Next has withdrawn a range of underpants after a customer complained they featured an image of Hitler.

Benjamin Radomski, whose grandmother escaped Nazi persecution, complained to Next’s Jewish chief executive Simon Wolfson after buying the boxer shorts at Gatwick Airport.

They featured a number of cartoon images. Mr Radomski said he believed one showed Hitler giving a Nazi salute as planes and a Zeppelin fly overhead.

The company’s website describes the garments as “Comic Strip Hipsters”. They are sold in a three-pack for £18.

Mr Radomski, 27, of Belsize Park, north west London, said: “I did not see anything through the packaging but when I opened them I was shocked.

“It was Hitler doing the Nazi salute. The facial features, moustache, and salute were obvious. Next is a big company and I would never have dreamed of them having something like that.”

A spokeswoman for Next said it had investigated the complaint and found the offending image was not of Hitler, but was instead inspired by a Soviet depiction of Lenin.

To avoid further misunderstanding or offence the remaining 5,200 pairs would be removed from sale, she said.