A law student from Burnley who sent Stan Collymore a series of racist tweets has been spared jail.
Joshua Cryer, 21, admitted using the social networking site to bombard the football pundit with abuse in an attempt to "snare a celebrity", a district judge at Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard.
Cryer told police he hoped to gain a reaction from Collymore, who is a broadcaster for talkSport, campaigns against racism and is a supporter of the Depression Alliance charity.
The Newcastle University student, who lives in the Jesmond area of the city, claimed his account had been hacked.
He later admitted a charge under section 127 of the Communications Act of sending grossly offensive messages.
District Judge Stephen Earl ordered that he complete a two-year community order with 240 hours unpaid work, and pay £150 costs to the court.
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