An animated version of the fairytale The Three Little Pigs has caused controversy in Austria.

Austrian state television has been forced to issue an apology for showing Disney's 1933 cartoon of the story, in which the Big Bad Wolf was depicted as a Jewish tramp.

The character was even given a long oversized nose and a beard, and spoke with a Yiddish drawl, but it was reanimated following complaints that it was antisemitic.

The original version was shown in Austria last week, provoking criticism.

The director of programming, Wolfgang Lorenz, said he regretted allowing the film to be shown.

"Such a mistake ... will not occur again," he promised.