Halloween took a bizarre and frightening turn in London this weekend when a man dressed as a purple Teletubby robbed a woman at gunpoint near the city's core.

London police say a gun-toting man wearing a costume of the pudgy purple television character, named Tinky Winky, confronted the woman near Talbot and Mill streets just after midnight and demanded cash.

The woman, in her 20s, handed money to the robber, who then ran south on Talbot.

The woman was unhurt, but misfortune wasn't hers alone. A second man dressed in costume was later stopped in the area by police and questioned -- but police had the wrong Teletubby.

"He was deemed not to be the Teletubby we were looking for," Const. Kevin Lui said.

"Unfortunately, Halloween provides (robbers) more cover than any other night."

The woman said the man who robbed her was between 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-4, 200 to 240 pounds with muscular build, short, dark hair and was clean-shaven.

Teletubbies is a TV series aimed at pre-schoolers that also gained a cult following among some older viewers.

Tinky Winky gained some notoriety a decade ago after evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell claimed the character was a homosexual role model because his antenna was a triangle and he carried a magic bag that looked like a woman's purse.

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca