19Tuesday, April 28, 2015 www.thestar.co.uk THE STAR

BY SIAN HODKINSHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY STUDENT

Lifestyle

Presenter Sue Perkins was ‘trolled’ over Top Gear job

Send the trolls packing back under

their bridges

I f you have kept up with the whole Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson fracas over the past few months, you will know that it does not look like it will be ending any time soon.

Briefly, Clarkson was let go from his posi-tion as presenter on the BBC’s hit Top Gear show earlier this month, causing an uproar

among fans. Now, I do not want to get into a should he or

shouldn’t he have been fired from Top Gear debate. The issue I have is that when rumours surfaced that Sue Perkins, who has an impressive portfolio as a comedienne, actress, broadcaster and writer, was go-ing to take Clarkson’s seat on Top Gear she faced ‘The Troll’.

After she was announced as the bookmaker’s favourite to take on the role, Sue received abusive Tweets from supposed Top Gear fans telling her they would like to see her ‘burn to death’ and wished ‘she was dead’.

Now who would make such a horrific, dreadful statement? Trolls, that’s who. Anonymous, untracea-ble figures behind a screen, typing out unimaginable insults and threats who will face little to no repercus-sion for their actions.

Why? Because it’s near impossible to trace a troll. Social Media is quick, easy and accessible. You can as easily set up an account as you can delete one. Trolls seem to find solace in this anonymity, it seems to give them the strength to continue their online siege.

However, what they do not seem to realise is the dangerous path they leave behind them. The mark left on the victim of this online terror cannot be de-leted. You can’t simply erase any trace of the insults to victims of online abuse, it can live with them for the rest of their life and be detrimental to their self-confidence and may even be fatal.

So what can we do? How can people fight some-thing online? Well for one, we have to provide sup-port for victims to know that it is the troll that has the problem, not them.

We need to know how accessible support is and how to find the ‘report’ button on social media. Trolls thrive from an audience, so let’s stop. The more users continue to engage and argue with trolls, the longer they will continue to inflict abuse. If you receive a horrible tweet from an unknown account, report it. If it starts to become more consistent, contact an online support group and find help available to deal with them.

Hopefully, this breed of online trolls will give up their keyboards and soon return to residing under bridges.

BY SIAN HODKIN

WEATHERLearn how to stay safe in the sunEveryone loves a summer holiday, but it can also throw up some challenges for our skin with the obvious being sunburn. The British Skin Foundation offers sun safety advice on its website - see www.ittake-sseven.org.uk/skin-cancer-facts.Sunburn can cause long-term damage to the skin and prevention should be the key.

HEALTHHikers wanted for heart charity trekHeart Research UK is calling on walkers in South York-shire to take part in its York-shire Dales Hike for Your Heart festival.The event on June 20 raises money to for the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease. To find out more visit www.heartresearch.org.uk/events/yorkshire-three-peaks-valleys or call the charity on 0113 234 7474.

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Sign up for Race for Life 2015

Guests at the dinner had the opportunity to ask questions to Jessica Ennis-Hill, Nick Matthew and Dan Walker

More than £25,000 was raised during the auction

ist Pete McKee and a pair of gloves worn by Sheffield cricketer Joe Root when he hit a century against India – were auctioned off.

But it was the last action of the night which Hope-Gill says typified the evening.

“We were £1,700 short of the £25,000 target so Dan Walker, who was hosting the auction, asked if 17 people would give £100 each.

“Quick as a flash 17 hands shot up and we’d hit our tar-

get. It was unbelievable and capped a brilliant night.”

The Fat Lads’ room is part of a series of improvements to the hospital which include a new wing, complete with mostly private rooms with parent beds so families can stay together.

The new wing will also feature a bright, spacious outpatients department, a courtyard and a giant play tower and is set to be com-plete by next spring.

BECKY JOY

BECKY JOY