Award-winning actor Adam Deacon has been fined and given a restraining order after bombarding his former mentor with abusive messages while suffering from cannabis-induced psychosis.

Hackney Gazette: Noel Clarke arriving at Hammersmith Magistrate's Court,Noel Clarke arriving at Hammersmith Magistrate's Court, (Image: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

The Babylon star sent hundreds of abusive messages to director Noel Clarke, branding him a bully and threatening his family during a period of heavy drug use.

Deacon, 32, was given a two year restraining order preventing him from contacting Mr Clarke, and told to pay £500 compensation after subjecting Mr Clarke to a ‘barrage of abuse’ and inciting others to hurt him.

Deacon won his first break playing troubled teenager Jay in Kidulthood, a film written by Mr Clarke. But the pair fell out over Deacon’s 2011 directing debut ‘Anuvahood’ which Mr Clarke claims infringed on the copyright of his films.

Mr Clarke said he had initially helped Deacon with his film, but his protégé then signed a contract cutting him and his team out of the project.

Hammersmith Magistrates Court heard how pictures of his family had been posted online by fans, and that Deacon had encouraged his supporters to find his address. One fan allegedly posted an image of his children 81 times in a single day on Facebook, and another used the same picture with an emoji of a gun captioned ‘You have to love family’.

After Mr Clarke made a statement to police, Deacon posted a tweet saying: ‘I’m going to kill that pr**k.” “It’s a death threat really, isn’t it,’ Mr Clarke said.

Oscar Merry, representing Deacon said his client had suffered from mental health problems and had been increasingly using skunk cannabis, causing him to have ‘paranoid’ and ‘psychotic’ episodes, leading to him being sectioned under the mental health act for several months in Mile End hospital.

Judge Shenagh Bayne told him: “I am very impressed by the fact that you have been pro-active in addressing your mental health problems and working to support others going through similar experiences.”

Deacon claimed Mr Clarke was out to sabotage his career and couldn’t bear to see him “stepping out of his shadow”.

Deacon has been volunteering to help people with mental health difficulties and to spread awareness about mental health issues since his conviction last month.