Peaches Geldof has been axed as the "face and body" of underwear brand Ultimo following claims about her private life.

The company said it would be removing visuals of the 21-year-old, who was appointed in May last year, from all shops and window displays.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Miss Ultimo lingerie said: "We have been in meetings all morning with regards to the stories that have surfaced over the weekend about Peaches and unfortunately we have no option but to terminate her contract.

"Miss Ultimo is a brand geared towards a young female audience and as a company we have a social responsibility to ensure we are promoting only positive role models that young women can aspire to.

"We are thus in the process of removing Peaches from the website and we are working with Debenhams to remove her visuals from all Miss Ultimo shops and window displays throughout the UK."

Michelle Mone, the founder of the brand, said: "We've given this a lot of thought, but there's a point where a business must stick to its principles and as a brand that targets young women, we feel it is impossible for Peaches to continue to work with us as the face of Miss Ultimo lingerie."

The Miss Ultimo range is geared towards women aged 18 to 25 and has been stocked in Debenhams stores and online.

Geldof is thought to be currently in Los Angeles.

Her spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.