A 28-year-old man has been arrested over an online video that allegedly shows a pug replicating a Nazi salute when it hears the phrase "sieg heil".

Markus Meechan, from Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, was held on 28 April and released on bail from Airdrie Sheriff Court the next morning. The arrest has only recently come to light. He now faces hate crime charges.

Detective Inspector David Cockburn, from Lanarkshire CID, said: "There is no place for hate crime in Scotland.

He added: "This arrest should serve as a warning to anyone posting such material online, or in any other capacity, that such views will not be tolerated."

The video, which was viewed nearly a million times, reportedly shows the dog lifting its paw in a salute while a speech by Adolf Hitler plays in the background. The pug belongs to Meechan's girlfriend.

Meechan last month apologised to the Jewish community for the footage, which he said was "just shock comedy", according to the Daily Mail.

"I am not a racist at all, anybody who knows me could tell you that. I'm freaked out because everyone's going to actually think that I hate Jews now and I don't at all. I'm kind of panicked about it," he said.

He made the video to irritate his girlfriend and "give my friends something to laugh at", he said.

"I am so sorry to the Jewish community for any offence I have caused them. This was never my intention and I apologise," he added.