One Direction have withdrawn a request for fans to upload images of "real" tattoos of the popular five-piece.

The band - comprising Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne - retracted the tweet after sparking criticism as many fans of the group are under the age of 18.

Representative Simon Jones explained: "This tweet was posted in error and has now been removed. One Direction do not want to encourage any of their fans to get 1D tattoos."

The group posted the tweet from their main band account and also from their Facebook page.

They wrote: "Have a real #1D tattoo? Show us! Submit a 90 sec YouTube video to 1d3dfan@gmail.com and show us why you should be in the @1D3Dmovie! (sic)."

The request angered many social networking users, with one writing: "Why would you encourage people to get tattoos that they'll regret in 10 years (sic)," while another wrote: "A real tattoo of 1D, im so sorry but that is a load of b*******, people who do that is sick (sic)."

One Direction are famed for their extensive body inkings - with Styles' latest etching of a big butterfly on his torso unveiled by his tattoo artist recently.