University College London has been forced to apologise for saying 'white' Christmas in case it racially offended its students.

The university, ranked 16th in the world, posted a message on its Twitter page letting students know the campus was open despite some parts of Britain being covered by 13 inches of snow.

It said: 'Dreaming of a white campus? Our campuses will be open and operating fully today, Monday 11 December, so please make your way in as planned. (We can't guarantee snow but we'll try!) #snowday #londonsnow'

But it quickly apologised and said that it 'chose our words very poorly' and the university said it was 'sorry' for the tweet.

UCL posted the tweet on Monday and asked students if they were 'dreaming of a white campus?'

But it quickly apologised for its message and said they 'chose their words very poorly' when they referenced Bing Crosby's famous song

When the social media team uploaded the original tweet, the university said it was referencing Bing Crosby's famous festive song, White Christmas.

It later wrote: 'We chose our words very poorly yesterday when thinking of this song (Bing Crosby). We're sorry and we'll choose our words more carefully in the future.'

But the apology has been slammed online, with social media users saying that 'snowflakes are getting snowflaky over snow'.

Twitter user @EgorovStas wrote online: 'What are you apologising for? Snow is white, it's a fact.

'Those people who are 'offended' are just attention seekers who are incapable of doing anything useful so the only thing they can do is complain about racial prejudice.'

Meanwhile, @bongo__furious said: 'Snowflakes get snowflaky over snow.'

Students were quick to complain about the tweet and one social media user wrote 'this UCL Alumni is not dreaming of a white campus

Twitter user @smera_kumar questioned UCL and asked why it was 'dreaming of a white campus'

Steve Fisher added: 'I never went to university but my kids did/do. The first one thinks I'm a dinosaur and the second one I fear for. PC gone mad.'

Twitter user @micktw68 added: 'What is wrong with you people? Who was offended by the original tweet? Get a grip on reality!'

But Aman Thakar posted: 'This UCL Alumni is not dreaming of a white campus, thanks.'