Teesside-based personal trainer, Mike Hind MBE, revealed in an emotional video that his baton relay had been overshadowed by “haters and trolls.”
Mr Hind was passed the Queen’s Baton in Middlesbrough by Kash Patel during the relay, which is part of celebrations of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
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However, what was supposed to be his “biggest day” was “overshadowed” by “haters and trolls” who turned up to the event.
In an emotional video on Facebook, Mr Hind said trolls turned up to where “all my kids and family were” and spoiled the day.
He added that the trolls had got “what they wanted and they got the reaction that they wanted.”
He continued to stress that his wife was “crying his eyes out and my daughters are absolutely in tears.”
Police who were already policing the event soon dealt with the trolls while Mr Hind recorded a Facebook live revealing what had happened.
He said: “these trolls turned up with a video camera saying that somehow I’ve done something wrong.
“For all the trolls, you’ve just had my kids in absolute tears, you’ve had my wife in tears and you’ve probably just took a part of what was meant to be the biggest day of my life away from me.”
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He continued to stress that he deals with trolls online as well but has previously “remained silent” about it.
He added: “But thinking that it’s acceptable to turn up to an event like the commonwealth, and try and discredit me is an absolute travesty.
“To be honest I just want to go home and cry, I’m sick of everything, I don’t know why I bother and try and be the person I am.”
Mike Hind won an MBE in February for his role in delivering food and essentials to vulnerable families during the Coronavirus pandemic
In collecting his MBE, Mr Hind made the journey on foot, walking 250 miles from Middlesbrough to Windsor Castle.
In the process, he raised money for the armed forces charity SSAFA.
He was handed his medal by the Prince of Wales, who advised him to celebrate with a tipple.
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A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: "I can confirm that during today’s event we dealt with a report of harassment.
"This was handled swiftly by officers policing the event and we spoke to the complainant. No arrests were made. This did not disrupt the relay and the event continued."
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