A judge has intervened to stop a trans woman and Catholic journalist from mentioning each other on Twitter following a row over the social media platform. 

Trans activist Stephanie Hayden sought an injunction against Caroline Farrow after alleging that she was harrassed by her in tweets. 

Ms Hayden told the court: "It was a clear attempt by the defendant to, I say successfully, whip up a social media storm."

Mrs Farrow, a mother-of-five, has denied the allegations.

Her barrister Amanda Jones said: "What the claimant has described as robust criticism of the defendant has been a positive avalanche of abuse over a number of months."

At a High Court hearing in London on Thursday, Mr Justice Bryan granted the injunction but also asked that Ms Hayden refrain from mentioning Mrs Farrow in her tweets, which she agreed to do. 

The BBC reports that the injunction against Mrs Farrow specifically bans her from "misgendering" the activist.  "Misgendering" occurs when a trans person is referred to as their birth gender rather than their legal gender. 

The judge said he was granting the injunction because the row had "got out of control".  

He said: "The tweeting... has got out of control. Each have said things in those tweets which, in the cold light of day in this court, I would anticipate they would rather wish they had not done."

Mrs Farrow, who is married to a priest, has spoken frequently in the media in support of traditional Christian values.

She was recently called for interview by the police after the founder of transgender support charity Mermaids, Susie Green, accused her of misgendering her daughter on Twitter.  The complaint was later withdrawn and police took no further action. 

Following the court hearing, Mrs Farrow tweeted that she was taking a break from Twitter. 

"As a result of events today, I have decided to take a break from social media until the court case is resolved," she said.

"This is partly because of legal advice. More importantly, it's because I simply want to remember what it feels like to be a mother, wife, and frankly a human being."