Reading teen councillor Ellie Emberson trolled online

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-44044847

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A councillor voted in as one of the youngest representatives in the country has said she has received torrents of abuse since being elected.

Ellie Emberson, 19, became the youngest woman to win a seat on Reading Borough Council in last week's elections.

She said: "People told me I was inexperienced and too young. Someone told me go to back to wearing nappies.

"I'm aware of how the internet can be cruel," Ms Emberson added, "but I'm going to ignore it as best I can."

Ms Emberson, born and bred in the Minster ward in Reading that she now represents, received 1,308 votes to win at Thursday's election.

But after her night of glory she saw dozens of critical and offensive remarks posted to her social media accounts.

She says since polling day she has received numerous comments on social media about "the way I speak, look, and dress".

Her victory attracted a lot of attention and she said: "I was somewhat prepared when I realised that I had quite a lot of media coverage.

"I wasn't actually prepared for people to have the courage to directly comment to me, actually locating my profile and still feeling it is OK to say that".

Amy Binns, Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, said a lot of so-called trolls are deliberately being nasty to those in the public eye.

"It's a form of everyday sadism", she said.

"When we see a spike happening, as with this poor young woman, one person sees an opportunity to be nasty and everybody else jumps in."