#HoldACokeWithYourBoobsChallenge is a ''hoax''.

Campaigners have accused the organisers of the #HoldACokeWithYourBoobsChallenge on social media of attempting to make breast cancer 'sexy'.

The trend, which was started by a Las Vegas-based 'adult entertainment' scout encourages women - and occasionally men - to post photos with a soft drink held in their cleavage.

A large number of images have already been posted online showing mainly topless women attempting to cover their nipples while holding a can of coke in their breasts - all apparently in the name of raising money for breast cancer.

But it has since emerged that the trend started out as a joke intended to make fun of similar 'challenges' such as the Ice Bucket Challenge, and that no money is being raised for charity.

Since the trend started, a large number of women and a handful of men have taken to social media to post photographs of themselves posing with a can or glass of coke stuffed into their cleavage.

While some women use their underwear to hold the soft drinks, many others have opted to pose completely topless, covering their nipples with their hands or with tassles.

Not to be outdone, plenty of men have happily joined the hashtag - using tape to strap the soft drink to their chests if their own cleavage isn't large enough to hold a can. 

The #HoldACokeWithYourBoobsChallenge was widely believed to have been a way for members of the public to raise money for breast cancer charities in much the same way as the Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than £75 million for those suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

However its origins have now been exposed as somewhat less charitable, after 'adult entertainment' scout Danny Frost and glamour model Gemma Jaxx admitted it was them that started the hashtag.

More importantly the Breast Cancer Research Foundation revealed that the trend isn't raising money for them, telling Esquire magazine that it has no connection with the campaign but would happily receive donations from the challenge should they start coming in.

Although the hashtag started as a joke and was never officially connected to breast cancer charities, Frost claims that he and Jaxx have since decided to use the publicity to promote awareness of the disease.

In a message posted on his Facebook page, Frost said: 'OK once again just for all of our nay sayers and hatters. When we started #HoldACokeWithYourBoobsChallenge, we did it as a joke... We never thought it would take off like it did. But it did.'

'And then people started posting it was for charity and it was for breast cancer awareness. We had never plan on that nor thought of it. But since that's what people want to do it for, we said why not do something good with this. So we went with it,' he added.

Frost goes on to suggest readers encourage their friends to take part in the 'fun and goofy' challenge, adding 'If one girl, just one if not more, life was saved because she felt something in her breast when she did this challenge, isn't it worth it?'

Inevitably the trend has suffered a backlash, with campaigners accusing the organisers of trying to make breast cancer appear 'sexy', while others say it is offensive to sufferers of the disease who have had to have one or more breasts removed.