As we reported yesterday, opera star Katherine Jenkins took to Twitter to deny the rumour that she had had an affair with David Beckham.

The rumour – which spread on Twitter like wildfire – seemingly came out of nowhere, but prompted what is becoming an all too predictable backlash from unstable Twitter users who sent vile threats to Katherine.

The Sun reports that several people threatened to kill Katherine over the rumour, with one sicko remarking, “She’s dead when I get her” — and: “I will kill that s***.”

A friend of Katherine’s told the paper, “She was disgusted by the abuse because it was so sinister and scary

“When she saw the messages she straight away wanted to protect herself by getting police involved.”

The paper adds, “One of the trolls is a 17-year-old, whose identity The Sun knows.”

He reportedly tweeted, “Honestly, and you all said my dislike of Katherine Jenkins was irrational (it is, and that b**** is getting cut if David and Posh split.”

He later added, “Emotional support will be needed if any truth comes from this. I love Posh and Becks.”

A spokesman for Katherine said, “Due to the serious nature of the threats, the tweets have been reported to the police.”

And her friend added, “The threat to ‘cut’ her got to her the most. That guy crossed the line.”

As mentioned, the threats began after Katherine tweeted on Friday, “I’ve read some horrible rumours on here and want you to know I absolutely deny I’ve had an affair with David Beckham.

“The rumours are hurtful, untrue and, my lawyers tell me, actionable.”

Poor girl – we so need some new laws to deal with these freaks, and soon before one of them actually carries out one of these threats.