Sometimes funny, sometimes frighteningly stupid, pranks can attract applause and condemnation in equal measure.

And if you’re not careful, they can also attract the attention of the law as at least one of these pranksters discovered.

So here’s six of the best pranks, from the comic to the cretinous, for you to make your own mind up about.

Can he kick it? Well, he probably shouldn’t have, but he did it anyway and his mates paid his fine so it’s all worked out well for free-kicking Stephen Dunn.

After drinking eight beers, Dunn made an 80 yard dash to take a free kick as West Ham faced Spurs at Upton Park last month.

The Hammers fan – who works on reception at the Premier Inn on Dover seafront – hit the target and was then bundled to the floor by stewards and arrested.

Dunn was fined £305, which was promptly paid off by fellow Hammers after he started a Go Fund Me page.

In fact, his only regret about the whole incident is he didn’t use his right foot.

Some pranks are just cruel… like convincing your best man he’s just won £50,000 then shattering his dreams in front of a large crowd of wedding guests.

That’s exactly what happened to self-employed painter and decorator Wesley Knight from Sittingbourne when he was set up by groom Chris Payne.

It was only after Wesley turned the card over he realised it was fake. This was of course after he’d shouted: “the drinks are on me!”

We couldn’t have a round-up of pranks without including the ‘April Fools centre of Kent’ – the village of Preston near Canterbury.

Every April 1 brings an elaborate new wheeze, and this year villagers were met with what looked the result of a drinking session gone horribly wrong.

A bike and pair of boots sticking out of the village pond suggested an inebriated cyclist upside down in the mud after a boozy (and presumably fatal) crash.

Probably not the most pleasant thing to discover when you’re walking the dog…

Pranks are nothing new, and flying saucers have always been a favourite subject.

A particularly successful student prank in 1967 managed to convince a TV journalist that aliens were invading when people spotted six saucers hovering in perfect formation over the Sheppey bridge.

The War of the Worlds-style incident was uncovered recently when a batch of previously top-secret documents were released by the National Archives.

How is your Chewbacca roar?

A prankster in Ashford put up a poster offering £1,000 for the best impression of the hairy Star Wars character.

Contestants had to call a mobile number on the poster and leave their Chewbacca roar as a voice mail.

Callers who accepted the challenge were met with the following message:

“Hi, and thanks for calling our Chewbacca roar competition.

“For your chance to win leave your best roar after the beep.”

Just so you appreciate the scale of the task, Chewbacca’s voice was created from a blend of recorded animal calls including walruses, lions, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.

We’re not even sure what noise badgers make to be honest.

There’s pretty much nothing as annoying as Mr Blobby… except having your house painted to resemble Mr Blobby.

Which is exactly what happened to Peter Price-Whittle from Dartford when his best friend Jon Ansett did some unscheduled exterior decorating.

But this prank was not all it seemed – the stunt was an (obviously successful) ploy to get some media attention for the pair’s online scripted reality TV show, The Only Way is Kent.

The show is, you’ll be pleased to know, still going strong.

Are you a prankster, or have you fallen victim to a 'hilarious' stunt? Let us know in the comments.