Coronation Street actor Marc Anwar sacked over 'racially offensive' tweets

Coronation Street star Marc Anwar has been sacked from the soap for alleged "racially offensive" tweets about Indian people.

The Pakistan-born actor, who joined the show in 2014 to play the role of Sharif Nazir, was dismissed after ITV was alerted to the posts by the Sunday Mirror.

The alleged tweets from Anwar's protected account, published by the newspaper, were critical of India over the disputed Kashmir region and called on Pakistani actors to stop working in the country.

The tweets also referred to Indian people as "b*******" and "p***-drinking c****".

His comments come amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the divided Himalayan territory, following deadly attacks by militants.

ITV said in a statement: "We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar.

"We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect."

The 45-year-old has also appeared in Hollywood films, including Captain Phillips and 51st State.