RSPCA has been hit with a deluge of calls concerning animal cruelty complaints related to the new social media fad Neknomination, and a number of health charities have spoken out about the dangers.

Neknomination is a new social media craze, where people down alcohol, film themselves doing a stunt, upload it online and dare others to beat it.

Extreme versions have included animals. For example, a man in Kent filmed himself downing a blended mix of mice, live grasshoppers and a spider as part of the Neknomination craze.

The RSPCA has said this week that it is “horrifed” at the number of calls it has received after people saw similar videos.

"Eating a live animal and sharing a film of this act via the internet is not funny. It sends out a message that animal cruelty is ok as long as it is part of a trend and is presented in a light-hearted way.

"In the last few weeks we have been alerted to a number of incidents - many of which we are looking into. There's probably many more out there we have not been told about. We take this issue very seriously and urge people to report any incidents of this horrible craze they come across to us.”

The RSPCA has also condemned multiple examples of young men downing live goldfish as part of the craze.

And Joe Duckworth, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, has called the videos “sickening”.

Drug and alcohol charities have also slammed the craze. Dr Kostas Agath, medical director at Addaction, has warned on the dangers of binge drinking. While, Dr Sarah Jarvis, medical adviser to alcohol education charity Drinkaware, said: “Young people often say they feel peer pressure to drink to fit in, but competitions to drink excessively in a short space of time can be dangerous and this should not come as a surprise.”