A DAD is stunned to have become a Youtube sensation after posting a comedy song about Keighley online.

James Reed, 28, wrote, sang and accompanied his creation, entitled Keighley Town Comedy Song, about a month ago. And as of Tuesday, it had been viewed nearly 24,000 times on the social media website.

Mr Reed, who said he composed the song as a light-hearted dig at people who only ever moan about Keighley, added he could not believe how popular the song had been.

“I wasn’t expecting anything from it,” he said. “It was just a bit of a joke. I put it on Youtube one night, and the following morning I saw it had 3,000 views. It was incredible.”

Mr Reed, a married father of two who works at a Keighley carpet company, said even though his song jokes about the town’s poor selection of shops and slightly down-at-heel population, it was never intended as an attack on the town.

The song even suggests people who don’t like Keighley should instead move to Skipton, Ilkley or Harrogate. Mr Reed, who was born in the town but now lives in Steeton, said he loves working in Keighley.

He added the hugely positive reaction to the song, which he accompanies on his recently-acquired ukulele, shows people have understood it is nothing personal.

“I’d uploaded it onto Facebook at first, but then my sister-in-law asked me to put in on Youtube so her friend could see it,” he said. “I was prepared to take it down from Youtube to be honest, even if it had 100,000 views, because I didn’t want to upset anyone. That was never the idea.

“But so far I haven’t had one negative comment about it.

“If you live here you’ve got a right to have a laugh about the place, and I like living here. I’d move away if I didn’t.

“There’s plenty to do here, and people who say there isn’t just don’t know where to look.

“I was brought up in Keighley and I’ve lived all over the town. The diversity in Keighley is unbelievable, and there are people here from everywhere. Some of them are really horrible but most of them are really nice.”

Keighley mayor, Councillor Graham Mitchell, said he had not yet heard the song, but stressed: “I’d support anything that paints Keighley in a positive and preferably humorous light, so good for him.

“There’s too much negativity out there. This is a good town with many good people in it, and we deserve a better presentation than we often get.”