THE mother of murdered teenager Sophie Lancaster has welcomed calls for online hate crimes to be treated as seriously as those committed in person.

Sylvia Lancaster, of Haslingden, is backing the Crown Prosecution Service's new guidance for prosecutors in England and Wales underlining that online abuse can be devastating.

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said recent events in America, where white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters in Charlottesville, leaving one dead, showed what online abuse can lead to.

She said: “Whether shouted in their face on the street, daubed on their wall or tweeted into their living room, the impact of hateful abuse on a victim can be equally devastating.”

She said the internet and social media in particular have provided “new platforms” for abuse.

The move by the CPS follows prosecution guidance issued in Scotland in December 2014, when Scotland’s Crown Office said “if it would be illegal to say it on the street, it is illegal to say it online”.

Ms Lancaster, who earlier this month marked the 10th anniversary of her daughter's death in Bacup at the hands of a gang that took exception to her Goth clothing, said the development was "very important".

Sophie was not targeted online but her mother has no doubts about the corrosive effects of hate, whatever its source.

She added: "It's appalling when you look at the statistics and see how many young people commit suicide because of it.

"Wherever it takes place, whether online or not, hate is hate."

Ms Saunders hopes that the new plans will lead to more prosecutions, with longer sentences following for those convicted if a jury or judge is convinced the crime was motivated by hate.

Official figures show a 20 per cent rise in all forms of hate crime reported to the police in the first quarter of this year. That figure is not thought to be truly representative as hate crime is believed to be significantly under-reported.