An internet troll left a teenage girl feeling suicidal after sending her sickening threats for a year.

Hollie Hay, now 21, hounded the victim with threats of violence and urged her to harm herself in social media messages.

Teesside Crown Court heard the stalking began in 2021 when Hay was 17 and the victim was a schoolgirl.

Prosecutor Ian West said the two began exchanging messages on TikTok after the victim posted a video.

Hollie Hay leaves Teesside Magistrates' Court when she was dealt with for harassment in 2022.

placeholder image — Hollie Hay leaves Teesside Magistrates' Court when she was dealt with for harassment in 2022.

Hay later expressed a romantic interest in the victim who declined and blocked her.

But Hay made a series of abusive and violent threats to the girl on various TikTock, Snapchat and Instagram accounts, including death threats.

She even made urged a friend of the victim’s to kill herself after setting up a Snapchat account in the victim’s name.

And when the victim tried to set up new social media accounts, Hay followed with friend requests and further threats to harm her, set her house on fire and told her to “slit your wrists”.

Around the same time, Hay also made vile threats online to her former headteacher and his family that saw her given a community order by magistrates in 2022.

Her teenage victim was in court to see her sentenced and fought back tears as she read a statement detailing the extreme impact of Hay’s behaviour.

She described living in constant fear, not eating, having nightmares and not going out the house.

“You ruined my life,” she said. “You broke me to the point where I didn’t want to live anymore.”

Hay, of Carlisle Street, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to stalking.

In mitigation, it was said she had a history of mental health issues and several events in her life “sent her into a downward spiral”.

In a letter to the judge, Hay said: “I’m horrified and ashamed for what I did. I’m truly sorry for the impact that this has had on her and her family.”

Stephen Constantine, defending, added her use of social media is now strictly monitored by her parents and she has made “marked progress”.

Sentencing Hay to a 12-month community order, Judge Richard Clews said: “This offending had, and sadly continues to have it seems, a very considerable effect on her indeed.”