It's official. The world has gone stark raving mad.

A scared rabbit

A Terrorist

The leader of the free world

Police in the quiet seaside town of Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, have banned residents (and visitors presumably) from wearing woolly balaclava's, on the premise that, in wearing such an item of clothing, they might easily be mistaken for terrorists and would frighten any old age pensioners who pass them in the street.

The Police have even gone so far as to declare a "Balaclava Amnesty" and are appealing for all balaclava wearers to hand in the offending headgear to their local police station or face being arrested if they are seen in public.

Putting aside the fact that Stonehaven is about as far from being a hotbed of Al-Quaida activity as it is possible to get, it is perhaps also worth bearing in mind that for most of the year in Stonehaven the wind rips in from the North Sea like a thousand icy whips, thrashing any exposed flesh into a state of flagellated red-rawness within seconds.

If ever there was a place where balaclava's were needed, it's Stonehaven.

Legal experts have, not surprisingly, blasted the clampdown and have likened the ban to arresting somebody on suspicion of burglary because they are wearing a stripey jumper.

Accordingly, FirstFoot can't wait for the first case of "Balaclava wearing with wilful intent to scare a granny" to get to court, and we will inform our readers if and when it occurs.