Festival fairy clown a handful for police

Attempts by police to arrest a festive Johannesburg milliner, for alleged drunk driving at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown on Friday night, could have been lifted from a scene at the Mad Hatter's tea party after she allegedly kicked a policeman in the groin as she resisted arrest, refused to have her blood drawn and provided false information.

Festival rush-hour traffic ground to a halt as police closed Prince Alfred Street and six traffic and police officers struggled to pacify hatmaker and fairy clown stiltwalker Anthea Stylianou, 47, as she kicked and screamed through the drama. At one point she pushed her head out of a police van and yelled: "Someone please call Dali Tambo!"

Captain Milanda Coetzer said her warrant officer husband Tim was kicked by Stylianou on his "hernia site" and spent hours in hospital retching from the pain. Officers said Stylianou would only "suck" on a breathalyser.

She was freed on R2000 bail after a weekend in jail, and is due back in court on August 31.

On clowns.co.za Stylianou is described as a "larger than life foolish fairy" who "will tickle and dust away your daily grinds with her magic featherduster and transport you to a place where being serious is against the law".

- David MacGregor and Mike Loewe/TimesLIVE