A 29-year-old man has been jailed for taking photographs of female students and posting them on Instagram with offensive comments.

Thomas Cramer, of Liberty Lane, Addlestone, was sentenced to 10 months in jail and given a five-year criminal behaviour order at Guildford Crown Court.

He had pleaded guilty to harassment and racially-aggravated harassment as well as possession of cannabis and driving without a licence or insurance.

As well as the jail term, Cramer has been banned from filming or photographing any female person or posting their images to social media or any website without their written permission.

Cramer was arrested on two occasions after female students at the Royal Holloway University of London campus in Egham, Surrey, complained to police of a man taking pictures of them.

A Surrey Police spokesman said: “Cramer was first arrested on May 30 after police received reports of a man taking pictures of female students on the Royal Holloway campus in Egham and uploading them to Instagram with derogatory comments.

“When users would comment on his posts challenging him, he would reply with threats of violence and, in some cases, with racist comments.

“After being released under investigation, Cramer was rearrested on June 1 after officers received further reports of him uploading similar content to his Instagram account and continuing to threaten people online.

“When Cramer presented himself at Staines police station, he was found in possession and under the influence of cannabis. He was further arrested for a range of driving offences and possession of a Class B drug.

“In addition to the offences above, Cramer was also sentenced for racially abusing his housing officer on two occasions in March.”

Inspector James Wyatt, Borough Commander for Runnymede, said: “Cramer made the students at The Royal Holloway fear for their safety in the place that they lived, studied and socialised.

“His racist and derogatory comments towards ethnic minorities and women are wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“I would like to thank everyone who came forward and reported these incidents to us. I hope that this sentence provides some reassurance to Surrey’s student community.”

As part of the sentence, Cramer was also banned from entering the university grounds.