Tony Abbott filmed downing a beer in only seven seconds

Some may say it is behaviour unbecoming of a prime minister. Others have applauded it.

Footage has emerged of the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, knocking back a large glass of beer in only seven seconds.

It is certainly not something Mr Abbott's political hero, Winston Churchill, was ever filmed doing.

But the incident is not a first in Australian politics - and is not all that unusual for Mr Abbott.

The prime minister was at a bar in east Sydney on Saturday along with players from the UTS Bats Australian Rules football team.

Some members of the team shouted chants encouraging him to finish his drink in one move - and Mr Abbott duly complied.

He finished the schooner - around two-thirds of a pint - in a little more than seven seconds.

One of the team's coaches, Simon Carrodus, told Australian Women's Weekly: "He proceeds to reach down and grab a schooner and he drank from head-to-toe the entire schooner, dribbling little bits on his shirt.

"He was proud as punch."

One of Mr Abbott's predecessors, Bob Hawke, boasted of breaking a world record by drinking two-and-a-half pints of beer in only 11 seconds.

In 2012, aged 82, he was filmed drinking a large beer in seconds at a cricket match.

Mr Abbott said last year he enjoyed "a drink on social occasions" but warned of the perils of binge drinking.

He wrote: "There's a world of difference between having two or three drinks a night and occasionally a bit more on a Saturday night and this new binge culture."

After the footage was posted, Mr Abbott came in for some criticism. One Twitter user said: "Whoop dee doo Abbott chugged a beer. Still can't run a government."

But many of the responses were congratulatory. Ben Cubby, the deputy editor of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, wrote on Twitter: "Say what you like, but Abbott did well with that beer."

Whether the popularity of the video has a wider effect is not yet clear - Mr Abbott's approval ratings remain at 32%.