A COMPUTER hacker who helped bring down a general election candidate’s website days before voters went to the polls was slammed by a judge.

Bradley Kai Hayden Niblock ‘just’ avoided being jailed after he asked hackers to attack the website of Labour candidate Chris Altree during the 2019 election campaign.

The 22-year-old also hacked into the Twitter account of Furness Academy in Barrow.

Niblock, of Hawcoat Lane in Barrow, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Computer Misuse Act at a previous hearing.

Preston Crown Court heard the defendant masqueraded as a notorious hacking group on social media site Twitter for ‘attention’ and asked three hackers to help bring down Mr Altree’s website.

The court heard Mr Altree’s site was hit by a denial of service attack, with more than 200,000 users visiting the website, causing it to crash on December 3.

Prosecutor Joshua Bowker said after the website was fixed Niblock was the only user still on the site.

After that the defendant sent an abusive tweet to Mr Altree.

Police arrested Niblock and found his phone logged into the Twitter account of Furness Academy.

The court heard Niblock had ‘guessed’ the password on the account and did not post anything from the school’s page.

Having been released under investigation, he then sent an abusive message to a woman he did not know on Snapchat, saying he would ‘ruin’ her life.

He also sent edited screenshots of her Snapchat account, giving the impression he had access to it.

The judge, Simon Medland QC, told Niblock: “Those who, as you did, prevent a candidate from campaigning within the law and unfettered by interference do so at their own peril.

“There is a high public policy and public reasoning for the courts to take an extremely serious view of behaviour of this nature.

“Nothing but a prison sentence can possibly be justified for this sort of interference.

“The effect was significant and had a big impact on Mr Altree’s ability to campaign in a democratic election.

“The offence concerning the Furness Academy was a further example of your misuse of computer equipment.

“While you were under investigation you launched a spiteful and hurtful attack on an innocent woman.

“It left her feeling scared.”

The defendant was handed a suspended prison sentence of eight months for targetting Mr Altree’s website, six weeks for the two other offences and a three-year criminal behaviour order.

The judge said Niblock had ‘just’ avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Cyber detective in Cumbria welcomed the sentence.