A NEWSPAPER reporter and her infant daughter have been placed under police protection following dozens of threats of violence from far-right extremists, it was revealed today.

Amy Fenton, chief reporter at The Mail in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, faced threats of violence over her coverage of trumped-up grooming allegations in the town.

A 19-year-old local woman was charged with seven counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice after alleging she had been groomed and raped by Asian men.

Following a 12-month investigation, police found no evidence of grooming.

Far-right activists led by so-called freedom advocate Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, have targeted the town to incite racial hatred, accusing police and the media of a “cover up.” 

Ms Fenton, a local rep for the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said her five-year-old daughter has also been the target of threats.

Support has rallied for Ms Fenton in the town and from the NUJ at national level and across Britain.

She said: “Over the last week I’ve received in excess of 100 death threats.

“Not only have they threatened to ‘throat punch’ me, slit my throat, and set me on fire, but they have involved the welfare of my little girl and that is beyond acceptable. 

“As a journalist I won’t tolerate anyone threatening me but as a mum I won’t tolerate anyone putting my daughter’s life at risk.”

She said she had received widespread support and said the threats came from “a small, ignorant minority of people.”