A top university rugby club has been disbanded and withdrawn from all competitions after handing out “clearly sexist” pamphlets in freshers’ week.

London School of Economics Students’ Union (LSESU) announced the step on Tuesday evening after complaints from students and outrage on social media had sparked an investigation.

Entries in a glossary of the men’s rugby club’s jargon include a description of the LSE’s female team as “beast-like women who play sport just so they can come out with us.”

LSESU general secretary Nona Buckley-Irvine said the decision to disband the team had not been easy but it would set a precedent and “challenge misogyny, sexism and homophobia.

“Not one person within the club was willing to take personal responsibility for the booklets,” added Ms Buckley-Irvine.

The offending pamphlet was also loaded with “snobbery towards students from other universities,” most of it targeting nearby King’s College London.

King’s is nicknamed “Strand Polytechnic” and its students called “scum” who “will all work for us one day.”

In Tuesday’s statement the student union head argued that LSE’s proud history “doesn’t excuse elitism or classism.

“These past few days have been incredibly difficult — but we have been so proud to stand together as a union and be able to discuss these issues and openly condemn acts of misogyny, sexism, homophobia and classism,” concluded Ms Buckley-Irvine.

Lse’s women’s rugby team said it was “outraged by the contents of the leaflet.”

The club has not commented on LSE’s decision to shut it down yet.