Stephen Bunting reveals son targeted by online trolls during World Darts Championship

Bunting has spoken candidly about his own struggles with online abuse

Stephen Bunting during his defeat to James Hurrell at Ally Pally (Getty Images)

Stephen Bunting has revealed his 13-year-old son has been a victim of online abuse during his World Darts Championship campaign.

Toby Bunting was in the crowd at Alexandra Palace as his father, the fourth seed, was knocked out in the third round of the competition by James Hurrell.

Bunting said in a post on X that his family have been hurt by the social media trolling.

"Hi guys, sorry I've had a few days away from my socials, but I just needed a small bit of time after my game to recover and rest," the 40-year-old wrote.

"I love my family so much and they give me massive motivation to continue this journey. I still believe I have a lot to give darts over the rest of my career and I want to make them forever proud.

"They see the negative comments and do their best to make sure I don't see them and even Toby has had some hate from some of the trolls online which really is hurtful for us as a family.

"Toby is one of the nicest kids you could wish to meet and I'll be doing a lot more social stuff with him this coming year."

This comes after Bunting gave an emotional interview after his second round win at Ally Pally, where he detailed his own struggles with online abuse.

"The fans were unbelievable tonight again, you feel the emotion. The walk-on was exceptional,” he told talkSPORT.

"I had a bit of hate online and I thought that was going to relate into the game, to be honest.

"But the fans inside the venue, they know how special they are to me and I was able to use the energy to push myself through."

Additional reporting from PA