Peckish donkey lands owner in court

The undated photo provided by Hit Radio FFH shows donkey 'Vitus' on his meadow in Schlitz, central Germany. Photo / AP

A peckish donkey caused thousands of euros worth of damage and landed his owner in court after confusing an orange-coloured supercar for a carrot, a German court has heard.

The donkey's owner was ordered to pay €5800 ($9500) in compensation to the driver of the pricey McLaren sports car after the animal chomped on the back of the vehicle.

Some of the damage to the paintwork caused by Vitus, the donkey. Photo / Markus Zahn

Entrepreneur Markus Zahn left his volcano orange 650S Spider parked next to a paddock where the donkey named Fitus was grazing on September 15 last year, in the west-central German state of Hesse.

However, when the 49-year-old returned, he was shocked to see the hungry animal was causing damage to his €300,000 ($490k) sports car.

"I looked into the rear-view mirror and suddenly saw a pair of fluffy ears! And then I heard a strange sound," he told German tabloid Bild [translated].

"The sound came from a donkey, who was gnawing at my fender."

Markus Zahn with his sportscar in Giessen, Germany yesterday. Photo / AP

Police said the donkey probably confused the bright orange car for a carrot, causing €30,000 ($49,000) worth of damage.

Zahn was philosophical about the incident, explaining: "The donkey probably thought the car was a carrot on wheels. I'm not mad at him."

While his McLaren garage covered the cost for most of the damage, Zahn was still left with a €6,000 ($9800) bill and sought compensation from the donkey's owner.

However, the unusual case ended up in court when his insurance company refused to pay out, arguing he should have chosen a better parking spot.

The state court in Giessen on Thursday sided with the car owner, ruling the donkey's owner was liable for the damage.