The council has been sent a photograph of a noose and councillors have been compared to Nazis.
Oxford city councillors have received a number of death threats over a conspiracy theory about a scheme to curb traffic.
Local politicians have removed their home addresses from council websites, following “threatening and aggressive correspondence” in relation to the story, according to The Times.
It is claimed by the council’s detractors that the city of Oxford was to be divided into “zones”, which residents would be prevented from leaving, in order to combat climate change.
Calls, email and social media messages are flooding into the council, decrying the “lockdown” plot from local leaders.
The conspiracy emerged after Oxford County Council approved a trial scheme, costing £6.5million, preventing motorists from using particular routes at particular times.
The scheme, which will be in place for six-months during a trial period, is aimed at reducing the number of unnecessary journeys in the congested city and enable buses to travel more easily.
In addition, the council’s congestion plan, which is expected to be road-tested this year, is also designed to “tackle climate change” by reducing pollution.
The system would operate by using number plate recognition cameras which would monitor traffic on six key roads in the city centre.
These “traffic filters” would see drivers that break the rules slapped with a £70 fine. Unlike bikes and public transport, private cars will need a permit to travel on the six roads in question.
Additional exemptions include blue badge holders, cars, business owners and emergency workers. Residents that don’t fall into any of these categories can apply for a permit on 100 days of the year.
This initiative has been hijacked by a number of prominent conspiracy theorists, including Piers Corbyn, the older brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Amongst the false claims made by the scheme’s detractors, some claimed that electronic gates would divide the city along the six roads identified by the council.
Conspiracy theorists claimed residents would require the permission of the council to leave their zone, with the scheme motivated by the global green agenda.
Piers Corbyn, after getting into a public meeting about the initiative in November, lambasted local councillors, telling the audience that “man-made climate change does not exist” and “lockdowns” were evidence of a “carbon cult”.
Following a leafleting campaign by activists from Not Our Future, which claimed Oxford had been chosen as a test location for a UN plot to keep people confined to small spaces, Oxford County Council and Oxford City Council received a deluge of messages from local residents.
Local people expressed their concern that armed guards deployed by the council would keep them “trapped in their homes”.
A spokesman from the county council dismissed the allegations, saying everyone in Oxford will be able to drive wherever they please and whatever time they like.
The spokesman added that the new filters would not “trap” anyone.
They said: “They’re points on a road, not a ‘zone’.
“People living on roads near them can enter and leave via other roads any time without a permit.”
“Everyone can enter and leave their street in at least one direction without going through a filter.”
In response to a video, in which a local restauranteur, Clint Pugh, attacks the council’s proposal, former footballer Matt Le Tissier tweeted: “Don’t let Oxford city council get away with this.”
Despite repeated official social media postings dispelling the myths around the trial policy, the council has said the amount of misinformation has spiralled in the last fortnight.
Social media users urged residents to “hunt down all council members” and “drag them to the Tower of London”. A photograph of a noose was also sent to the city council.
An anonymous message, seen by the Times, sent to the council called councillors Nazis and said they were placing people under house arrest in their “sectors”.
The message read: “What are you going to do next, send us to concentration camps? When will the gassing of motorists start? Anyone with any self-respect, will fight you with our dying breath.”
Oxfordshire County Council told Express.co.uk: “There has been a high volume of email correspondence to councillors and officers as well as social media posts, letters and phone calls. There has also been a contact made through our customer service team.
“In some instances, the correspondence and interactions have been aggressive and threatening in nature, and we have reported the worst of this to colleagues at Thames Valley Police.”
Oxford City Council also confirmed they had received “thousands of comments” on social media.