A couple looking to renew their marriage vows in the Maldives were called "swine" and "infidels" by the hotel staff officiating the ceremony.

The video that seems to have been filmed by a member of staff at the Vilu Reef Beach and Spa Resort was supposed to be a traditional Maldivan ceremony conducted in Dhivehi.

One man said to the couple: "Your marriage is not a valid one. You are not the kind of people who can have a valid marriage. One of you is an infidel. The other, too, is an infidel."

The footage was leaked onto YouTube as "a joke" and a local newspaper, Minivan News, discovered it.

The resort claims to be a place where couples can renew their vows "hand in hand against a golden sunset background."

The package that the couple bought is said to be worth over one thousand pounds.