ROCK star Justin Hawkins has called in police after receiving death threats.The frontman of Lowestoft band The Darkness received the hate mail shortly after his Brit Awards triumph last week.

ROCK star Justin Hawkins has called in police after receiving death threats.

The frontman of Lowestoft band The Darkness received the hate mail shortly after his Brit Awards triumph last week.

Security has been stepped up for the 28-year-old and the rest of the band - Justin's brother Dan, Frankie Poullain and Ed Graham.

Justin told a national newspaper: "It was a hand-written letter, very weird.

"It's quite flattering that somebody wants to kill me but at the same time it's very scary.

"I don't know who it is but we've got the police involved and CID are checking the letter with fingerprints and all that stuff."

The band's manager, Sue Whitehouse, is also thought to have received the hate mail, which comes before The Darkness are set to release their fifth single.

A spokesman for The Darkness, who scooped three Brits last week, British Album, British Group and British Rock Act, said: "A band of this stature are bound to receive letters of this nature.

"We do not wish to make any further comment due to the distress it has caused to family and friends."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are investigating after a 28-year-old man and 42-year-old woman reported receiving threatening mail.

"There have been no arrests and inquiries are continuing."

Meanwhile, Justin has joined a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaign against fast food giant KFC.

He has penned a letter to KFC chief David Novak, taking him to task for the "cruel treatment" of birds killed for the fast-food chain's restaurants.

The rocker is urging KFC to implement PETA's recommended improvements in the treatment of its chickens.

The changes are "based on the scientific work of KFC's own animal-welfare advisors and would eliminate only the worst abuses of these animals", writes Justin in his letter to Mr Novak.

Other celebrities to join the organisation's Kentucky Fried Cruelty Campaign have included US comedian Richard Pryor, model Pamela Anderson, hip-hop stars the Black Eyed Peas and Sir Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde.