YouTube has removed videos that show how to make guns fire at a much faster rate using the legal ’bump stock‘ device deployed by the gunman in the Las Vegas shooting to kill 58 people.

Stephen Paddock launched his deadly attack from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, firing a ’bump stock’ adapted weapon into a crowd of country music fans.

But in the days after the massacre, gun enthusiasts began to complain online that videos featuring the device had been taken down.

On the ‘Firearms’ section of the popular forum Reddit, one user complained: “YouTube is removing bump-fire videos and issuing strikes to channels that have them, seriously, WTF YouTube?”

And in a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for the video-sharing website said: “We have long had a policy against harmful and dangerous content.

“In the wake of the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, we have taken a closer look at videos that demonstrate how to convert firearms to make them fire more quickly and we’ve expanded our existing policy to prohibit these videos.”

YouTube’s content guidelines forbid “content that intends to incite violence or encourage dangerous or illegal activities that have an inherent risk of serious physical harm or death”.

Paddock’s family said they were stunned to learn he was responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history (AP)

Paddock’s gunshots were made in rapid succession, leading some to believe he was using an automatic weapon, which are illegal to buy in the US.

But it was later revealed he was using a ‘bump stock’ adaptor, which allows shots to be fired much faster than with a standard semi-automatic weapon that just fires one bullet at a time.

Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting – in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

The products can be bought legally for $100 (£76) and easily fitted to many types of rifle, which fire a round each time the trigger is pulled.

After their role in the shooting – declared the worst in modern US history – was revealed, there was a spike in ‘bump stock’ sales as gun enthusiasts feared they would be made illegal.