Instagram ads in UK promoting ‘butt lifts’ in Turkey as part of holidays in potential breach of rules

Watchdog warns cosmetic surgery providers abroad as analysis reveals thousands of Facebook adverts

A post on Instagram shows the back of a woman in tight blue leggings, her lower body taking up most of the frame. The words Temptingly sexy curves ahead ... Ready to turn heads and break hearts?" are written in the caption. It is from a company offering Britons the chance to get a Brazilian butt lift while enjoying a luxury holiday abroad.

The advert is one of thousands on social media promoting cosmetic surgery tourism by companies in Turkey to UK residents, including gastric band operations, hair transplants and Brazilian butt lifts (BBL) - a process that involves fat taken from elsewhere on the body being injected into the buttocks - in a trend that has triggered safety concerns among doctors in Britain.