick or treating when I saw a black, scrawny, somewhat menacing-looking figure in darting and dodging down the roads in the Bloor housing estate.’

Essex

The married dad known as the Gimp Man of Essex shares his exploits on TikTok (Picture: @gimpmanofessex

The true identity of ‘The Gimp Man of Essex’ is still unknown after 10 years.

He went viral during the Covid-19 pandemic when he went shopping at Tesco while dressed in full gimp gear.

‘Some people make assumptions that I am a paedophile or a pervert, and think I must be into some horrible things’, he said.

But the Essex Gimp has been around since at least 2014 when he started donating £1 to the Colchester Mind charity each time someone took a photo next to him and uploaded it on his Facebook page.

So far he claims to have raised close to £3,000 for local mental health charities, MailOnline reported.

Fife

The gimp exposed himself to teenage girls (Picture: Rabbit Braes Development Group/Facebook)

Two teenage girls were having a picnic at Rabbit Braes, Kirkcaldy when a man wearing nothing but a gimp mask, shoes and sunglasses walked past and exposed himself back in June 2020.

He turned towards them when he realised he’d been caught on camera, at which point one of the girls told her phone: ‘Siri, phone mum.’

The girl’s mother said: ‘He walked right past them, brazen as anything. He stared at them all the time, never uttered a word.

‘He just casually walked past, no hurry, he just kind of swaggered past.’

Sussex

Another gimp man woke up with the lark to terrify a dog walker in Sussex at around 7.30am one day last month, MailOnline reported.

The witness said: ‘He was tall, olive-skinned. He was wearing a black balaclava, blue beanie, black long-sleeved top and women’s black tights (very see-through).

‘He interacted with myself and my dog before then bending over and exposing himself to me.

‘I then walked away and he followed me, I had to run up onto the Balcombe Road and he didn’t follow me to the main road.’

Suffolk

A masked gimp has also terrified the people of Bungay, Suffolk in recent months, including a schoolgirl.

He’s been seen clad in a dark top, green combat trousers, green wellington boots and a hood and mask that cover his face.

A Suffolk Constabulary spokesperson said: ‘I can confirm that police did receive a report [about the girl].

‘Although it cannot be proven whether or not this individual was deliberately following the girl concerned, she has been spoken to by officers and has been given appropriate safety advice and told to call 999 if ever she felt threatened.’

London

A man watched Shakespeare in full gimp gear at The Globe (Picture: Jeremy Richards/ iStock Editorial / Getty Images)

Theatregoers were stunned when a man wore a blue latex suit to a matinee performance of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors at The Globe in London.

People expressed alarm that the gimp was allowed to stay in the venue where children were present.

But the duty manager seemed most concerned ‘the patron might’ve overheated’ in the suit during the appearance in May last year.

In an internal report they noted that the children’s reaction to the ‘man in a full fetish outfit was not recorded’.

A complainant said: ‘Even if a child doesn’t know what a latex suit is or the sexual connotations, it’s still a very scary sight and puts parents in a very uncomfortable position when it comes to explaining to their children what is going on.’

The theatre manager replied: ‘As the outfit did not contain offensive or discriminatory slogans or wording, the decision was taken to permit the visitor to remain on site.’

Some gimps have expressed outrage at the Somerset Gimp and other fetish forays into public.

Humphrey, a gimp who spoke to Metro.co.uk in 2019, said: ‘There’s a huge difference between consensual fetish play – the type of stuff I do for fun – and being a predator.’

The 40-year-old doctor loves wearing skintight rubber and latex suits in his free time.

He said: ‘I’ve met dozens of men and women who love rubber costumes, and none of them would dream of lurking around in the shadows grunting at non-consenting pedestrians.’

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