A website has been accused of peddling "fake news" after a story appeared on it claiming a "super-mosque" was about to be built in a Welsh town.
An article on Elitenews247.co.uk said Prestatyn would be turned into the "Muslim capital of Wales" because of plans to build a large mosque in the town centre.
The article said Denbighshire Council had given the go-ahead for a mosque on Gas Works Lane, and included an artist's impression showing what it would look like, according to a BBC report .
It said the development would cost Denbighshire county council in excess of £5.5 million.
But it turned out none of it was true and the drawings were actually taken from a news story about a development in Abu Dhabi.
Denbighshire County Council responded to the article and said: "We can categorically state that this 'news' item is untrue. No planning applications nor enquiries for the construction of any type of permanent structure on the Gas Works Lane market site have been received or made by the Council."
Local councillors confirmed there were no such plans and said they had called the police.
Prestatyn North councillor Paul Penlington told the Daily Post the article "appears designed to stir up racial hatred".
Mr Penlington said: "Some people may claim it is satire but the fact is it singles out one religious group as something others should fear."
He added: "When it becomes acceptable to joke about, or fear, people for no intelligent reason but simply because of their religion or ethnicity you are on a very slippery slope."
Fiyaz Mugha from Tell MAMA, a group which counters anti-Islamic hate and Islamophobia, said: "Super mosque stories have been used before to stir up tensions and to cause divisions in society.
"The key to this is to check and double check and not casually accept what is pushed online or through sources that are not corroborated."
Elitenews247.co.uk has not so far commented on the article.
