Otley’s Olympic cycling star Lizzie Armitstead has criticised Frankie Boyle for making a series of poor-taste jokes about the Paralympics.

Silver medallist Lizzie, pictured, used Twitter this week to add her voice to the barrage of criticism directed at the comedian in response to his controversy-courting remarks.

Boyle, who appears on TV station Channel 4, which is the official Para-lympics broadcaster, has posted online comments that included Britain’s best high jumper being “Taliban-assisted”.

Lizzie, 23, who was recently given a hero’s welcome when she brought her London 2012 medal back to Otley, simply tweeted: “Frankie Boyle isn’t funny!”

Boyle has used Twitter to try to defend himself. He posted: “Why not read the Paralympic jokes on my timeline and make your own mind up? Celebratory, non-discriminatory, pretty funny.

“Nobody thinks it’s a good thing to laugh at the disabled. But it is a genuine problem that we’re not allowed to laugh with the disabled.”

The comic returned to Channel 4 last week with The Boyle Variety Perform-ance. Tramadol Nights, a previous series he did for the station, sparked more than 500 complaints after the comedian made fun of Katie Price’s disabled son.