diff --git a/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit.go b/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit.go
index 17bf71e..e530a8e 100644
--- a/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit.go
+++ b/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit.go
@@ -451,15 +451,16 @@ func (s *submitServer) saveReport(ctx context.Context, p parsedPayload, reportDi
 }
 
 func buildGithubIssueRequest(p parsedPayload, listingURL string) github.IssueRequest {
+	// set the title to the first (non-empty) line of the user's report, if any
 	var title string
-	if p.UserText == "" {
+	trimmedUserText := strings.TrimSpace(p.UserText)
+	if trimmedUserText == "" {
 		title = "Untitled report"
 	} else {
-		// set the title to the first line of the user's report
-		if i := strings.IndexAny(p.UserText, "\r\n"); i < 0 {
-			title = p.UserText
+		if i := strings.IndexAny(trimmedUserText, "\r\n"); i < 0 {
+			title = trimmedUserText
 		} else {
-			title = p.UserText[0:i]
+			title = trimmedUserText[0:i]
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit_test.go b/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit_test.go
index 88ca6ff..76d4372 100644
--- a/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit_test.go
+++ b/src/github.com/matrix-org/rageshake/submit_test.go
@@ -361,3 +361,66 @@ func mkTempDir(t *testing.T) string {
 	}
 	return td
 }
+
+/*****************************************************************************
+ *
+ * buildGithubIssueRequest tests
+ */
+
+func TestBuildGithubIssueLeadingNewline(t *testing.T) {
+	body := `------WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO
+Content-Disposition: form-data; name="text"
+
+
+test words.
+------WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO
+Content-Disposition: form-data; name="app"
+
+riot-web
+------WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO--
+`
+	p, _ := testParsePayload(t, body,
+		"multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO",
+		"",
+	)
+
+	if p == nil {
+		t.Fatal("parseRequest returned nil")
+	}
+
+	issueReq := buildGithubIssueRequest(*p, "http://test/listing/foo")
+
+	if *issueReq.Title != "test words." {
+		t.Errorf("Title: got %s, want %s", *issueReq.Title, "test words.")
+	}
+	expectedBody := "User message:\n```\n\ntest words.\n```"
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(*issueReq.Body, expectedBody) {
+		t.Errorf("Body: got %s, want %s", *issueReq.Body, expectedBody)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildGithubIssueEmptyBody(t *testing.T) {
+	body := `------WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO
+Content-Disposition: form-data; name="text"
+
+------WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO--
+`
+	p, _ := testParsePayload(t, body,
+		"multipart/form-data; boundary=----WebKitFormBoundarySsdgl8Nq9voFyhdO",
+		"",
+	)
+
+	if p == nil {
+		t.Fatal("parseRequest returned nil")
+	}
+
+	issueReq := buildGithubIssueRequest(*p, "http://test/listing/foo")
+
+	if *issueReq.Title != "Untitled report" {
+		t.Errorf("Title: got %s, want %s", *issueReq.Title, "Untitled report")
+	}
+	expectedBody := "User message:\n```\n\n```"
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(*issueReq.Body, expectedBody) {
+		t.Errorf("Body: got %s, want %s", *issueReq.Body, expectedBody)
+	}
+}