A used car dealer is awaiting sentence after he admitted accepting £1,000 to handle a rare Ferrari 550 Berlinetta which had been stolen in a raid on its owner’s home.

Patrick Van Der Moyle, of Cypress Road, Walton Cardiff, pleaded guilty to handling the £400,000-estimated Ferrari, owned by merchant banker Dominic Hollamby, between August 22 and November 11, 2016, Gloucestershire Live reported.

The silver special edition Barchetta Pininfarina Ferrari is thought to be one of only four ever made.

It had been taken in a raid on the Cotswolds property by Ashley McNulty, of Tewkesbury Road, Twigworth, who later admitted stealing the Ferrari as well as a black Porsche, four guns and other items and was jailed for nine years.

Steve Young, mitigating on behalf of Van Der Moyle at Gloucester Crown Court, said his client had agreed to handle the car “on behalf of others” after he was approached by someone who knew he had a garage business and also ran a vehicle moving service.

Prosecutor Mark Hollier said the Crown accepted that Van Der Moyle was getting only 'minimal reward' for taking care of the car but said that he could have been more helpful to police investigating its theft.

Van Der Moyle had claimed that he had “got the car from an unknown field and cannot remember where that was” Hollier said.

Van Der Moyle, who is of previous good character, will be sentenced on March 30th.