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A Bristol Labour candidate who is standing in the general election was told she “should be stabbed in the street” and “blown up” after leaflets were posted through a resident's door.

Karin Smyth received seven abusive voicemail messages from a drunk Matthew Niblett in the early hours of last Saturday morning.

The 51-year-old threatened to kill Ms Smyth, who was elected as the Labour MP for the Bristol South constituency in 2015 after finding party leaflets on his doorstep.

He left seven voicemail messages at Ms Smyth’s Bedminster office in which he said she “should be put up against the wall and shot”.

Appearing at Bristol Magistrates’ Court today, Niblett pleaded guilty to one count of harassment without violence.

Referring to the messages, Lucy Coleman, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The overall tone was offensive and abusive towards Karin Smyth.

“They seemed to revolve around him receiving promotional leaflets that he did not want.

“Comments he made included ‘I hate Karin Smyth’, ‘I hope the f****** **** dies’ and ‘I hope you are in there when the bomb goes off’.

“They seem to progressively get worse. In message six, he said ‘I hope your f****** kids die of cancer’.”

The court was told Niblett, of Tallis Grove, Hartcliffe, had a longstanding issue with Ms Smyth’s office because he felt she had not properly investigated a case involving him in the past.

(Image: Dave Betts)

But Jane Taylor, representing Niblett, dismissed the calls as the “drunk ramblings” of a man suffering from mental health and anger management issues.

“He had been out, he had been drinking and he got back and found a number of leaflets, which had been pushed through his door,” she said.

“That was what triggered the abuse. He made seven phone calls, which were no more than an hour long. He can only describe them as drunken ramblings.

“He had no intentions to carry any of it out.”

In a victim statement which was read out in court, Ms Smyth told police she felt “sad” for the defendant and “worried” for the safety of her staff.

Niblett, meanwhile, continually interrupted the proceedings and was repeatedly told by District Judge David Taylor to be quiet.

When given the opportunity to explain his actions, the 51-year-old said: “If I wanted to do it, I would have gone and done it - not wait for it to be publicised in the Bristol Post.”

The judge remanded Niblett in custody and adjourned the case for sentencing at Bristol Magistrates’ Court later this month.