'Hardly the most embarrassing d**k Ian Botham has appeared with' - The best responses to that explicit Twitter hack

It was, we can confirm, definitely not safe for work. Or anywhere. Ever.

We’ve been desperately trying to un-see the image that accosted our eyes when we glanced at our Twitter feeds at 09.30 this morning.

The graphic photograph, allegedly tweeted from cricketer Ian Botham’s account by a hacker, promptly informed our breakfast decision (had been full English, swiftly downgraded to Bircher) and induced a deep, stomach-churning wave of nausea that, even six hours down the line, no amount of kitten pictures seems able to cure.

It was, we can confirm, definitely not safe for work. Or anywhere. Ever. And the exact origins of said picture remain unknown – probably for the best on behalf of the copyright owner.

Cue endless streams of tweets from worried former sportsmen, cricket-based innuendo, and fluffy animals that just happen to resemble phalluses.

Here are some of the best, starting with a gentle ribbing from one-time footballer with museum-quality hair, and retired cricketer Michael Vaughn...

Then there were the retching tweets of sheer, unimaginable horror...

The opportune marketing tweets...

And of course, that really, really unfair picture of someone's dog with its legs stuck underneath a sofa. REALLY unfair:

Not that Botham seems to be that bothered, mind you. It's the most action his Twitter feed has seen in ages: