A left-wing councillor is in trouble with his party leaders after comparing a Tory minister's policies to Adolf Hitler's.

North Middleton councillor Chris Furlong tweeted a picture of Hitler above one of work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, implying that the Conservatives were responsible for the deaths of more disabled people than the dictator.

He has now been reported to his party’s whip.

The councillor, whose Twitter handle is @socialistchris, posted the image two days ago.

It refers to ‘the killing of 70,000 disabled people’ by the Nazis, alongside a reference to ‘81, 040 disabled people’ having died in a little over two years under the Tory government.

The implication appears to be that their deaths were as a result of being deemed fit to work under Conservative welfare changes.

Across the minister’s image it says ‘IDS beats Hitler’.

Coun Richard Farnell, Labour leader of Rochdale council, said: “I have referred this to the chief whip to investigate.”

It is understood members of the council’s Labour group - who are deeply divided - had already been warned not to post inflammatory messages on social media, particularly as tensions mount in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s victory.

Coun Furlong said the tweet referred to government figures showing the number of people who had died within a fortnight of coming off incapacity benefit or employment support allowance.

"People are dying because of policies installed by IDS and most of the media is ignoring it. I am just highlighting the government's figures and giving them an historical comparison," he said.

A spokesman for the Conservative party said: “This should be treated with the disdain it deserves.

“The truth is that on average over the last year 1,600 more people were in work every day, bringing the number of people in a job to a new record of 30.9 million.”

The tweet comes after it emerged that Coun Furlong’s local Labour consituency party, Heywood and Middleton, had reported neighbouring Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk over ‘smears’.

He was said to have spread malicious rumours about former council leader and Heywood councillor Colin Lambert, an accusation he denies.

Mr Danczuk claimed that was the result of a Corbynite ‘witch-hunt’ - although there have long been deep divisions within the local party.