An intruder at the Crufts dog show was wrestled to the ground as the competition winner was being announced live on television.

The man, who was named by Crufts organisers as a protester from the animal rights group Peta, was brought down in the middle of the show arena, the NEC in Birmingham.

As he broke onto the arena, the Best In Show winner was being announced.

Owner Yvette Short, of Edinburgh, grabbed her two-and-a-half-year-old whippet Tease, as several men cornered the protester.

Peta UK claimed that animal rights activists carrying banners which said "Crufts: Canine Eugenics" had rushed into the area, and tweeted a clip that appeared to show at least two protesters:

Peta said the intruders were members of the Vegan Strike Group, which bills itself as fighters against animal abuse.

Crufts and the NEC Group said they would review security procedures as "a matter of urgency" as the scare had frightened the dogs and risked their safety.

A Crufts spokesman said: "It appears that protesters from Peta gained unauthorised access to the ring in the main arena at Crufts, and in doing so scared the dogs and put the safety of both dogs and people at risk in a hugely irresponsible way."