Mayor candidate sorry for 'Donny Klown' conviction

A candidate standing to be Doncaster's next mayor has apologised for incidents in which he was prosecuted for dressing up as the 'Donny Klown' and terrifying two healthcare workers.

Independent candidate Richie Vallance said he was "deeply sorry" for the 2016 public order conviction when he dressed up in a Halloween mask and scared the women on their way to the city's hospital.

Mr Vallance, who wrote that he wanted to tackle anti-social behaviour in the mayoral role, said he was remorseful, adding: "I'm not proud of it but I have changed a lot since then."

He is one of 12 candidates standing to become the directly-elected mayor of the South Yorkshire city on 1 May.

As part of the sentence imposed at the city's magistrates' court in September 2016 for the two incidents, Mr Vallance was banned from wearing a mask or painting his face, the Doncaster Free Press reported.

He was handed a 16-week prison sentence for the offences, which was suspended for 12 months.

A craze of creepy clown sightings swept the UK in 2016. It was believed the incidents followed a trend which began in the US.

The Doncaster mayor's responsibility includes tackling anti-social behaviour and working alongside South Yorkshire Police to bring down crime.

Mr Vallance told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he wore the mask as a protest.

He said: "People started to gang up on me. This was way before I went out dressed as a clown, then I decided I would go out and protest with the mask on.

"I wasn't meant to be out scaring anybody. I put on a mask to hide from the abuse and slander I was getting.

"I'm deeply sorry and remorseful for what I have done. I scared two nurses and I regret that. I'm not proud of it but I have changed a lot since then."

The candidate said, if elected, he wanted to create more jobs for young people and cut waste rather than council budgets.

"At the end of the day, a clown mayor is not what we want.

"We want someone from Doncaster, someone that's local and that's me," he added.

Full list of candidates standing to be Mayor of Doncaster:

Frank Calladine - British Democratic Party

Nick Fletcher – Conservative Party

Alexander Jones – Reform UK

Ros Jones – Labour Party

Andrew Walmsley – Yorkshire Party

David Bettney - Social Democratic Party

Julie Buckley - Green Party

Andy Hiles - Trade Union and Socialist Coalition

Ahsan Jamil – Workers Party of Britain

Mihai Melenciuc – Liberal Democrats

Richie Vallance - Independent

Doug Wright – Independent

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