A 20-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been sentenced for sending Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern death threats.

On Friday, Matthew Burns appeared in the Newry Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to sending online threats to Ardern and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, reports the BBC.

Burns tweeted a photograph of a gun to Ardern with the caption "You're next" in the wake of the Christchurch massacre on 15 March.

Burns also sent a message to Mayor Khan saying "it would be a shame if something happened to [his wife]…like a bullet in the head and him too".

He faced five counts of improper use of electronic communications, with messages of a menacing and grossly offensive nature dating from 14 June 2018 to 20 March 2019, reports the BBC.

District Judge Eamonn King told Burns he hoped the sentence would "get him out from behind your smartphone and your iPad, for you to engage with people".

"I can understand that if there are issues in real life, that you don't get a buzz in real life, you hope to get it on social media, and what happens… you create a monster," King said.

Newshub.