One of the African migrants wiped a tear from his eye, while the passengers – both German and foreign – burst into applause.

Herr Latteyer told nordbayern.de that he had been influenced by both his Kosovan brother in law who fled the Balkan crisis and his grandfather who lost an arm in World War Two.

It was a small gesture, he added.

His message was “Hey guys, you are really welcome”

Applications for asylum have soared in Germany reaching 180,000 during the first half of the year, twice as many as during the same period in 2014.

Around a quarter of the population of Erlangen comes from an immigrant background.

Earlier this year official figures showed that the number of illegal immigrants trying to get into Germany had reached a record high.

The country has also faced a wave of anti-immigrant violence and Neo-Nazis were reported to have threatened to behead a politician who have voiced support for asylum seekers.