Giving it everything ... Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield yesterday

A 17-YEAR-OLD lad was arrested today after an internet troll abused teenage diver Tom Daley about his late father after he missed out on an Olympic medal.

Tom, 18, was “gutted” last night after narrowly failing to win a medal in memory of his dad.

And his anguish was made even worse when a sick internet troll taunted him by saying: “You let your dad down, you let our country down.”

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The abuser even stepped up his vile hate campaign late last night, threatening: “@TomDaley1994 i’m going to find you and i’m going to drown you in the pool you cocky t*** your a nobody people like you make me sick.”

Today police in Dorset said they had made an arrest at a guest house in Weymouth after malicious tweets were sent.

A police spokeswoman said: “A 17-year-old man was arrested by Dorset Police officers in the early hours this morning at a guesthouse in the Weymouth area on suspicion of malicious communications.

“He is currently helping police with their inquiries.”

Tom had dedicated his Olympic Games performance to dad Rob, who died last year from cancer aged 40.

Cheered on by his mum, brothers and Prime Minister David Cameron, Tom and partner Pete Waterfield surged into first place with a stunning performance in their first three dives.

But they made a mistake in the next round and finished fourth behind China, Mexico and the US.

Tom later tweeted: “Gutted. So sorry everyone, but we tried our best and you can’t afford to miss a dive at this standard.”

He told interviewers: “It was an amazing experience. I went into that competition giving it my all.

“It’s upsetting that I haven’t been able to realise my dream of winning an Olympic medal.

“I get emotional now just thinking about it because it’s all we’ve dreamed of. To come fourth is just so agonising after all the hard work and all the training.

“If you miss one dive in a field like that, you’re gone. It’s the way sport goes — sometimes it’s for you, sometimes against you.”

Proud ... Tom Daley with dad Rob after 2010 Commonwealth wins

swns

Fan Andy Jennings, 44, from Birmingham, said: “I’m absolutely gutted. We really thought there was going to be a gold.”

As soon as the competition ended, Tom was targeted with a string of abusive Twitter messages sent by a teenage troll with the username @Rileyy_69.

Tom had told his followers he was competing at the Olympics after “the toughest year of my life” following his dad’s death.

But the dim-witted yob tweeted: “@TomDaley1994 you let your dad down I hope you know that.”

The troll went on: “You should be ashamed of yourself you let our country down just f*** off.

“Sit back down Tommy and don’t get on a diving board again my little brother could do better absolute waste of space.

“Hope your crying now you should be why can’t you even produce for your country your just a diver anyway a over hyped p****.” When Tom re-tweeted the vicious posts to expose him, the troll went on: “haha Tom Daley just tweeted me now I know he’s feeling bad. You really didn’t try your best Tommy you said you’d do your country proud and you let us all down rather support a tramp tbh.”

So close ... Pete Waterfield and Tom Daley in action

Within hours, more than 3,500 people had signed a petition to get the troll banned from Twitter.

As fury spread and online pals disowned him, the shamed troll apologised to Tom.

He tweeted: “I’m sorry mate I just wanted you to win cause it’s the Olympics I’m just annoyed we didn’t win I’m sorry Tom accept my apology. I’m really sorry :(. Please I don’t want to be hated.” He also said he had only just found out Tom’s dad had died.

He said he was from Weymouth, Dorset, in a foul-mouthed YouTube rant in which he challenged a Twitter user to a fight. His online profile gives his name as Reece Sonny James and has the quote: “Haters don’t really hate you, they hate themselves.”

But he later abused Tom again, writing: “@TomDaley1994 why don’t you respond to me you p**** stop getting me hate alright I’ve said I’m sorry now f*** off.”

The troll then stepped up his hate campaign with his threat to drown Tom, adding: “I hope you lose on the individual event aswell because your s***. where are you now you little p****?”

Tom has a second chance to bag a medal in the individual platform dive next week.

Police said they were investigating the troll last night. A Dorset Police spokeswoman confirmed: “Regarding tweets to Tom Daley, we are actively looking into it.”