A man has apologised for shouting “Heil Hitler! Heil Trump!”, during a performance of Fiddler on the Roof.

The man, identified as Anthony M Derlunas II, made the outburst during the play’s intermission causing panic, according to reports.

Several members of the audience fled the theatre, believing the shouting was the prelude to a mass shooting, such as the one in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last month, in which 11 people died.

Mr Derlunas later told the Baltimore Sun that he had intended to draw a comparison between the US President’s immigration policies and the persecution of the play’s protagonists.

He said: “Instantly it was like, ‘Oh my God, what did you do?’ The thing that I can’t stand is Trump spreading hatred, and what did I do? I spread hatred.

“I shouldn’t have taken my political frustrations out at a public show. How I could have been so stupid and insensitive? I don’t know.

“I feel so sorry for the fear and the people’s night that I ruined. I just wasn’t thinking.”

Mr Derlunas was escorted from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, and issued with a police warning. He admitted he had been drinking before the show.

He has also been banned from the Baltimore Hippodrome Theatre for life.