A TWISTED troll put his fingers in his ears as he was told about the horrific impact he had on his victim.

Nicky Wright, 39, trolled Brighton woman Nicola Brookes from his London home with dozens of Twitter and Facebook accounts and posted videos about her on YouTube from June 2016 to September last year.

Wright, along with fellow trolls, pursued a vicious crusade against Ms Brookes, posting her home address on a Facebook page, mocking her Crohn's disease and making sexual remarks about her.

He failed to attend his trial at Brighton Magistrates' Court yesterday, and was found guilty in his absence.

But he handed himself in at the city's police station today and was later sentenced to 22 weeks in jail by District Judge Amanda Kelly, and a further two weeks for failing to attend court. They are to run consecutively.

Ms Brookes, 51, wrote a lengthy victim impact statement, but Wright refused to listen to the damage he had inflicted on her.

In it she said Wright had "destroyed my life" and said what he did to her was "psychological torture". She also said there is now "very little joy" in her life, and her "faith in human nature has been shattered".

Wright frequently looked up to the public gallery where Ms Brookes was sat and swore as he was taken to custody.

He did not know his victim, but she came to his attention through her work as a campaigner against internet trolling.

The Argus:

Nicola Brookes outside Brighton Magistrates' Court

When Ms Brookes blocked Wright, he would make new accounts to continue his offending.

Wright posted one picture of a disabled toilet with a note stuck to it reading “Brookes and bag ladies not welcome”.

Ms Brookes had to gather evidence herself to give to police, sometimes sending up to 150 screenshots of his abuse in a day. They seized his mobile phone and found numerous social media accounts linked to it which he used to troll Ms Brookes.

Stephen Harris, defending, said Wright has "suffered great anxiety and stress" throughout the proceedings and that his physical and mental health has been deteriorating.

Wright believed his behaviour was acceptable in the circumstances.

Judge Kelly branded Wright a "coward" as she sentenced him.

Wright was given a restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Brookes directly or indirectly or mentioning her on social media. He also must not write her name on social media.

After the sentencing, Ms Brookes said: "I feel like I can finally exhale. I am really pleased with the sentence.

"He has got absolutely no regard for authority, the law or the court. His behaviour today in court showed that."

She added: "I don't think he'll change his ways – he will move on to someone else."