A man who goes by the name ‘the Gimp Man of Essex’ has blasted his Somerset counterpart for giving the “whole gimp community a bad reputation”.
The Gimp Man of Essex is a microcelebrity in Colchester, where locals sometimes spot him doing his weekly shop in Tesco, clad head-to-toe in black latex.
He even shared his outings, and posts pictures of himself for stunned onlookers on social media, going by @GimpManofEssex, and has been frequenting his village harmlessly for the past nine years.
When out, he has to be as 'normal as possible', but other gimps haven't quite followed the same rules.
The Gimp Man of Essex looks to use fetish for good, and often organises charity fundraisers - currently linking to a JustGiving page on his TikTok where people can donate to Mind, a mental health charity.
However, he’s far from the only Gimp Man to have appeared in the UK as of late.
Villages across Somerset have reported nearly two dozen sightings of a Gimp man since 2018. A year later, one witness even managed to snap a picture of a man in all-black latex touching his groin in the street.
Victims have said they were left "absolutely terrified" after bumping into a gimp man in the early hours.
Then, on October 27 this year, Alex Warren, 19, and a pal stumbled on a gimp squirming around in the dirt and speaking in tongues in the village of Cleeve.
A police helicopter and squad car were scrambled resulting in a man’s arrest.
The suspect was released on bail on the condition that he does not leave his home between 9pm and 6am. Officers investigated whether all the attacks were carried out by a lone gimp, or a gang of gimps.
For the Gimp Man of Essex, the Somerset counterpart was "100 per cent wrong".
He told The I : "This guy has undone everything the gimp community is trying to do. It gives us all a bad rep.
"Jumping out on women, however you’re dressed, isn’t right. There are innocent guys like me who go out on walks in their gimp suits. This guy is hiding around in the dark at night and scaring people lifeless. That’s different.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if alcohol or drugs were involved. They are asking for trouble terrorising people like that late at night."
