A German court has ordered a donkey's owner to pay £5,260 in damages after his pet ate the the rear bumper of a £280,000 McLaren 650S supercar which was parked beside a paddock.

Police said that Vitus the donkey may have mistaken the orange McLaren parked next to his enclosure as a giant carrot when he bit the back, damaging the paint and a carbon-fiber piece.

The dpa news agency reported that the state court in Giessen on Thursday sided with the car owner, who filed the suit after the donkey owner refused reimbursement for the incident last September.

Businessman Markus Zahn, pictured standing behind his £280,000 McLaren 650S Spider next to a paddock in Vogelsberg, central Germany last week when it was attacked by a donkey

Mr Zahn sued the donkey's owner for the cost of the damage not covered by insurance

The animal named Vitus, pictured, caused £30,000 worth of damage to the super car

At the time, Local media reported the owner of the donkey refused to pay for the damage, telling the McLaren owner he should have picked a better parking place.

Businessman Markus Zahn parked his £280,000 McLaren 650S Spider next to a paddock in Vogelsberg, central Germany.

When the 49-year-old owner got back in his car he looked in his rear view mirror to see a donkey munching on the rear bumper.

The animal named Vitus caused £30,000 worth of damage but Mr Zahn's insurance company did not pay out the full amount, claiming he was partly to blame for parking next to a paddock.

Mr Zahn said he could see the 'funny side' but still took the donkey's owner to court to demand the remaining £5,260 of unpaid damages.

The businessman said: 'The donkey obviously thought he had stumbled upon a giant carrot!'

The court ruled the donkey's owner should pay for the amount not covered by Mr Zahn's insurance.