ZARA has apologised unreservedly after a children's T-shirt in its stores became the centre of a controversy.The garment, which is a long-sleeved top bearing a yellow six-pointed star, caused consternation among parents and press, who were stunned at its resemblance to the uniform worn by Jewish prisoners in concentration camps.

The Jewish Press condemned the item, stating:"the shirt appeared instead to be an ugly, sly swipe at Jewish Holocaust survivors with its yellow, six pointed star sewn on to a dark navy-and-white striped long sleeve shirt," The Independent reports, while Dimi Reider, an Israeli journalist and associate fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations wrote:"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?"

Zara was swift to clarify the design, and removed it from stores and its website to avoid further offence.

"The item in question has now been removed from all Zara stores and Zara.com," Zara's parent company Inditex confirmed."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."