An Asian man has been convicted of stirring up racial hatred against Muslims after posing online as a far-right hooligan called ‘Chris Nolan’ as an apparent joke.

Ehsan Hussain, 25, posted a series of ‘vile’ messages calling for disorder in areas of Birmingham with a large Muslim population, as riots spread across the country last month.

He used the name ‘Chris Nolan’ to post in a Telegram group which was set up by the far-right in the wake of the Southport murders and had more than 12,000 members.

His messages included ‘Awesome, Saltley Gate tomorrow we doing p*** bashing’ and `Birmingham first! We need to take back whats ours', according to prosecutors.

Messages from the Telegram group were screenshotted and circulated widely on social media, leading a huge counter-protest to gather last month to defend the area from a perceived racist threat.

No such protest ever materialised and the night instead saw scenes of violent disorder among the counter-protesters, culminating in an attack on a pub in Yardley.

Hussain is from an Asian background himself and told a court this week that he was trying to ‘take a poke’ at other far-right members of the Telegram group because he had been shocked by their messages.

A resident of South Yardley, his home on Coventry Road is close to the areas of east Birmingham which were purportedly being targeted by the far-right - Alum Rock and Bordesley Green.

Hussain pleaded guilty on Wednesday at the city’s magistrates’ court to distributing ‘threatening, abusive or insulting’ written material intending to stir up racial hatred between August 3 and 6.

He has been warned to face a substantial custodial sentence when he is sentenced on Friday at Birmingham Crown Court.

Screenshots of his posts were captured by West Midlands Police, which called for disorder in the Alum Rock and Bordesley Green areas.

His solicitor said the offending was ‘commissioned initially out of curiosity’ after he was shocked at some posts and then wrote messages ‘to take a poke’ at others.

District Judge David Murray refused a bail application and remanded Hussain into custody for sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

Hussain spoke only to confirm his plea and personal details.

Prosecutor Shahzad Imam told the court that the maximum sentence available for the offence at the crown court was seven years’ jail.

Applying for sentencing to take place at the crown court, Mr Imam said: ‘The Crown say it falls into higher culpability.

‘The posts were widespread by virtue of significant (online) group membership.’

Defence lawyer Aftab Zahoor said Hussain had written messages after being ‘appalled’ at other posts on a social media platform, which was not named in court, and had now ‘had time to reflect on matters’.

‘He is apologetic and remorseful for his actions,’ Mr Zahoor said of his client.

Committing the case for sentencing at the crown court, District Judge Murray told Hussain: ‘This is part of the overall disorder which caused real problems throughout the country.

‘I will decline jurisdiction in relation to these matters.

‘My powers of sentencing (a six-month maximum sentence) are clearly and substantially exceeded.

‘You have pleaded guilty and you will get credit for your guilty plea in due course.’

Commenting on the case, Chief Superintendent Richard North, from Birmingham Police, said: ‘This has been an excellent but complex investigation.

‘We would like to thank members of the public for alerting us to these posts, which was crucial at a time when we were seeing lots of rumour, speculation and misinformation online; we know this can be extremely harmful to all of our communities.

‘We do not tolerate violence in our towns and cities, or tolerate those who use social media to encourage such violence.’

Police said they were made aware ‘that a member of the public who is unrelated to Hussain was wrongly identified on social media as being the source of the messages’.

That man has been spoken to by officers and is being supported, according to the force.