TWO men appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court last week charged with posting offensive remarks about the death of Alva schoolboy Scott Chiriseri.

Police were informed of the Facebook posts by members of the public and later arrested the two males, both aged 22, on Tuesday, 9 December.

One of the males, of Hutton Place, Alloa, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Communications Act 2003.

The other, from Bruce Street, Clackmannan, denied the charge and is scheduled to face trial on 12 May.

A police spokeswoman confirmed: “Police in Alloa arrested two 22-year-old men under the Communications Act 2003 on Tuesday, December 9, following concerns raised to us regarding offensive comments made on a social media website.

“They appeared in Alloa Sheriff Court on Wednesday, December 10. These comments were concerning an incident in Alva, which occurred on Friday, December 5.” The offending material was posted days after five-year-old Scott was found dead at his home in Carnaughton Place, Alva.

His mother, Farai Chirashi, was official charged with his murder on Tuesday — the same day the two Clackmannashire men were arrested.

Representatives of Mrs Chishari (32) made no plea or declaration on her behalf during the brief hearing at Alloa Sheriff Court.

She remains in custody under provisions in the Mental Health Act and can be detained for up to 28 days.

On Tuesday night, Forth Valley police issued a statement on their own Facebook page warning members of the public to be mindful of what they post online.

It said there had been a number of incidents regarding social media posts that were now subject to police investigations.

It continued: “Can we remind the general public to consider what they are posting on such sites and in particular the re-posting of offensive comments.” Chief Inspector Stephen Sneddon, area commander for Clackmannanshire, later spoke about the dangers posed by posting comments across the internet.

He said: “My general advice to anyone considering posting anything on social media is if it would be offensive in general conversation, it will cause — and could possibly be criminal — if posted online.”