Miss Ukraine has been stripped of her title after she failed to disclose that she has a child and was previously married.

Veronkia Didusenko, 23, took home the crown in Kiev last Thursday but was later disqualified when organisers discovered she had lied about her personal life on her application form.

The beauty queen has a four-year-old son with her ex-husband but competition rules ban mothers or women who have been married from entry.

Miss Didusenko, pictured right shortly after being crowned the winner of the competition, has a four-year-old son with her ex-husband but failed to alert organisers of the beauty pageant

Miss Didusenko, who has 11,500 Instagram followers, posted a message on the site thanking fans for their support at such a 'difficult time', sharing the post alongside this picture

In a statement released yesterday Miss Ukraine officials explained Miss Didusenko had broken the rules and was no longer eligible to hold the title.

It means she will be replaced by another contestant at the Miss Universe 2018 competition in China in December.

Miss Great Britain previously had similar rules banning mothers and married women but abolished these in 2013 as part of a move to make the pageant more relevant.

Miss Didusenko, who has 11,500 Instagram followers, posted a message on the site thanking fans for their support at such a 'difficult time'. 

Miss Didusenko, pictured in the centre with her crown and sash after winning will now be replaced by another contestant in the Miss Universe 2018 contest in China in December

The beauty queen had wowed judges and beat other hopefuls but was stripped of her title

The mother-of-one, pictured in an image shared on her Instagram, was criticised by some who accused her of being 'dumb' for failing to understand the rules

She wrote: 'Friends, I have never been a blogger, but we already have more than 10,000. Thank you for your sincere support at such a difficult time for me! You are FANTASTIC.'

However, she has faced harsh criticism from some followers who accused her of being 'dumb' for failing to understand the rules.

One wrote: 'There are so many pageants, she could confuse a Miss contest with a Mrs one.' Another added: 'What a silly thing to do'. 

Miss Didusenko, pictured in an Instagram selfie, could have faced paying a substantial amount to the contest to cover the costs of electing a new beauty queen

In a statement released yesterday, pictured, Miss Ukraine officials explained Miss Didusenko had broken the rules and was ineligible to compete

It is unclear who will take Miss Didusenko's place but event organisers suggested it might not automatically be passed to the runner-up.

The Miss Ukraine pageant said it has the right to ask Miss Didusenko to cover the costs related to electing a new winner but that it would not.

In 2013 Miss Great Britain announced it had abolished rules banning women who were mothers or had been married from competing.

It said at the time: 'Being a wife or mother has no bearing on career-minded women in the 21st century so we strongly believe that a woman that is or has been married or has children can be a strong positive role model for others.'

This article originally appeared on : DailyMail