The US Air Force has apologised after posting a Back To The Future tweet showing a fighter with flames coming from its wings following the F/A-18 crash on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border.

East Anglian Daily Times: Emergency services at the scene of a plane crash at Shippea Hill.Emergency services at the scene of a plane crash at Shippea Hill. (Image: Archant)

The post from its @USAirForce account showed a new F-35 fighter trailing streaks of fire like those created by the time-travelling DeLorean car in the hit 1980s movie franchise.

The picture features the line “Where we are going ... we don’t need roads” spoken by “Doc” Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) at the end of 1985’s Back To The Future.

The film ends with his DeLorean car, previously seen to be grounded like a normal car, levitating into the air to speed up to 88mph and travel forward in time.

People around the world have been celebrating today, as October 21 2015 is the date Doc Brown and Marty McFly travel to in sequel Back To The Future II, discovering a futuristic world where people use hoverboards (flying skateboards) and wear self-drying jackets, among other gadgets.

The tweet added: “GREAT SCOTT! We’re celebrating #BackToTheFutureDay, are you?”

The US Air Force later deleted it, adding: “We apologize for the insensitivity of our #BackToTheFutureDay post. We pulled the post in light of recent events.”