by him shortly after publication. In the experience of the investigating officer this is a technique deployed in order to keep a Twitter account live and avoid it being taken down by the administrators. 6. The police were able to trace the tweets to an address in Altrincham and attended at the address on an occasion when the appellant was not present. He did, however, voluntarily attend at the police station for interview on 24 May 2016. 7. In interview he accepted that he had been responsible for the tweets. When asked to explain the tweets he maintained that they were all related to music and claimed that there was no specific agenda. He said: "everyone is against everyone", and that many of the tweets were lines to songs that he noted in order to jog his memory. He suggested that all of his contacts were Jamaican and were interested in the music that he was interested in, and that he was trying to keep the music alive. He denied that the tweets related to his personal feelings or views. The appellant said he was merely putting matters down that he had heard or thought about in reggae music. He denied that he intended to offend anyone, or to promote racial or religious hatred. 8. In sentencing, the Recorder commented on the fact that the appellant had chosen to represent himself at the sentence hearing, specifically declining the services of a solicitor available in the court building on that day to whom he had been given an opportunity to speak. The Recorder stated that he regarded what the appellant posted on Twitter in May of 2016 as being the foulest of racist material. He observed that the appellant used language and conveyed sentiments that no right-thinking person would ever consider appropriate. The Recorder described the content of the tweets as xenophobic, nationalistic and vitriolic. The Recorder noted that in view of the pleas entered the appellant's explanations as to his intentions when posting the material as he related that to the police could not have been true. 9. The Recorder further noted that the appellant was 41 years of age and had 34 convictions in respect of 61 offences with a history of dishonesty and public disorder and that the list of prior convictions included offences of harassment and sending malicious communications. The Recorder also referred to the fact that the appellant had breached a number of court orders and had received custodial sentences and stated that a current Community Order would be revoked. 10. The Recorder commented that the pre-sentence report made unhappy and difficult reading. The author concluded that the appellant had strong racist beliefs, and that he had little insight into the potential consequences of posting this type of material. It was recorded that the appellant tried to suggest his behaviour had something to do with his being a friend of Fusilier Lee Rigby who was murdered in a terrorist attack in 2013. Upon investigation, it became clear that the appellant was never friends with that young soldier. 11. The Recorder observed that the appellant appeared to be something of a social recluse, leading a rather sad, isolated and lonely fantasy life via social media. He had been SMITH BERNAL WORDWAVE