A Scottish bar that has undergone a re-branding exercise has caused outrage among the local Muslim community who say it is disrespectful to the Islamic faith.

The Dundee establishment, which was formerly known as Bar Rio, has recently reopened as Medina Bar and Grill in the city's Nethergate.

But the move has angered local adherents to the Islamic faith, which discourages the drinking of alcohol among its followers.

Medina is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and is the second holiest site in the Islamic faith behind Mecca.

However, it is also a term used for a market or bustling trading centre in north African cities.

One senior member of Dundee's Central Mosque said the use of the Medina name in a place serving alcohol was "disrespectful".

Mohammed Bashir Chohan, chairman of the Dundee Islamic Society, said: "People are upset about it because Medina is a holy city in Islam. It does hurt when somebody misuses the name, especially if they are going to sell liquor."

However, on Tuesday a spokesman for Medina said there was no offence intended in the bar's new name.

He said: "The designer of the bar came to us with a number of different names. Medina Bar & Grill was one of them. We asked him what it meant and he said it was the use of medina as a noun, rather than the city in Saudi Arabia.

"The bar has a Moroccan theme and, as far as we were told, medina is the hustle-bustle of an old quarter of a north African city. There was no intended link to the second holiest city of Islam, and there was absolutely no offence intended."