Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson is barking mad, saying Britain is full of ''utter bastards'' after he was mocked when his dog died.

Clarkson's latest tirade features in Top Gear magazine, and was prompted by the reaction when he tweeted about the recent death of his labrador, Whoopi.

He says the tweets included: ''How does she smell?'', ''Good'', another said the news was ''kinda funny'', and one more wanted to know if it was fellow Top Gear presenter James May's fault.

According to the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail, Clarkson had the following to say about the abuse:

"A few moments ago, my dog died, and, as an experiment, I announced the fact on Twitter.

"Now, everyone must have known that when a family pet is put down, the family in question is bound to be upset.

"So you'd expect a bit of sympathy. And, in America, that's what you'd get.

"Not in Britain, though. Moments after I posted my Tweet, a man called Ryan Paisey asked: "How does she smell?"

Clarkson added: "Britain is a nation of 62 million complete and utter bastards. We are the country that invented the concentration camp, and international slavery.

"Hanging, drawing, quartering: that was us too. And who was it that sent the White Russians home to be slaughtered by Stalin? Yup. Us.''

However, news of Clarkson's outburst drew a quick reaction from tweeters.

''Who joked about murdered prostitutes & shooting protesters, is now complaining about people who joked about his dog's death,'' wrote Scotbot.

While Huw G wrote: ''Just to recap on Jeremy Clarkson's philosophy: Saying people should be executed = funny. Jokes about his dog dying = not funny.''

- © Fairfax NZ News