Swansea University student Liam Stacey has been jailed for 56 days for posting offensive comments on Twitter about the on-field collapse of Bolton Wanderers' Fabrice Muamba.

Stacey's tweets were reported to police by Twitter users from across Britain, including the former England striker Stan Collymore. The 21-year-old Stacey admitted incitement to racial hatred. He cried throughout the hearing and held his head in his hands when he was sentenced. He was led away in handcuffs.

District judge John Charles told Stacey: "It was racist abuse via a social networking site instigated as a result of a vile and abhorrent comment about a young footballer who was fighting for his life. At that moment, not just the footballer's family, not just the footballing world but the whole world were literally praying for his life. Your comments aggravated this situation. I have no choice but to impose an immediate custodial sentence to reflect the public outrage at what you have done."

Swansea University, where Stacey is a biology undergraduate, said after the hearing that he had been suspended and a disciplinary hearing would be held.