A councillor has caused fury after a ‘mockumentary’ he made which was intended to appeal to young residents ended up ‘lampooning’ and ‘insulting’ the town.

Councillor Joseph Hughes was inspired by TV shows The Office and Cunk on Earth when he made the ten-minute film to try to promote his hometown of Andover.

The Hampshire town has long faced criticism over perceptions that it is boring, and was last month nominated as one of Britain’s most depressing places to live in.

To combat this, the 26-year-old got permission from fellow councillors at Andover Town Council to experiment with a David Brent-inspired ‘tongue in cheek’ film.

But when they saw the resulting video in which Councillor Hughes was filmed pouring scorn on the town’s Christmas lights switch-on, they were distraught – with many voicing concerns that it was ‘insulting’ and would cause ‘reputational damage’.

Ignoring requests from councillors not to publish it, Councillor Hughes posted it on his personal YouTube page – with the support of his ‘proud’ father, Andover’s Mayor.

Another councillor, Katherine Bird, said Councillor Hughes was given permission to make a pilot to explore a new way of promoting the town and gave him microphones the authority already owned to use for it – but her ‘heart sank’ when she watched it. 

Councillor Joseph Hughes made the short film to try to promote his home town of Andover

Councillor Hughes spoke to various people in Andover about the Christmas lights switch-on

Councillor Hughes was filmed pouring scorn on the town’s Christmas lights switch-on

Councillor Hughes posted the ten-minute video about Andover on his personal YouTube page

Furious locals have written formal complaints, accusing it of ‘degrading’ their beloved lights switch-on.

Tensions erupted at a subsequent council meeting which descended into ‘chaos’, with arguments, a councillor swearing at another and the Mayor storming out.

And the issue refused to go away at another meeting, which ended with a committee passing a motion to condemn the video for portraying the council in a bad light.

Councillor Hughes’s film, ‘Andover’s Countdown to Christmas’, sees him take a starring role walking around the town and attending the switch-on event.

In the video – described by some as ‘cringeworthy’ – he asks Andover residents if they think the lights show was ‘underwhelming or extremely underwhelming’.

Some 16 formal complaints were submitted via angry locals, with local businesses and charities telling the council they were ‘disappointed’ it was published.

Viewers voiced concerns that the video was ‘insulting’ and would cause ‘reputational damage’

Furious locals have written formal complaints, accusing it of ‘degrading’ the lights switch-on

Tensions over the video erupted at a later council meeting which descended into ‘chaos’

He said the town council clerk told him he was ‘fully entitled’ to publish it under his own name

Councillor Katherine Bird said the council gave Councillor Hughes permission to make a pilot to explore a new way of promoting the town and gave him microphones the authority already owned to use for it.

She said: ‘There was a lack of youth engagement so the thinking was could and should we, as a council, look at other ways, and he proposed doing something more tongue in cheek to attract younger people.

‘The Christmas lights switch-on is one of the biggest events of the year, 10,000 people come and it’s a really positive social event and lots of local businesses come together.’

Councillor Bird, who agreed to give an interview in a personal capacity, continued: ‘When you watch it, your heart sinks further and further.

‘If you’ve watched something like The Office or Philomena Cunk, they are satire but they never punch down and the person they make fun of is themselves.

The councillor was given microphones which the authority already owned to use for the video

Councillor Hughes got permission to make a pilot to explore a new way of promoting the town

Viewers have claimed the short video was ‘insulting’ and would cause ‘reputational damage’

Councillor Hughes posted the ten-minute video about Andover on his personal YouTube page

‘It was less than complimentary about the town itself and pretty insulting to our partners. People that are incredibly hard working for the town are being lampooned.  It wasn’t at all what we expected. 

‘You don’t have to punch down to have a laugh. We had our [council business] partners saying to us they were really sad and disappointed in the town council for publishing this. We’ve had more complaints about this than anything else.’

Many locals have reacted to the video online.

Sarah Wilmot said: ‘I thought the original idea was to highlight businesses in Andover in a positive and humorous way unfortunately the video did neither, it was derogatory and did nothing to encourage shoppers or future businesses into the town.’

Kevin Rush said he was ‘fuming’, adding: ‘I totally get the humour of a mockumentary but this is way off the mark.’

Many locals have reacted to the video online which the councillor posted on his YouTube page

Councillor Hughes said ‘analytics on the video have shown more positivity than negativity’

The councilor said he had received 46 likes on the video, compared to 16 letters of complaint

Jonathan Farrow said it was ‘cringeworthy’, while Lisa Cain said ‘the only people who will like it are the usual ones who slag off the town anyway’. 

When Councillor Hughes showed councillors the video and that he intended to publish it, they ‘overwhelmingly’ told him it was not appropriate and not to.

However, it is understood that his father – Mayor of Andover Robin Hughes – encouraged his son to publish it and said he was a ‘proud’ father.

At a tense council meeting on January 24, the public grilled councillors over the video, leading to councillors insulting each other.

Councillor Richard Kidd reportedly told Councillor Mark Farren to ‘shut the f**k up’ following disagreements.

It was said that when councillors voiced their concerns about his son’s video, Mayor Hughes – who was chairing the meeting – walked out.

Councillor Joseph Hughes is pictured in his profile photo for Andover Town Council

It is understood that the councillor’s father – Mayor of Andover Robin Hughes – encouraged his son to publish it and said he was a ‘proud’ father

Councillor Katherine Bird (pictured) said the council gave him permission to make a pilot

Speaking today, Councillor Hughes said he had a ‘broad range’ of inspirations for the mockumentary, from The Office to Ali G, but ‘especially Cunk on Earth played by Diane Morgan’.

He said: ‘The whole concept of this project is to highlight the town in a satirical way, most importantly shining light on the charities that offer amazing groups and services for vulnerable people. It’s done out of pure love for the town and services.’

Councillor Hughes added: ‘Analytics on the video have shown more positivity than negativity – with 46 likes, compared to those 16 letters of complaint.’

He said the town council clerk told him he was ‘fully entitled’ to publish it under his own name if he didn’t want to wait for approval.

Mayor Hughes defended his son’s video.

He said: ‘It’s a mockumentary, it’s not real. I think he expected some kickback because if you are a boomer you don’t get the humour that’s in a mockumentary. 

The councillor got permission to experiment with a David Brent-inspired ‘tongue in cheek’ film

Councillor Hughes said he had also been inspired by Diane Morgan’s show Cunk on Earth

‘He’s so much younger than them, I don’t think they relate to him. In the video he plays an exaggerated version of himself. I think the councillors have gone way over the top.

‘Now we’ve got the absurd situation where they are saying he’s caused reputational damage. I think the reaction is a storm in a teacup. They’ve made a mockery of the town council.’

An Andover Town Council spokeswoman said: ‘The mockumentary was not published by the council, and therefore the council have no control over its content.

‘Unfortunately, the council has received some criticism from residents on this subject, and this has been fully considered by council, and lessons have been learnt.’

At a committee meeting on January 31, councillors passed a motion to condemn the video. The motion will now go to a full council meeting.