A CAMPAIGN to stamp out online trolling is being supported by former Southend schoolgirl Rachel Riley.

High profile celebrities - including ex-England striker Gary Lineker and Countdown presenter Rachel Riley - have pledged not to publicise the social media abuse they receive from vile online trolls.

Instead, the group of television stars, politicians and campaigners will be muting, blocking and reporting “abhorrent” and derogatory comments - with the worst handed to the police - in a bid to starve so-called trolls of the wider audience they reportedly crave.

The move wants to stamp out entirely those who are using social media to spread racist, sexist, xenophobic and other hateful messaging via retweets and public shaming by well-known figures on social media.

To reverse the worrying trend, the likes of Lineker and Riley have signed-up to instead reporting the worst cases of online abuse and vile messages to the police, while sending lesser examples to social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook to put pressure on them to act.

And new charity, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), the group behind the Don’t Feed the Trolls report, is advocating an even simpler solution for those being badgered online - it recommends muting notifications and taking a break from social media in the first instance, before escalating anything thought to be unlawful.

Ms Riley, a former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, has been on the receiving of anti-Semitic abuse and was involved in the research behind the report.

She said the experience had “totally changed the way I interact on Twitter”.

“Before having CCDH’s knowledge it felt like not responding to trolls or blocking them was weak, and calling them out, trying to engage in conversation and education was helpful, but the research shows otherwise,” said the Celebrity Gogglebox star who has campaigned against anti-semitism in the Labour Party.

“I now block trolls as common practice, and have changed my settings to avoid seeing much of their output.

“It has made life much better from a mental health standpoint and vitally, is not inadvertently helping to grow their audiences or feed their negativity.” Presenter Richard Osman and comedian Aisling Bea are also supporting the campaign.