A man has been arrested in Saudi Arabia for wearing a cartoon costume of a woman showing skin.

The country's morality police swooped on the suspect who was dressed as a mascot for the opening of a sweet shop in Kharaj city near the capital Riyadh.

He was accused of not complying with the strict Islamic dress code which requires women to cover themselves in public.

Pictures posted on social media show the giant mascot being apprehended by officers and the costume bundled in the back of the police car.

Cartoon capers: This mascot was arrested by Saudi's morality police for wearing a costume depicting a woman showing skin in an apparent breach of the country's strict Islamic dress code

Even Saudis themselves thought the incident was bizarre, with many using the Twitter hashtag #TheMoralityPoliceArrestingADummy to poke fun at the arrest, it was reported by Vocativ.

Some went further, saying the morality police were making a mockery of Saudi Arabia in the eyes of the world.

One tweeted: 'You made the world laughing at us, you animals.'

A Saudi user added: 'It's awful that it's 2016 and these idiots still have any authority. Strip them of their power.'

Women in Saudi Arabia have to wear a long black cloak, called an abaya, cover their hair and, in some regions, conceal their faces while in public.

Pictures posted on social media show the giant mascot in the back of the police car after the arrest

Women are also banned from driving by religious edict and cannot travel without authorisation from their male guardians.

In September 2011, a Saudi women sentenced to 10 lashes for defying the driving ban was only spared when King Abdullah stepped in to stop the public flogging.

The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, as it is officially known, is responsible for ensuring Islamic laws like those are not broken in public.

But it has repeatedly been accused of human rights violations.

In 2002, the committee refused to allow female students out of a burning school in the holy city of Mecca because they were not wearing correct head cover.