Five Muslim men in Britain have been charged with distributing leaflets calling for gay people to be executed.

The men distributed the leaflets outside a mosque in Derby and through letter-boxes before a Gay Pride parade in 2010, The Sun reported.

One leaflet titled 'The Death Penalty?' included a picture of a hanged mannequin.

It said death sentence had 'already been passed on every homosexual' and the only issue was whether they were to be hanged, burned or stoned.

A second titled 'Turn or Burn' featured a blazing lake as an image of hell while a third told gays 'God abhors you' and warned of 'severe punishment'.

Razwan Javed, 28, Kabir Ahmed, 28, Ihjaz Ali, 42, Umer Javed, 38, and Mehboob Hussain, 44 - all residents of Derby - have denied distributing the material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

"I felt it meant I was going to get burnt. I've never seen anything so disgraceful. It made me feel physically sick," a gay man who was given one such leaflet told the Derby crown court.

Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema said the message on the leaflets was 'horrible, frightening and nasty'.