Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs is pursuing criminal charges against a person he says is posting "vile, vulgar" online comments about him and his wife.

Hobbs said he recently found the remarks online, through a Google search.

Last year Hobbs deleted his Facebook and Twitter accounts over comments and threats he called "horrific." Now he said he believes statements posted on a blog are libellous and require police action.

"These things that are being put out there... it's just disgusting, it's, I can't even say how upset and angry I am about it right now," Hobbs said.

Hobbs plans to press charges through the city's legal department, but if that doesn't work, he said he'll look into dealing directly with police.

"A mayor, anyone, shouldn't have to put up with that kind of garbage on the computer and I'm going to put a stop to it," he said.

Hobbs, a retired police officer, said he knows the person who is making the posts.

"It's somebody who I dealt with as a police officer with an axe to grind," he said. "It's not the first time. This person has been cautioned before but I've had enough now, when they start bringing my family into it, it's time to get serious."