THE bereaved parents of Riley ­Hughes, who died of whooping cough last month, have spoken of their ­dismay at becoming the target of an anti-vax hate campaign after the ­Abbott government announced its “No Jab No Pay” plan.

On the morning of the announcement that parents who refused to ­vaccinate their children could lose up to $15,000 in family benefits, the ­Hughes family woke to find their baby’s memorial Facebook page, which encourages vaccination, ­desecrated by anti-vaxers.

Under the name “Vaccines Don’t Prevent Pertussis”, a troll wrote on Riley Hughes’ Light for Riley page: “I’ve had enough of people like you spreading lies just because your baby died. Well no more, I will not be ­silenced. F... you Hughes family.”

Another troll wrote: “Bullshit the vaccines work. Stop the lies Hughes. Grieve in private like everyone else.”

type_quote_start “Bullsh*t the vaccines work. Stop the lies Hughes. Grieve in private like everyone else” type_quote_end

An emotional Catherine Hughes said: “I’ve been shocked and disgusted. We’ve endured heartbreak and we are trying to be strong and brave but it can be quite hard to ­ignore the abuse.”

In a private message, anti-vax ­activist Nicole Johnson accused the family of inciting hatred towards ­anti-vaxers.

“I’m concerned about the level of hatred being incited by your ­campaign,” she wrote.

Ms Johnson said she did not think her comments were inappropriate.

Toni and Dave McCaffery, who lost their daughter Dana to whooping cough in 2009, have also received ­vicious messages.

“We’ve paid the ultimate price and ... we’ve been hated because she died of a vaccine-preventable disease,” Mrs McCaffery said.