BBC News presenter turned firefighter, Beccy Barr from Lancashire, reveals shocking insult she received

Taking to her Twitter/X account last night (Sunday, January 14), Lancaster born Beccy Barr- a journalist turned firefighter- revealed she has received a host of threats and troll messages in the past.

The 40-something-year-old mum, who in December 2023 announced she had been diagnosed with incurable cancer, added that there was one message in particular however that stood out as the most bizarre.

In response to a tweet advertising a new podcast focusing on people’s outrageous behaviour on social media, Beccy revealed that a man had once sent a picture of his pooh alongside a horrible comment about her appearance.

Journalist Marianna Spring had tweeted: “V excited Radio 4's Why Do You Hate Me podcast launches January 31st! 

“Why do people behave the way they do on social media? I investigate extraordinary cases of online hate, tracking down impersonators, deep-fakers, conspiracy theorists and those harmed.”

Quoting Marianna's tweet, Beccy wrote: “Can’t wait for this. Today I found some files relating to online threats & trolling I received in the past. It’s more bizarre than I recalled. One person sent me photos of his [insert pooh emoji] and tell me I was so ugly I even made his [insert pooh emoji] look sexy."

When another user replied “WTH ? Not okay but ignore the haters..”, Beccy then responded: “Makes no odds to me, but I do think it’s important to acknowledge this happens all the time.”

Beccy started her journalism career at the Blackpool Citizen in her early 20s, before moving to London to join trade paper Money Marketing.

She also worked as a reporter with the Bloomberg financial news organisation in New York and presenting financial news at CNBC in London.

In March 2013, Beccy then joined North West Tonight and during her time there, she had stints presenting BBC Radio Lancashire’s breakfast programme, as well as covering business news for BBC Radio 5 Live, presenting Sunday Politics North West and reporting for BBC Inside Out.

After 20 years as a journalist and seven with BBC’s North West Tonight, she joined the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service in September 2019, following in the footsteps of her father, Roy Barr.