A SPOOF video of pop song Is This The Way to Amarillo filmed by soldiers in Iraq caused chaos when it crashed computers at RAF Strike Command.

Colleagues back in the UK were so keen to view the four-minute funny that the email server at RAF High Wycombe in Naphill collapsed under the weight of demand.

But Ministry of Defence chiefs played down the level of disruption caused by the 52-megabyte attachment, refuting rumours it brought the entire defence network to its knees.

A spokesman for the MoD told the Free Press: "It's a bit of morale-boosting fun and shows the British Forces are able to keep their chin up.

"All units have now been asked by the MoD to stop forwarding the file."

Shot between patrols on location in the small fishing town of Al Faw, the Peter Kay parody starred more than 40 soldiers from expert tank regiment, the Royal Dragoon Guards.

Soldiers, who filmed the video as a swansong for their six-month tour of duty, changed the song title to Is This the Way to Armadillo referring to the animal that lives in the desert like them.

Back in England the MoD has offered the joke to Comic Relief, which could use it to raise thousands of pounds for charity. Assurances have been made that the stars of the video will be free from disciplinary action.

An MoD spokesman added: "Because of the size and the passage of this file between email accounts, email servers were overloaded and started crashing.

"Suggestions this caused a threat to the defence of the realm are over the top. We obviously take things like this seriously and it will be investigated."

In the video that was emailed around Strike Command on Friday, May 13, Sergeant Roger Parr stars as the Peter Kay lookalike by marching through an Iraqi camp mimicking the comedian and summoning up fellow soldiers along the way.