Prang with a bus costs Ferrari driver £300,000

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Property tycoon Frank Mountain has issued a High Court writ, claiming a reckless bus driver was to blame for the damage to his £600,000 Enzo Ferrari.

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Frank Martin's beloved Ferrari shows the scars of the collision with the bus

The writ alleges the single-decker bus was being driven too fast when it rounded a bend on the wrong side of the road and collided with his car.

The hand-built Ferrari – of which only 399 were made, plus one offered to Pope John Paul II which was auctioned in 2005 for £741,000 in aid of Tsunami victims – then careered into a Volkswagen Golf.

Nobody was hurt in the accident, but the Golf was written off and the red Enzo had severe damage to its offside which had to be repaired at Ferrari's Modena factory in Italy.

The writ claims the crash cost more than £300,000 in repairs and related expenses, including compensation for loss of earnings when Mr Mountain had to travel to Italy to pick up the vehicle, loss of use of the Ferrari and a drop in the car's value.

Wilts and Dorset bus company, whose driver was involved, dispute the claim.

The accident happened in December 2004, yards from Mr Mountain's mansion in Burley, Hampshire.

Mr Mountain, who was in the passenger seat, was being driven to a race track by Ferrari dealer Paul Train.

He claims the bus rounded the corner "like a bat out of hell".

The writ, taken out by Mr Mountain and his insurance company, says: "As a consequence of the collision the airbags inflated and the Ferrari filled with smoke and dust, rendering the driver unable to see and causing the Ferrari to collide with the VW Golf."

The Golf was being driven by New Forest councillor Michael Thierry.

He said: "The Ferrari was in collision with the bus and started coming towards me – I knew for sure it was going to hit my car."

Bus driver Thomas Doyle, 54, insists the crash was not his fault.

He said: "My wife Christina was furious. She said, 'You couldn't have been in an accident with anything cheap could you?'"

Wilts and Dorset finance director Matt Dolphin said: "We have filed a counter claim."