​A Youtube clip which compares the proposed closure of Gloucestershire libraries to the last days of Hitler, has been condemned as disgusting.

The Youtube clip is one of the so-called "Downfall mashups" in which a scene from the film portraying Hitler's last stand is dubbed over.

In this latest version sub-titles have been added to the scene which sees Hitler in his bunker during his final days.

The sub-titles all refer to the proposed closure of county libraries.

It was posted on Youtube by a contributor called "rpab".

Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries, which is the main campaign group, say the clip has nothing to do with them.

A furious political row broke out over the video after Philip Booth of the Stroud Green Party commented on the Youtube video saying "Great stuff" and after he linked it to his website.

Thisisgloucestershire has not uploaded the video to the site but the clip can be viewed on Youtube by clicking here.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council said: “I am always disgusted when idiots try to use Hitler, Nazism and the Holocaust to score political points.

"Doing so insults the memory of the eleven million human beings that Adolf Hitler murdered and the four hundred thousand British servicemen and women who gave their lives to stop him.

" Anonymous internet trolls are best ignored, but to see this branded great stuff by Philip Booth is sickening. I believe he disgraces the people of Stroud when he endorses this sort of gutter politics.

"He should take a long look at the war memorial in Stroud and reflect upon whether Hitler is a suitable subject for political name calling.

Other Downfall mashups have been widely condemned by human rights groups and many have been taken down for alleged breach of copyright.

Mr Booth said the clip was part of a national campaign and was never intended to suggest Gloucestershire County Council had acted like the Third Reich in making its library decisions.

"I think it has come out of of the frustration of library campaigners that they haven't been listened to," he said.

In his blog he writes: "I was sent a link to this campaign video about our libraries: it is an adaptation of a national campaign video about libraries.

"Please be aware that this contains a 2004 war film of Hitler's last days.

"There is no intention to diminish or disrespect the horrors of that time. Worth checking out is Godwin's law as he suggested that "in any online discussion—regardless of topic or scope— someone inevitably criticizes some point made in the discussion by comparing it to beliefs held by Hitler and the Nazis."

"Of course Glos County Council are not anywhere close to the Third Reich!! But the disregard of people's wishes and the expected impact on vulnerable people is shocking to many of us."