Jenson Button's dad forgot Ferrari

Jenson Button's dad sparked a police hunt in Italy when he reported his Ferrari stolen - only to realise he'd parked it in another town.

John Button told police that he feared his Ferrari 550 had been taken from where he parked it in Alassio, on the Italian Riviera.

For more than 48 hours, police scoured the town for the £50,000 supercar, reports the Daily Telegraph.

But then it dawned on Mr Button, 65, that he had confused Alassio with neighbouring Laigueglia, which has an almost identical layout and lies less than a mile along the coast.

He retraced his steps and sure enough, the Ferrari was parked just where he left it.

"It's all a bit embarrassing, but the roads that lead into Alassio and Laigueglia are almost identical, even the railings look the same, and they both have a fork in them," said Mr Button.

"The police found it quite amusing and once things had been resolved said 'Give our regards to Jenson'.

"Funnily enough it was not the loss of the car that upset me, it was the thought that I might have lost a camera with some amazing shots from a trip to Kyoto. I know I'm going to get a bit of ribbing over the whole thing."

Meanwhile, footballer Jermaine Pennant was contacted this week after his Porsche was found to have been left in a Spanish railway station car park for five months.

Pennant, who plays for Stoke City, reportedly said he had forgotten about the vehicle which he had parked at the station during his time with Real Zaragoza.