Nigel Pelham has been jailed (Picture: INS)

An online troll has been jailed after he suggested Britain should introduce a ‘bomb a mosque day’ scheme.

Nigel Pelham was today sentenced to 20 months in prison for inciting racial hatred online.

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The unemployed 50-year-old admitted to eight counts of publishing threatening written material on Facebook, including a post inviting people to ‘put a Muslim on top of a bonfire’.

Officers have since confiscated Pelham’s computer and two hard drives from his home on Freehold Street in Shoreham, Sussex, in an attempt to prevent him from posting malicious and racist messages upon his release.


The posts at the centre of Pelham’s trial were published between February 24 and November 16 2015 on his own Facebook account, a spokesman for the police said.

He was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court (Picture: PA)

Despite denying his charges when they were first put to him, Pelham appeared in court on March 7 this year to admit all eight counts.



Sussex Police Hate Crime Sergeant, Peter Allan said: ‘The charges brought in this case are extremely serious and were only brought against four people in England and Wales during 2016.

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‘Nigel Pelham used Facebook to express some truly offensive views, with no understanding of how serious his actions were.

‘Many people see social media as a harmless and sometimes faceless place to air their opinions, however I hope this shows we will not tolerate this type of behaviour and will act when someone reports their concern about what someone is posting.

‘I hope the sentence handed down by the court acts as a deterrent to others and sends a reassuring message to those who may be directly targeted or are more widely affected by people’s use of social media to spread messages of fear and hate.

‘I encourage people who witness such content, to report it to the provider of the social media platform, but such reports can also be made to us online.’

A spokesman for the police said: ‘Nigel Pelham was charged with eight counts of publishing threatening written material intending to stir up religious hatred against Muslims on dates between February 24 and November 16, 2015 on his own Facebook account.

‘The charges are not used very often and are so serious they need Attorney General approval to be brought against someone. Pelham, 50, of Freehold Street, Shoreham appeared on March 7 at Lewes Crown Court and pleaded guilty to the offences.’