An internet troll convicted of repeatedly sending "menacing" messages to Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy has been jailed. 

Peter Nunn, 33, of Emersons Green in Bristol, retweeted abusive messages threatening to 'rape' Ms Creasy and branding her an 'evil witch' after she backed a campaign to feature author Jane Austen on the new £10 note.

Nunn was today jailed for 18 weeks at City of London Magistrates' Court after being found guilty of bombarding the Labour MP and feminist Caroline Criado-Perez, who launched the high-profile bid last summer, with indecent, obscene and menacing messages.

He claimed the messages were "a joke" but district judge Elizabeth Roscoe imposed a restraining order banning him from having contact with both women.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan said Nunn's "campaign of hatred" had had a "substantial" effect on Ms Creasy, making her feel the need to install a panic button at her Walthamstow home. 

Commenting on the verdict, Ms Creasy said: "Today's sentence for Peter Nunn is a step forward in recognising the distress and fear online harassment can cause.

"We now need to ensure our police and criminal justice services are better trained to identify the risks anyone receiving threats faces, whether these are made on or offline so that we can protect those being stalked.

"Above all, we need to send a clear message that it isn't for anyone to put up with being harassed via any medium - this is an old crime taking a new form online."

The father-of-one and part-time delivery driver sent the barrage of offensive messages using the Twitter account @protectys.