19-year old students Amber Langford and Annie Collinge opted to attend a nightclub Halloween party dressed as the North and South towers. Their outfits included homemade smoke and explosions, as well as head-worn American flags. They were awarded £150 (€178) in shopping vouchers when their effort won them first prize in the fancy dress competition. However, the victory has resulted in widespread condemnation of their choice of outfit.

An image of the two students in their 9/11 attire has made the front page of The Sun, and the University of Chester has responded to the incident. BBC reports that both the University and its Student Union have condemned the students' actions, and both groups will investigate the incident and take action. The women themselves have said there was no offense intended, stating "the idea was to depict a serious, modern-day horror that happened in our lifetime and was not intended as a joke."

Also speaking to BBC, a spokesperson for nightclub operators Stonegate Pub Company explains "there was a serious error of judgment made on the evening by a contracted DJ to award such a prize and we apologise to anybody who may have been upset or offended by this."

The Twin Towers costumes aren't the only examples of 2013 Halloween fancy dress to raise eyebrows. In the US, two men received media criticism after they dressed up as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, with images of the pair's matching costumes going viral. Another woman is said to have been fired from her job after dressing as a Boston Marathon victim.

You can see a of the two UK students below:

Students don twin towers costume complete with burning plane and victims, WIN first prize http://t.co/qQdUPi3yOY pic.twitter.com/gU9oUf1fhw

— HuffPostUKStudents (@HPUKStudents) November 6, 2013