A Swedish model has sparked controversy and has even been targeted by rape threats after posing in an Adidas advert with hairy legs.

While many spoke up in support of the advert, which stars Arvida Byström, it also sparked a flurry of angry comments calling her "disgusting", "ugly" and "unfeminine".

In a post to Instagram, 26-year-old Byström revealed that she had been targeted by rape threats in personal messages sent via social media

Byström is also a photographer, and frequently poses with her body hair on show.

According to Adidas, which describes her as an "artist, photographer, model and cyber sensation", she uses her work to "question femininity and gender standards using so-called 'girly' aesthetics".