ITALIAN PARKING: `300,000 FERRARI DESTROYED BY ATTENDANT

A garage attendant in Italy accidentally rammed a £300,000 Ferrari into a shop front after mistaking the brake for the accelerator.

The attendant was supposed to be delivering the rare supercar, which can accelerate from a standing start to 60mph in three seconds, to its owners, a Dutch couple who had taken part in a meeting of Ferrari enthusiasts in Anzio, south of Rome.

The owners were staying just a few streets away from where the car was being stored.

Instead of gently guiding the bright red Ferrari 599 GTO towards the Hotel Exedra, a mortified Roberto Cinti careered into a shop, trashing the car completely and badly damaging the shop front.

"I got confused – instead of the brake, I pressed down on the accelerator," he told police who were first on the scene, according to Corriere della Sera.

He was lightly injured and in a state of shock after the accident and received treatment in hospital.

Photographs of the wrecked car appeared on Facebook and Twitter, with one Dutchman commenting: "Valet parking – Italian style".

Powered by a V-12 engine, the Ferrari 599 GTO has a top speed of more than 200mph.

The identity of the Dutch owner has not been revealed and his reaction to what happened is not known.

The matter is being investigated by an insurance company.