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Sports clubs and athletes from Caerphilly County Borough joined in with a four-day social media blackout as part of a protest against online abuse.

The boycott began at 3pm on Friday, April 30 and came to an end at 11.59pm on Monday, May 3.

Bargoed RFC, Caerphilly RFC and Penallta RFC were among the rugby clubs to join in with the boycott, alongside the Welsh Rugby Union and Dragons Rugby.

The Welsh Football team also joined in with the blackout, alongside Welsh Premier Women’s League side Cascade Ladies and Aber Valley FC.

Wales international Natasha Harding and darts world champion Gerwyn Price also took part, as did Crumlin-based Valleys Gymnastics Academy.

Sports clubs and athletes from across the UK and further afield took part in the blackout.

In a statement prior to the blackout, the Welsh Rugby Union said it “will be part of the sporting world’s boycott of social media this weekend in the collective bid to tackle online racism, discrimination and abuse.

“This is a matter that the WRU takes seriously, having shed light on the abuse received by its players in the past – most recently during this year’s Guinness Six Nations campaign.”

The statement continued: “We are aware that eradicating online abuse won’t happen overnight, but we hope that this weekend’s social media boycott will be the first of many steps towards doing so.”

Dragons rugby star Ashton Hewitt, who used to play for Cross Keys, has previously spoken out about the racist abuse he has received on social media.

Hewitt, who was targeted in a string of vile racist tweets after the Dragons were beaten by the Scarlets in January, penned an open letter that month following the abuse.

He said: “As somebody who has experienced racism throughout my life, within the sport I’ve always played, I want to do what I can to ensure that younger people don’t have to experience some of the things that I did and feel the way I have felt.

“I wasn’t always confident enough to speak up on issues around racism out of fear of ‘rocking the boat’ and raising an issue that nobody else around me would understand.

“This allowed racism to continue unchecked. I also recognised that the number of role models to look up to in my sport weren’t plentiful and as I get older and look past the team, there are a lack of role models throughout entire organisations. This is something I believe must change.”