A university has launched an investigation after a video of male students singing sexist songs on a bus was posted on the internet.

The smartphone footage shows members of the Stirling University hockey club drinking beer and shouting derogatory chants while other passengers, including females, look on awkwardly.

The video, which has been posted on social media site YouTube and has now been viewed more than 20,000 times, shows 15 students laughing at a joke about miscarriages, as well as other sexually inappropriate material.

Some even appear to make mock Nazi salutes after a joke with a punchline in German.

One girl on the bus is heard to say: "This is quite scary".

Another passenger, fourth year student Stuart Mower, posted a message on Twitter at the time saying being on the bus was "torture".

Later, he published a tweet stating: "I really hope the rest of the world doesn't judge all of Stirling from this video. We're not all drooling neanderthals."

Many Facebook users also posted comments, with one stating she was "disgusted", adding: "No wonder so many guys grow up with warped perceptions of sexuality and consent with this kind of behaviour still in practice."

Richard Raymond, vice-president of education at the student union, who was on the bus, said sports teams would be given anti-sexism training. He also apologised for his involvement, although he can be seen at the start of the film walking away from the chanting group to the front of the bus.

He said: "Firstly I would like to apologise for my actions, they are not acceptable and I deeply regret it. I tried to remove myself from the incident by moving to the other end of the bus.

"The men's hockey team will be receiving a discipline internally. We will be organising training for sports teams, which the hockey team and myself will be attending.

"This will help start to tackle the cultural aspect of lad culture and show that it is not acceptable under any circumstances."

A university spokeswoman said: "The university has been made aware of the video featuring our students and is now investigating this further. We take incidents of this nature very seriously and, where appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken."

Last year, Glasgow University was at the centre of a sexism row after accusations that a female debator from Cambridge University was heckled.