It's a bizarre trend which has only just popped up on Twitter - but it seems everyone is sharing their stories of #NorfolkCensusBearDay.
According to the tongue-in-cheek urban legend (which appears to have only materialised in the last few days) a bear could turn up on your doorstep if you don't have proof of being a Norfolk resident - spelling trouble for tourists.
People in Norfolk have been sharing their experiences of the “much-loved and feared tradition".
The #NorfolkCensusBearDay hashtag has been trending on Twitter as Norfolk residents and holiday makers have been sharing their “grizzly” stories.
As the story goes, every Wednesday if you are not local to the county or you fail to prove your place of residency you may be attacked, eaten or kidnapped by the census bears.
Comedian Chris Addison joined in on the trend and asked Twitter users for their #NorfolkCensusBearDay experiences.
He wrote: “Hi, Twits. I need your help. My daughter (13) is absolutely convinced I was lying to her when I said that every Wednesday is Norfolk Census Bear Day, on which a bear visits every house in Norfolk and eats the citizens who aren’t supposed to be there. (1/2).
“It would be tremendously helpful to her, and also to me, if you were to tweet (not as a reply to this) your #NorfolkCensusBearDay experiences to confirm the existence of this ancient and much beloved/feared tradition.”
Social media user Al Stewart tweeted: “What a disastrous and traumatising day. I totally misheard this thing and was expecting a beer to be supplied to every house in Norfolk, only to open the door and a *bear* enter and devour my house guest. That's it, I'm moving to Suffolk. #NorfolkCensusBearDay
Another wrote: “If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise. If you go down to the woods today you'd better go in disguise, because.... It's #NorfolkCensusBearDay obviously. Seriously stay safe out there and respect the bears. They're just doing their jobs.”
Matt Eason tweeted: “Tip for #NorfolkCensusBearDay - the bear may ask you how to pronounce Happisburgh in order to establish your residence status. Be prepared.”
Simon Grant wrote: “We holidayed near Cromer last summer, completely forgetting about #NorfolkCensusBearDay. It was a disaster and my brother in law now has PTSD. This year we flew to a red list country, as it was much less stressful.”
“Visited a friend in Stalham last Wednesday on the spur of the moment and she shoved me in a cupboard to hide because of #NorfolkCensusBearDay,” tweeted another. “I’m still too scared to come out and have run out of Curly Wurlies.”
Another added: “As a born & bred Norfolk-ite, I’m usually safe on #NorfolkCensusBearDay… Hubby however is a Yorkshireman, & although he’s been here nearly 20 yrs… we’ve taught the dog how to savage a bear just in case.”
Geoff Woade tweeted: “I once visited Cromer on #NorfolkCensusBearDay. Got chased from the shore to my car and narrowly escaped with my life. I will never return, not even for my trousers.”
One person wrote: “It's #NorfolkCensusBearDay. 22 wounded. 5 missing. 23 litres of honey stolen. Or as we call it on the Broads: "A Good Year".”
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