Despite the recent arrest and conviction of local man Joshua Hunt, who was caught by police in very suspicious circumstances, the traumatised victims of the Somerset Gimp are still living in fear. After all, what if police got the wrong man?
Samantha Farmer and Chloe Smith believe Hunt, 32, may have been a copycat gimp and that the real gimp that they encountered when driving along a country lane near Bleadon, north Somerset last May, might still be on the loose.
The Somerset Gimp was stood in the middle of the road in a full-body skin-tight black outfit, including a mask with a scary face he had drawn with a glow-in-the-dark pen, which was obviously a terrifying sight for the two ladies.
Samantha told the Daily Star: ‘I know he has been convicted but I think Joshua Hunt is a copycat. The real Somerset Gimp could still be out there. Having seen previous videos and pictures of the so-called Somerset Gimp, it just looks like a different body shape, a different man.’
Original sightings of the gimp date back to 2018, so she could be onto something there. Who’s to say that a bunch of other weird men weren’t inspired by the original Somerset Gimp, and went out roaming the streets of Somerset at night in their gimp suits.
Samantha continues: ‘I’m terrified the real gimp still out there. Near my home, targeting us. I have flashbacks all of the time. I have nightmares.’
Hunt was convicted of two offences under the Public Order Act of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress. Police also revealed he had made internet searches in 2022 and 2023 about the ‘Somerset Gimp’ and the ‘Gimp of Cleeve’. Plus, these were found in his van:
The gardener was banned for five years from dressing in the suit in public at night and ‘crawling, wriggling or writhing on the ground’. He was also prevented from wearing any type of mask or face covering unless for medical reasons, and must pay £200 to each of three victims on top of a £100 fine.
Can’t the gimps of Somerset start some kind of club where they can all don their gimp suits together in private? The Colchester Gimp would be all over it, no doubt.
