Collabro star Matt Pagan has opened fire at online bullies who accused him of putting on weight.

The Carlisle singer took aim at the group who posted a series of jibes on Twitter.

Matt posted a heartfelt message on his Twitter and Instagram accounts to call out the online trolls and urge his fans not to be like them.

He has warned that such comments can cause mental health issues and could lead to self-harm.

On the eve of a major UK tour with the band, which comes to Carlisle on Thursday, he said: “I am eternally grateful for all of your support. But unfortunately there are people that think they can say things and it won’t affect people.

“‪Even if you think it, that doesn’t mean you have to say it. #ThinkOfOthers ‬”

The messages were originally posted between three and seven months ago.

They included: “When did Matt pack on 30 pounds.” as well as “Gosh, Matt Pagan’s put on weight! I nearly didn’t recognise him” and “Definitely looks like Matt Pagan has gained weight. No longer the sleek image he had in 2014. He needs to get rid of that excess weight!”

Another wrote: “Great sound, great guys, Matt is looking Porky, put weight on, the rest look really slim”

On his Instagram page, Matt, 25, posted #mentalhealth #think #care #love.

On his Twitter account, he warns: “This really gets to me. I know for a fact a couple of these people will have posted online about their mental health or that of a loved one.

“Why are you so quick to make a comment that could affect someone else’s?

“You don’t know why that weight is there, you don’t know what my current state could be...and also, if I went on your profile and posted on a picture of yours saying “you’re looking fat” I’d get hurled a load of abuse.

“My point is, be careful what you are saying. Because we do read comments. We are human. It does hurt.”

Matt, who was brought up in Carlisle and regularly visits his parents here, told the News & Star that he’d been the target of similar comments “a few times”.

He said: “If you want to comment on my voice, that is absolutely gin, we have put ourselves in the public view.

“People pay to see you in a concert and think it is all right to judge your appearance.

“Social media is an amazing platform, but can be a horrible thing.

“There is a campaign at the moment about banning self-harm material and it is comments like this that drive people to have complexes.”

Matt also revealed that he has battled through mental health issues: “In 2016 I was on four different medications because I went into a depression. We were so busy and it triggered psychosis.

“I went and spoke to someone about it and put a bit on social media about it. I said that there is help out there for people.

“The reason I am saying something online now is because it really does not take much to trigger something like that.

“People need to be careful what they post.”