Amber Heard’s dog once ate cannabis after “scooping it up” before Johnny Depp could reach it, the High Court has heard.

The Hollywood star was asked about an incident in which a Yorkshire Terrier, named Boo, swallowed “a little ball of hashish” as he gave evidence in his libel action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), publishers of The Sun.

The court has also heard about an alleged incident in which it is claimed Mr Depp held another of Ms Heard’s dogs out of a car window, which he dismissed as “utter falsity”.

Cross-examining Mr Depp, 57, Sasha Wass QC, counsel for NGN, asked the star about an occasion in which Ms Heard’s dog “had eaten some hash, some cannabis, quite a lot”.

The barrister suggested it was about an ounce of hash, but Mr Depp said: “I wouldn’t say it was an ounce.”

The puppy got a hold of a little ball of hashish and just scooped it up before I could get to it

He added: “The puppy got a hold of a little ball of hashish and just scooped it up before I could get to it.”

Earlier, Ms Wass referred to an incident where Mr Depp was travelling in a car with Ms Heard, 34, her sister Whitney, her pet Yorkshire terrier, Pistol, a driver, and the actor’s assistant Nathan Holmes.

The barrister said: “When you were in the car, you were smoking and you opened the window and you were angry and you were aggressive, rather like you were in that clip we saw yesterday, the monster side of your character.”

Mr Depp replied: “No ma’am, I was not in that mode at all.”

Ms Wass said: “And you took hold of Pistol and you held her out of the window and started making howling noises.”

The actor responded: “I can say it is a very endearing image, but it is absolute utter falsity, it is fraudulent.”

I don't think hanging an animal, a small defenceless dog that weighs three pounds out of a window is fun

Ms Wass then suggested Mr Depp thought this was funny, to which he responded: “No ma’am, I don’t think hanging an animal, a small defenceless dog that weighs three pounds out of a window is fun.”

The barrister then asked if Mr Depp had laughed at a suggestion of the dog being put in a microwave, to which he replied that was a “running joke” between himself, Ms Heard and others.

He added: “I wouldn’t say that I was the inventor of that particular joke and also I wasn’t the only one who brought anything like that up.”

In 2014, Ms Heard and Mr Depp recorded a video apologising for bringing Pistol and Boo into Australia illegally.

Ms Heard pleaded guilty to falsifying an immigration document to conceal the dogs in a private jet in 2014, and avoided jail under a deal that included appearing in the video warning others against breaking Australia’s strict quarantine laws.