A woman has been convicted after threatening a journalist in a bid to get a court story about her criminal relative removed.

Stacey Reader pleaded guilty to sending threatening messages to Daniel Jae Webb with intent to cause distress over a story on Wiltshire Today about her relative Connor Deeks.

Wiltshire Today reported Deeks had admitted assaulting five people – including his mother and sister – but 27-year-old Reader took issue with the story’s publication.

After being told by Daniel, pictured, that the story would not be removed from the web, she made threats against him.

The incident was reported to Wiltshire Police and they initially arrested Reader, of Swindon, on suspicion of blackmail, according to Wiltshire Today.

But she has now pleaded guilty to sending threatening messages to Daniel with intent to cause distress at Swindon Magistrates’ Court.

Said Daniel: “I hope this conviction sends a strong message to people who think it is acceptable to threaten or abuse journalists working to keep their communities informed, especially through the reporting of court hearings.

“You tend to develop a thick skin working in the news industry and turn a blind eye to most of the abuse you receive but some incidents are so serious that they cannot be ignored.

“It is really important to remember that journalists are human too – with a life outside of news, a family and friends. This kind of abuse not only affects the person it’s aimed at but everyone close to them.”

The case has been adjourned for sentencing in October by district judge Joanna Dickens.

Daniel, who previously ran independent news website Wiltshire 999s, has now relaunched the title as Wiltshire Today after a brief spell working on the launch team of Reach plc’s new title Wiltshire Live over the summer.

Of his time at Wiltshire Live, Daniel told HTFP: “I left on good terms but it just didn’t feel really like the right fit for my passion for crime and court reporting.”