A regional daily’s chief reporter read out offensive tweets he had received in a light-hearted video aimed at raising awareness of online bullying.

Simon Gilbert recorded a video for the Coventry Telegraph’s website in which he shared the offensive messages he has received over the years, including one from former Coventry City Football Club captain Reda Johnson – who said he would “s*** in [Simon’s] face”.

As well as a number of four-letter obscenities, other insults aimed at Simon on the social media site included “receding quiff head”, “Lego hair” and “gerbil cheeks”.

Although he is not from there, another reader had also urged the Telegraph to “send him back to Leicester”.

Simon reads out insults he has received during the video

While Simon acknowledged the video was “a bit of fun” at his expense, he also included helpful information in the accompanying article for those suffering from online bullying.

On the idea behind the video, Simon told HTFP: “As someone with a highly engaged social media following, I often receive a great deal of interaction from readers – largely positive, but occasionally negative.

“The idea was inspired by a regular segment on the US television show Jimmy Kimmel Live where celebrities are filmed reading mean tweets about themselves.

“It is really just a bit of fun at my own expense. Social media is an important part of our profession today, but you shouldn’t always take it too seriously – as this video demonstrates.

“Having said that, I do recognise that social media harassment from online trolls can be a serious issue for some people. That’s why I included details about who should be contacted and a link to police advice about online bullying.

“Hopefully those who watch the video will find it entertaining and, if not, they can always send me a nasty message over the internet.”

The Tweet from former Coventry captain Redo Johnson in which he said he would ‘shitt’ (sic) in Simon Gilbert’s face.