A SOCIAL media page set up for users to anonymously leave messages about other people in Cwmbran has been removed after complaints that it fuelled bullying.

The Facebook page called Gimps of Cwmbran stated that it allowed users to mail names of people who they think are “absolute gimps” and leave comments about them anonymously.

The page was set up on August 13 and generated over 700 ‘likes’ on its page.

Comments include that an individual smells or that a person needs to sort their “pathetic life out”.

Torfaen councillor for the Llantarnam ward, David Daniels, said: “This group represents the very worst aspects of social media. It basically encourages and promotes bullying of people on a very public platform.

“The anonymous but public nature of the group means that victims are unable to identify and block the bullies, and are instead at the mercy of the reckless owner of the group to remove offensive content.”

However after receiving public complaints Facebook took the decision to remove the page because it violated their terms.

A Facebook spokeswomen said: “There is no place for harassment on Facebook, but unfortunately a small minority of malicious individuals exist online, just as they do offline.

“We have a real name policy and provide our users with industry leading tools to block people or report content which they find threatening so that we can remove it quickly.

"At Facebook nothing is more important to us than the safety of the people using our service”

Before the page was shut down yesterday, people had hit back on the page calling for it to be closed down.

One user wrote: “This page is totally disgusting and everyone of you who liked it should be ashamed of yourselves.

“Think about what you're doing and do the decent thing and take this page down before it causes pain and suffering that can't be undone.”

With the majority of people targeted on such sites being teenagers, this year Coleg Gwent is launching a Think b4u Click campaign.

The campaign's website offers information to encourage learners to be aware of the risks and how to act safely and responsibly online.

A college spokeswomen said that they take the threat of online bullying seriously, and the campaign website includes information advising on who to contact to report abuse or cyber bullying.