The British Heart Foundation has said it will change its social media advertising policies after its advert appeared next to a video glorifying gun violence.

A rap video on YouTube featuring a Birmingham gang member boasting about shooting rivals was found next to promotions for the BHF.

In response, BHF director of marketing and engagement Carolan Davidge said her charity had added new exclusions to prevent this happening again.

She said the charity already does “everything it can” to prevent its adverts appearing alongside inappropriate content.

She said: “We regularly review and amend the types of websites in which our advertising appears, however in this case, the advert had been placed on a site that the user had visited and our exclusions had not prevented it from appearing.

“In response, we have added additional exclusions to reduce the risk of this happening again.

“We will continue to regularly review all the ways we can prevent the BHF being associated in any way with this type of content.”

Yesterday YouTube-owner Google’s chief business officer Philipp Schindler published a blog including an apology for recent cases “where brands’ ads appeared on content that was not aligned with their values”.

“We’re taking a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content," he said. "This includes removing ads more effectively from content that is attacking or harassing people based on their race, religion, gender or similar categories.

“This change will enable us to take action, where appropriate, on a larger set of ads and sites.”

Marie Curie recently suspended all YouTube advertising after finding its adverts placed next to inappropriate YouTube content in recent months.