Sinister gnomes emblazoned with cryptic messages were tied to lamp posts in Seaford in a Friday the 13th prank.
The unexpected visitors appeared in Broad Street overnight on Thursday greeting shoppers on Friday the 13th — a day synonymous with bad luck.
They were sellotaped to lampposts along the main shopping street and one was even found on a CCTV camera.
Some had been blindfolded, and one even had a spade in its eye whilst others were red-eyed.
With cryptic and bizarre messages including 'I am destruction' and 'take a bite of my ear, it tastes like falling in love', the gnomes certainly got passers-by talking.
One man questioned whether the gnomes were a new council initiative to keep away pigeons whilst others were delighted by the prank.
But police said they are now looking for the people behind it as it has emerged the gnomes may have been stolen from a shop in Lewes.
Sergeant David Kemp, of Seaford Police, said, "The little fellows appear to have been stolen from premises in Lewes.
He joked, "Once we have debriefed them and examined the CCTV footage I anticipate we will be visiting someone with a view to an arrest."
The gnomes were removed by council workers and have been handed to the police as evidence.
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