Former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has contacted the police to report racist abuse that he suffered on Twitter last night.
The 42-year-old, who works for radio station talkSPORT, was hit with a number of racist messages on the social networking website.
One user told Collymore, who retweeted some of the messages to his followers, to "kill yourself you fucking nigger."
Shortly after receiving the online abuse, Collymore revealed that he had handed matters over to Staffordshire Police, who have confirmed that an investigation is taking place.
The Express & Star quotes chief inspector Carl Ratcliffe as saying: "When we become aware of complaints about potential criminal offences, we gather evidence to allow the CPS to make a decision on whether to charge or not."
When referring to the racist abuse, Collymore wrote on Twitter: "I'm glad so many find this funny. All teenagers, visible profile pics and location. Not a care in the world.
"There are mixed race/black/Asian kids on here believing that using hate speech gives them free pass. You'll soon find differently."
A student was handed a community order after sending a number of racist tweets to Collymore last year.
