A former Miss Finland has accused U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump of groping her in 2006 when she was representing the country in the Miss Universe beauty contest.

Ninni Laaksonen told the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper that the Republican presidential nominee had grabbed her behind before she appeared on a television show in New York with other contestants.

“He really grabbed my butt. I don’t think anybody saw it but I flinched and thought: ‘What is happening?’,” Laaksonen was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

The accusation follows a stream of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Trump from other women in the United States which have put pressure on his campaign as he trails in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Trump has denied the accusations.

Laaksonen could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Recently, Jessica Drake, an adult film star and director, became the 11th woman to accuse Trump of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

She also claimed that she was offered  $10,000 for Mr Trump to come to her room, which she declined.

She was unable to recall whether it was Mr Trump or a staff member calling on his behalf who proposed the alleged payment to her.

Mr Trump’s campaign dismissed her allegations as “totally false and ridiculous”, adding “Mr Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in ever knowing her.”

Accompanied by her lawyer Gloria Allred, Ms Drake said the alleged encounter took place at a golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in 2006 (Reuters/NAN)

Additional report by UK Telegraph