Warburtons has backtracked after publicity for its family-friendly competition accidentally used a hashtag linked to an online fur fetish community.
The bread brand was promoting a Christmas giveaway offering people the chance to win tickets to a McFly star's London show if they shared pictures of how they eat their crumpets.
As part of the Instagram competition, Warburtons urged customers to use the hashtag #crumpetcreations.
People began posting pictures of their crumpets decorated with different toppings.
But in a social media blunder it emerged the hashtag was already used by scores of self-confessed “furries”, fetishists who dress up in furry costumes for kicks.
People hoping to enter the competition were shocked by the bizarre Instagram fetish group.
In one of the pictures, a person dressed in a furry reindeer outfit sits on the sofa alongside the caption: “Come have a seat?”
After the baking company realised the gaffe, it quickly changed the hashtag to #WarburtonsChristmasCrumpets.
According to the Times, the costumes featured in the hashtag were designed by US company Crumpet Creations which makes outfits for hobbyists.
A spokeswoman for Warburtons told the newspaper: “The world of social media is a wonderful and varied place but this shows just how easy it is to get it wrong.”
The competition was fronted by musician and former McFly star Tom Fletcher, who was offering tickets to his show as the prize.
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