Helen Flanagan, the former Coronation Street actress and model, has caused a stir after posing for a photo-shoot holding a gun to her head in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut. The Sun newspaper labelled the actress "brainless", sparking an intense debate on Twitter.

Flanagan poses in a black lacy bra while holding a pistol to the side of her head - her original Twitter post featured the caption, "Head f**k." Garrett Gloss, resident of Newtown - the location of the recent massacre in the U.S. - said, "This is plain wrong. You can't do this. It looks like she is just trying to get her name out there." The 22-year-old, who appeared on this year's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, has responded to the criticism, tweeting, "I am absolutely disgusted in this. Completely cruel. I will absolutely NOT stand for this kind of bullying (sic). Anyone who knows me knows I have the biggest heart.... I feel really chocked up that's so cruel." She later added, "I've just been crying to my bf before he left for work.... Now I am just absolutely livid. I am really worried about my mum."

The image has since been removed from Flanagan's Twitter page.