Image caption The pair's actions were branded "foolish and clearly inappropriate"

Australian Olympic swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk have been ordered to remove from Facebook a photo of themselves posing with guns.

The picture shows Monk holding two pump-action shotguns across his chest and D'Arcy holding two pistols.

The picture was taken in a gun shop while they were training in the US.

The Australian Olympic Committee said the photos were "foolish and clearly inappropriate for members of the 2012 Australian Olympic team".

The sport's governing body Swimming Australia said it had demanded they remove the photo and added that the pair would be spoken to again on their return from the US.

"This incident serves as a warning to all athletes... about the dangers of social media," said Nick Green, Australia's chef de mission for the London team, according to the Associated Press.

"We say again to our athletes, do not put anything up on social media that you would not share with your mother or your grandmother," he added.

The row has received extensive coverage in the Australian media, with the Telegraph newspaper labelling the pair the "idiot swimmers".

Both men have run into trouble with the authorities before.

In 2008, D'Arcy was banned from competing by Swimming Australia after receiving a suspended jail sentence for assaulting team-mate Simon Cowley. The ban was lifted in August 2009.

Last year, Monk admitted lying to police by claiming he had been deliberately struck by a car while training.

He later admitted he had fallen off a skateboard and had been embarrassed and "panicked".