Markus Zahn parked his €300,000 Mclaren 650S Spider in a car park bordering a paddock in the German state of Hesse last September.

While he was parked, a donkey called Fitus, which was grazing in the paddock, approached the vehicle and attempted to take a bite out of the rear fender - causing €30,000 in damage to the car.

Mr Zahn said he wasn’t mad at the the donkey, who probably mistook the vividly-coloured vehicle for a “carrot on wheels”.

But he wants Fitus’ owner’s insurance to cover the €6,000 of damage which was not covered by the Mclaren garage. The insurer has countered Mr Zahn is to blame for parking next to the paddock.

Fitus is not expected to attend court for the final ruling later today.