A MAN who posted a grossly offensive Facebook message following the deaths of three Huddersfield soldiers has been spared jail.

Azhar Ahmed, 20, stated that “all soldiers should die and go to hell” two days after the deaths of six British soldiers in March.

He was charged after the mother of one of the town’s deceased soldiers read the comments and was so upset she called police.

Yesterday District Judge Jane Goodwin described the damage caused by Ahmed’s comments as “substantial”.

But she spared him jail, telling him that he would instead serve his sentence in the community.

Her ruling sparked outrage from the large number of protesters that had packed into the public gallery at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court.

One man was detained by police after he shouted out at the judge.

Ahmed, of Fir Avenue in Ravensthorpe, was last month found guilty of sending a grossly offensive communication.

His message read: “People gassin about the deaths of Soldiers! What about the innocent familys who have been brutally killed.

“The women who have been raped. The children who have been sliced up!

“Your enemy’s were the Taliban not innocent harmful familys.

“All soldiers should DIE & go to HELL! THE LOWLIFE F****N SCUM!

“Gotta problem. Go cry at your soldiers grave and wish him hell because that’s where he is going.”

Ahmed claimed during his trial that he didn’t think that his words were offensive.

But Judge Goodwin found him guilty, telling him that the remarks were “derogatory, disrespectful and inflammatory”.

Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, of New Mill, Private Anton Frampton, 20, of Longwood, and Private Daniel Wilford, 21, of Cowlersley, were among the six soldiers killed.

They were serving with the 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and killed when their vehicle hit a Taliban roadside bomb.

Nathalie Taylor, the mother of Corporal Hartley (pictured), was so distressed when she saw Ahmed’s posting that she called police.

Nicholas Barker, defending Ahmed, said that while his client’s actions were serious they didn’t warrant custody.

He said: “The commentary that the defendant began demonstrates that what was motivating him was a legitimate concern about the vulnerable victims of war.”

Mr Barker said that his client went on to overstep the mark but removed the comments when the realised the distress they were causing to others.

He added that there was a “disconnection” in what Ahmed was doing because he was writing in the privacy of his own room.

Mr Barker said that his client believed that his messages would only be read by those registered as his ‘friends’, although he conceded that this was between 600 and 700 people.

Protestors including members of the Combined EX-Forces (CXF) group packed into the court alongside journalists and friends of the family of one of the victims.

Dressed casually in a maroon jumper with dark jeans, Ahmed showed no emotion as Judge Goodwin described him as “young and particularly foolish”.

She told him: “You posted the message in response to tributes and messages of sympathy.

“You knew at the time that this was an emotive and sensitive issue.

“With freedom of speech comes responsibility – you failed to live up to that responsibility.

“The fact that you were sat at home using your own computer makes you no less culpable for your actions.

“I assess the harm caused by your actions to be serious.”

The judge told Ahmed that although his case passed the custody threshold, she was sentencing him to a community order for two years.

This includes supervision, a 50-day activity requirement including the Think Again programme and 240 hours of unpaid work.

Ahmed was also ordered to pay £300 towards prosecution costs.

The sentence was met with cries of “disgusting” from protestors.

One man was detained after making a scene and shouting: “That lad got 12 weeks in prison for what he posted on Facebook.

The man was referring to Matthew Woods, who was sent to prison for his offensive comments about missing five-year-old April Jones.

An hour after he was sentenced, Ahmed left the court through a side door.

He was flanked by several police officers as he ran into a car waiting on the ring road.

A man, who would only give his first name as Dave, had travelled from Cumbria to hear the sentence.

He said: “This has got nothing to do with race, the EDL, BNP or other protestors.

“It’s about those killed in Afghanistan. This is an insult to every person who has lost a father, son or cousin who has been killed serving our country.

“Ahmed’s age is irrelevant. He realised what he was saying and deserved proper punishment”.