An advert in which a woman belly danced on a bar and said "if you've got it, flaunt it" has been banned for "trivialising" cosmetic surgery.

The radio ad for Glasgow-based Cosmedicare featured a woman writing an apologetic letter to a bar owner after celebrating her surgery.

In a voice over, the character said she was showing off her "new Cosmedicare body, because as they say, if you've got it, flaunt it".

Watchdogs launched a probe after a listener complained that the advert "exploited young people's insecurities about their bodies."

It was banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) after it was found to breach regulations regarding responsible advertising plus harm and offence.

The voice-over said: "Dear sir, apologies for Saturday night's incident at your fine establishment.

"To explain, I had to show off my new Cosmedicare body, because as they say, if you've got it, flaunt it.

"So I did a belly dance on your bar. I'll pay for the damage and would love to apologise in person to that gorgeous bartender of yours, wherever he's recovering?"

Cosmedicare claimed the ad was intended to be a "light-hearted, anecdotal scenario" about a woman who felt good after undergoing cosmetic surgery.

The firm said no specifics about the type of surgery were given and that the advert was not directed at any specific demographic.

Cosmedicare said they did not believe that the ad had the capacity to "exploit" young people's insecurities about their bodies and their only intention was to dramatise the "transformational benefits" that cosmetic surgery could have for some people.

But the ASA said listeners could be led to think the character only felt able to display that behaviour and enjoy a new lifestyle because she felt more confident and attractive after having cosmetic surgery.

An ASA spokesperson said: "We considered that was further emphasised by the voice-over at the end of the ad, which stated 'what will the new you do?'

"We considered the ad went beyond presenting the actions of a woman who had cosmetic surgery in a positive light and implied that she only felt able to behave as described in the ad and enjoy a new lifestyle because she felt more confident and attractive after undergoing cosmetic surgery.

"We were therefore concerned that the ad risked playing on young people's insecurities about their bodies, particularly young women and teenage girls, due to the particular scenario described.

"We also considered the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery was suggested to be something that could be undertaken lightly. For those reasons we concluded the ad was irresponsible and harmful."

The ASA, the UK's regulator of advertising, also said the advert suggested going under the knife was something that could be "taken lightly."

The spokesman said: "We acknowledged the tone of the ad was light-hearted.

"However, in the context of an ad for cosmetic surgery, we considered the impulsive behaviour featured served to trivialise the seriousness of a decision to undergo any such procedure."