A Cyberman has been spotted roaming the streets of Swadlincote.
Stephen Griffiths spotted the famous Doctor Who alien as he was sat in his car in Alexander Road, which can be seen hesitating for a moment before marching down the pavement.
If the Cybermen still terrify you from your memories as a child, fear not – the video was planned and set up by Doctor Who fanatic Stephen himself.
Mr Griffiths, who is a DJ of 35 years and a paranormal investigator, owns a wide selection of Doctor Who models, all of which are built from scratch.
The impressive collection includes Dalek Caan and Dalek Sec, members of the Cult of Skaro, an elite order of Daleks, valued at around £2,000 each.
Lovable robot dog K9 is also part of the assortment, along with Dalek creator Davros, the TARDIS and two petrifying Cybermen.
Stephen, from Swadlincote, told the Burton Mail that his fascination with Daleks stemmed from his childhood.
“I get ideas off the internet and build them from scratch,” he said.
“I’ve wanted one ever since I was very young – I’ve always loved them. I love the Daleks.”
According to the 55-year-old, each model takes around six months to build, and you won’t believe some of the materials used to sculpture the sci-fi classics.
“We use anything we can find from car-boot sales,” Stephen said.
“I found a Darth Vader mask at one and turned it into a Cyberman helmet. We use scrap metals, wood and recyclables.
“The metal suit of the Cyberman is built of out gym mats – they’re so light but they look so heavy. It’s almost scary.
Believe it or not, Stephen used a toilet plunger for the Dalek’s manipulator arm. Instead of forking out for a real Dalek gun, he constructed one from eight knitting needles.
Stephen, who describes his creations as having “personalities”, regularly brings his collection to Twycross Zoo to offer a “meet and greet” for adults and children with learning difficulties.
“That’s what it’s all about. Working in the entertainment business, you want to bring joy to people. It’s all a bit cheesy, but you just want to show off what you’ve done.
On completion of his latest Cyberman, Stephen wished to see his creation come to life. His friend then wore the metal suit and paraded into Halfords, where he was met with astonished faces.
“People were astonished, you could hear people saying, ‘what the hell?’
“Then obviously people pull out their phone and take pictures. It’s good because people often pay to have their picture taken, and we give all the money to charity.
But not everyone is entertained by Stephen’s sci-fi pals – Mr Griffiths has seen adults cry, run away and even have panic attacks after seeing the scary Daleks.
“Sometimes I feel really bad about it, one woman had to be escorted around an entire block to get away from us. It’s because people have seen them on TV, but never up close."
Although no more creations are currently in the pipeline, Stephen said he will continue to bring excitement to others with his prized hobby.
“I’m bringing iconic things to life and I love it. I make people’s day, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Who are the Cybermen?
- The Cybermen are some of the Doctor’s most persistent and longest enemies.
- The aliens, originally humans, transformed themselves into cyborgs to survive.
- In the newer Doctor Who episodes, the new Cybermen were created by John Lumic, creator of Cybus Industries.
- The Cybermen believed that all of humanity must be “upgraded” to cyber-form so that information would never be lost and that all humans’ physical and emotional weaknesses, something he called their “biggest downfall”, would be abolished.
