A GARAGE mechanic who pranged one of the world’s leading super-cars during a routine MOT has apologised for the accident.

Andrew Mitchinson, 37, said he was taking the silver Lamborghini Murcielago, which cost its owner £220,000, for a short drive through Staveley when the accident happened.

Due to a combination of wet road, leaves, and the two-seater vehicle’s ‘featherweight’ accelerator, Andrew said he accidentally clipped a kerb, spun and collided with a parked Ford Focus, damaging both vehicles.

The head-turning 630 brake horsepower Italian-made beauty, of which just over 4,000 were made, has just 24,500 miles on the clock.

It belongs to business-man and Lakes hotelier Stephen Leahy, 46, from Greater Manchester, who described it as ‘my beautiful, beautiful car.’ Mr Leahy had booked it in to the Station Garage, owned by Mr Mitchinson’s father Alan, and believes the accident has now seriously damaged the car’s potential sell-on value.

  • ABOVE: CCTV footage shows the crash take place.

He said it has affected its provenance, the unique identity, and guarantee that it has not been seriously damaged, that other buyers would be looking for.

However, Andrew put the damage at around £20,000 and said he believed the car was worth around £95,000 on the open market.

A policeman is understood to have been walking through the village at around the time of the accident and was quickly on the scene.

“I was in second gear just going up the road to try the brakes. I don’t honestly know what happened. I wouldn’t have been doing more than 25-30mph - if that.

“It was unreal.

“I was gutted because I knew it was an expensive car,” said Andrew.

His father, Alan, said: “It is the first time he’s had an accident in a customer’s car and he’s been here 20 years. He has driven thousands, from Ferraris to Aston Martins.

“With the Lamborghini being a four-wheel drive, it has to be road tested to test the efficiency of the brakes.

“You can’t put it through the rolling road brake tester here because it would damage it.”

Alan said his son was insured to drive the vehicle, and that all the cars the garage took out were fully insured.

Alan added: “My insurance company is aware of what cars we deal with here, and have been on the phone. I’d expect my premium to go up a bit now.”

A Cumbria Police spokeswoman said the incident was reported to them at 11.56am on November 6 by the owner of the Ford Focus, who found the garage’s insurance details on its windscreen.

The spokeswoman confirmed the Lamborghini was involved in a collision with a stationary Ford Focus, and that inquiries were on-going into the incident, and that no-one had been arrested or charged.