MEET Brenda, the Geordie Snowwoman, whose demise and the campaign for justice which followed have taken social media by storm.

Residents in Pelaw, Gateshead, built Brenda, an impressive and smartly dressed snowwoman complete with glasses and a shopping bag, earlier this week.

But tragedy struck when vandals knocked her down on Friday.

However, it did not take long for the community to respond, with students building an army of snowmen in her place and signs appearing on a nearby bus stop demanding ‘justice for Brenda.’

Student Thomas Walker posted pictures of the saga on Twitter as it unfolded and his tweets soon went viral, attracting the attention of the local and national press.

The 21-year-old’s initial tweet, which has been liked by more than 22,000 people and retweeted almost 6,000 times, said: “Someone knocked a snowman down in me street and now there’s these signs up and a little army of snowmen.”

He went on to post pictures of Brenda’s grave and the new Brenda who has appeared next to a sign that reads ‘Costa Del Pelaw.’

Mr Walker said: “I never imagined the tweet would go viral. I thought it would just be the locals who found it humorous.”

The Justice for Brenda campaign has been credited with bringing much-needed light relief as severe weather conditions continue to affect the UK.

One Twitter user described it as the most British thing they had ever seen.