The residents of a small town in Britain have borrowed every single book from their local library in an attempt to stop it from being closed.

Until this week, the town of Stony Stratford, a constituent town of Milton Keynes in north Buckinghamshire, was notable only because its two pubs, The Cock and The Bull, were the likely origin of the phrase "a cock and bull story".

But when the Milton Keynes Council decided to close Stony Stratford's library as part of budget cuts, 6,000 of the town's residents decided they had another story to tell.

A week ago the library held 16,000 books but today the stunned librarians preside over bare shelves.

The people of Stony Stratford have taken home their maximum allowance of 15 books, including dusty mechanics manuals and flimsy paperback novels.

At one stage during the week, nearly 380 books were being stamped out on loan every hour.

The campaign, called 'Wot No Books', was organised on Facebook by Friends of Stony Stratford Library.

The group says the protest aims to show the void that would be left in the community if the library closed.

The Stony Stratford Council has backed the campaign against the Milton Keynes Council, because like many of the town's groups, it holds its meetings in the library.

The Milton Keynes Council says it will continue to consult with the community about the planned closure.