A woman has accused shoe giant Clarks of anti-Scottish discrimination after she received an email from recruiters which noted they should "think twice" about employing her.

Dawn Scott applied for a customer care agent post with the company via recruitment site Indeed.

But she was left shocked when a reply came back with the line: "Invite? She's Scottish mind you... think twice."

Dawn, who now lives in Somerset but is originally from Haddington in East Lothian, highlighted the blunder to Clarks on its official Facebook page.

Posting a redacted version of the response, she wrote: "I have never been so offended as I was after receiving a email back from one of your recruitment managers regarding a job I applied for in one of your stores . I expected so much more from a company like Clark's , this is a form of discrimination and a form of racism - I emailed to asked what was meant by this comment and I was told it was a poor joke ! Truly Disgusting !"

Clarks later confirmed it had apologised to Dawn and had invited her to an interview.

A spokeswoman said: "Clarks is deeply concerned by this situation.

"Although the email was sent in error and was a poor attempt at a joke by a member of staff, who is herself Scottish, to the intended recipient, this was totally unacceptable and we understand the offence caused.

"We have spoken directly with the candidate to apologise and to express our sincere regret.

"We have also reiterated our desire for her to come in for an interview with us, which unfortunately she has declined."

The company said it had spoken to the member of staff who wrote the comments and stressed it expects all employees to treat others "fairly, with dignity and respect".

The spokeswoman added: "Selection decisions are based solely on merit, aptitude and ability, and we never knowingly discriminate on any grounds."