X Factor contestant Stephanie Nala has come forward about the horrific abuse she has received on Twitter since first appearing in the show – getting over 200 death threats from “rival gangs”.

Stephanie had trouble with girl gangs in school, to the point where police had to be called to intervene.

“When I was 14 I used to hang around with a girl in the older years, and our group had problems with a gang from a different school,” Stephanie said.

“There were times when I had to leave school early because there were a load of girls waiting for me outside the gates. It got so bad that the police were called once.”

Since the 19-year-old singer got through to the X Factor live shows however, she has feared for her life.

“Since I sang on the live show last week I’ve been sent death threats,” Stephanie reported.

“I’ve had 200 messages on Twitter from people saying that they’re going to knife me, and that I’m going to get what’s coming to me. They’ve threatened my family too.”

“One message, from someone who lives near me, said I was only on X Factor because of what I look like — and when I leave that can be changed.”

X Factor has reported these terrifying threats to Twitter, who advise anyone receiving abusing messages to report them immediately.