Duncan Barkes Halloween has gone far too far '“ now that is really scary

Hijacked by yobs, who get their kicks by donning spine-chilling costumes and disrupting the peace, they are enabled in no small way by retailers who sell terrifyingly-grotesque masks more appropriate to hard-core horror movies than the high street.

And I’m not just talking about gangs of boorish teens who enterprisingly use this time of year to get a few quid for a packet of ciggies and a bottle of cider through trick or treating.