The parents of Australian swimming hero Mack Horton have revealed that they have suffered years of abuse at the hands of a gang of mysterious Chinese activists.

© Provided by Daily Mail The family of Australian swimming hero Mack Horton (pictured, left) have endured a four-year campaign of abuse after he protested drugs cheat Chinese swimmer Sun Yang (centre)

Horton made headlines around the world after refusing to mount the winner's podium with Chinese drugs cheat Sun Yang at the world championships last year.

An Australian gold medalist, Horton took a stand for clean sport and first outed Yang as a drug cheat four years ago - but his brave move has prompted vile abuse towards his innocent family.

Parents Andrew and Cheryl have lived through years of hell, with their home broken into, their computer hacked and even threats made against their other teenage son.

© Provided by Daily Mail The swimmer is seen with his family (pictured, left to right), dad Andrew, Mack himself, brother Chad and mum Cheryl, while his girlfriend Ella is on the front

Shadowy figures regularly appear around their neighbourhood, stalking their family home - with one cowardly figure throwing a bucketload of glass into their pool.

They even have to endure mysterious figures - believed to be students directed by the Chinese Communist Party - banging pots and pans in the middle of the night outside their home.

The feud began at the Rio Olympics back in 2016, when Horton accused of Sun of deliberating splashing him during training.

The Australian champion said at the time: 'I ignored him, I don't have time or respect for cheats.'

Later, he added: 'I just have a problem with athletes who have tested positive and are still competing.'

© Provided by Daily Mail The swimmer's parents, Andrew and Cheryl (pictured) have suffered from years of abuse at the hands of Sun Yang's fans

© Provided by Daily Mail Australian swimmer Mack Horton and his girlfriend Ella Walter (pictured together) were both inundated with vile abuse and death threats after the swimmer's protest

This is when the abuse began, his parents told the Weekend Australian.

'We’ve had so many death threats that we’ve stopped taking them seriously,' Mr Horton said.

But after the swimmer took a more prominent stand against Yang, who has not had his medal taken away despite his history, last year, things got worse.

'The biggest change was the intensity,' his father explained.

'It was unrelenting. Every day and night in the second half of 2019, peaking in September, easing off in February this year.'

© Provided by Daily Mail Mack Horton (pictured, left) refused to step on the podium after he was beaten by controversial Chinese star Sun Yang (centre) in July 2019

This was the same month Sun received an eight-year suspension, after he destroyed a blood sample during a doping test.

Horton now receives regular security briefings, after a group of assailants called the 'Confucianists' targeted his family - a reference to the Chinese Communist Party.

Security officials believe the attackers are acting under direct instructions from the country's controlling government.

But despite being forced to live in fear, his father said he was proud that his son had taken a stand.

© Provided by Daily Mail Horton (pictured at the 2019 championships) took a stand for clean sport after taking issue with his rival's history of doping

© Provided by Daily Mail

'It’s not about the result and it’s not about China and it’s not about Sun Yang,' he said.

'For Mack, it’s all about clean sport.'

Their family home, in suburban Melbourne, has been broken into, and even had dog faeces thrown over the fence.

They even receive shadowy calls on their house phone in broken English, regularly threatening to kill their daughter - despite only having sons.

It comes as experts claim China's secret service has been carrying out a 'campaign of intimidation' on Australian soil if anyone dares to question the regime.

The swimmer's family said there was a 'constantly revolving cast of characters' outside their home - and if they were questioned by police, they would disappear and simply be replaced with another.

© Provided by Daily Mail Horton (pictured, left) poses with bronze medallist Gabrielle Detti of Italy (right) after the controversial race in July 2019

© Provided by Daily Mail Chinese swimmer Sun Yang (pictured) poses after a public hearing of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in November 2019

But the abuse has largely ceased since February, when Sun was hit with a ban.

On February 28, the Court of Arbitration for Sport hit Sun with an eight-year ban for his second doping offence - in which he smashed blood vials with a hammer before they could be tested in September 2018.

While the ban effectively ended the 28-year-old's swimming career, the medals he was awarded cannot be re-allocated under the current rules.

Despite Sun being charged with tampering and refusing to provide a sample after the hammer incident, swimming's governing organisation FINA did not issue a provisional ban before the world championships.

Remarkably FINA's own anti-doping authorities then cleared Sun of the charges.

Even though the CAS panel unanimously found Sun had broken the sport's rules, they cannot retroactively ban him from competing.

< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 3 NEXT SLIDE > Mack Horton (pictured, right, with girlfriend Ella Walter, left) has been abused for years after taking a stand against a Chinese drugs cheat © Provided by Daily Mail

In a now iconic moment from the 2019 championships in South Korea, Horton, who finished with a silver medal, refused to stand on the medal podium with gold medalist Yang.

Horton, 23, accepted his silver medal but did not stand on the podium alongside Sun as the Chinese national anthem played - nor did he pose for photographs with his rival.

He stood his ground throughout the awkward medal ceremony after previously being the only swimmer in the field not to shake Sun's hand after the race.

In the aftermath of the CAS ruling, Horton's Instagram was flooded with aggressive comments from trolls, many in Chinese characters, that included death threats.

'My stance has always been about clean sport and never about nations or individuals,' Horton told 7 News after the CAS ruling.

© Provided by Daily Mail Mysterious social media accounts (pictured) bombarded the swimmer with vile abuse, which they also levelled at his girlfriend Ella Walter

News of his family's ordeal comes just a day after reports that the disgraced Chinese swimmer had flouted rules yet again.

It is alleged that Yang been training with the Chinese national team ahead of the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics, which would be in violation of his ban.

His eight-year sanction could be doubled if officials find the reports to be true.

Those found to breach doping rules are not only banned from competing, but even from training with teams or clubs.