Fashion chain Zara has apologised and removed a children's pyjama top from sale following complaints it resembled the clothing worn by Jewish prisoners in concentration camps.

The striped long-sleeved top featured a golden six-pointed star stitched onto the upper left hand side with the word Sheriff printed in light lettering.

It was available to buy online via Zara's website in several European countries, but not in Israel.

“The shirt bears a large six-pointed star on the upper-left section, in the exact place where Nazis forced Jews to wear the Star of David,” wrote Israeli newspaper Haaretz, calling the garment “hauntingly reminiscent of a darker era”.

On its website, Haaretz displayed a photograph of part of a uniform worn by prisoners at Auschwitz, showing a jacket with vertical green and white stripes and a yellow star below the left shoulder bearing the word “Jude”, the German word for Jew.

Twitter users wrote “What were the designers thinking?” alongside links to the shirt, which now directs visitors to a message reading: “We are sorry. The item you are looking for is no longer available.”

Dimi Reider, an Israeli journalist and associate fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations blogged: “A striped pyjama with a yellow star for your child. It’s a SHERIFF shirt for your three year olds. Obviously. What else could it be?”

A Zara spokesman said: “The item in question has now been removed from all Zara stores and Zara.com.

“The garment was inspired by the classic Western films but we now recognise that the design could be seen as insensitive and apologise sincerely for any offence caused to our customers.”

In September 2007 the Spanish-owned retailer was forced to withdraw a line of handbags emblazoned with swastikas from its stores in Britain.

Just days ago Zara, which has over 2,000 stores in 88 countries worldwide, withdrew a t-shirt bearing the slogan ‘White is the new black’.