Members of a criminal gang had driven the car 50 miles from Crolla’s home before leaving it in the parking space. The owner of the space noticed the illegally parked car and mistakenly messaged another member of the Crolla family, who recognised the car and informed Domenico.

A family source said: “Domenico was shocked to hear from another Crolla that the car had popped up on Brunswick Street in ­Edinburgh, complete with two parking tickets and a furious owner of the parking space.

“Because the car has a ­registration with the ‘Crolla’ name, the chap assumed it belonged to the Edinburgh Crollas and he phoned them up. He thought it was just a Flash Harry thing to do but it ended up being a completely ­unexpected twist in the story.”

Police have confirmed that the car and a black Ferrari Scaglietti worth over £100,000, which was also stolen, have been recovered in Edinburgh, and they are appealing for witnesses, the Daily Record reports.