Students who dressed up as a rollercoaster for a charity pub crawl have apologised to victims of the Alton Towers Smiler ride crash.

The group, named 7 Legless, denied the costume for the night out in Nottingham was a reference to last year's incident in which two teenagers each lost a leg.

One victim, Joe Pugh, who had been in the front row of the roller coaster with his girlfriend, Leah Washington, when it ploughed into an empty carriage, criticised the costume choice.

Nottingham University Students' Union released a statement refuting a link to the crash but apologising to anyone who was offended.

It said: "The costume was in no way intended to reference the tragedy that occurred on the Smiler roller coaster at Alton Towers.

"Its design was based on a traditional concept that has existed for several years and no reference was made to the Smiler by the students involved.

"'7 legless' was intended to be a pun on the name of the bar crawl '7 Legged' and the state of being inebriated."

It added: "The students involved further wish to apologise unreservedly to those affected by the Smiler incident for any offence or distress they may have unwittingly caused."