AN ONLINE video of the Honda march last month has been branded a "stitch up" after it included a clip of a self-proclaimed racist.

The film entitled Will Brexit Destroy Britain's Heartlands by Joe.co.uk, which has been viewed around 500,000 times, covered the day of the Unite march through town and included clips of people's views on Brexit.

One customer at the Rat Trap pub expressed strong views on immigration but added that he would vote to remain, given the recent decision from Honda to close the South Marston plant by 2021.

"I didn't vote, but I'm quite racist," he said, adding, "I would have voted out, purely to stop the foreigners from coming over here. I feel like this country has declined massively.

"Well, what I know now, I would vote to stay. Because of all this manufacturing businesses. I don't think a lot of people understanding manufacturing."

However, landlord of the Rat Trap pub Mark Richardson said the video had been a “stitch up”.

“I think they were trying to make fools of them,” he told the Adver

"For the people who liked the video, they might think that it's full of neo-Nazis.

"Any negative isn't good for trade, particularly when we have a lot of people who are mixed race come in here."

Dan John, from Swindon, commented saying: “People watching this in other parts of the UK and indeed abroad, as someone who lives in Swindon, please don’t let this one person be your entire opinion of our town.

“We are far from perfect, but this is not Swindon!"

The man speaking did not want to comment when the Adver approached him.

Head of news at Joe.co.uk Oli Dugmore said the town, on the whole, was good natured on talking about the heated issue and explained the reason for coming to Swindon.

He said: "A lot of Brexit coverage is Westminster-centric. And not a lot of attention is paid to the impact that it will have and is already having on real people's lives.

"I think it brings home the reality to people, it's not just the places that were devastated by de-industrialisation that are going to feel the consequences of this.

Adding: "In speaking to people around Swindon, the vitriol that you find online is not present at all. Largely, people were cordial, conversational, and open to discourse, if you provide them with the opportunity to do it.

"Some people have said we spend ages looking for someone with that point of view, he was actually the first person we spoke to.

"There are people out there who have those beliefs, and it's easy to forget that. Particularly from the bubble of a capital like London. So I thought it was important to represent that."