IT is a sad sign of the times that Olympic hero Maddie Hinch is considering shutting down her social media accounts because of trolls.

The Sussex girl became a national hero in the summer when her goalkeeper skills helped clinch Team GB's first ever hockey gold.

But it seems not that can even spare her from the internet trolls.

She is not the first sportsperson to be targeted and she certainly won't be the last.

A few years ago diver Tom Daley was on the end of horrific personal abuse on Twitter while swimming star Rebecca Adlington claims to have blocked thousands of people who have trolled her.

As a general rule our elite performers are thick skinned with a good network of support around them.

The worry is when vulnerable people, and especially school children, are targeted.

Cybersmile, the UK’s first dedicated cyber-bullying charity based in Brighton, warns that this is a growing problem which we are still trying to get to grips with.

People seem to think that they can say what they like to whoever they like on social media.

There appears to be little or no consideration about the consequences of their actions.

Social media is fantastic in that they giving us an insight into the lives of our heroes.

Maddie Hinch is a role model to thousands of young girls across the country who regularly log in to see what she is up to.

If people continue to act as they are doing then this will end.

The authorities need to get to grips with how to police the problem and the trolls need to take a long hard look at themselves.