Sauce code: Google’s Street View car filmed Spain’s mad tomato festival. It didn’t end well

When Google sent a Street View car into the Tomatina festival the plan was to capture “the magic and colour” of the messy event from all angles.

Instead it ended up with footage of tomato-drenched revellers trashing the car.

Google dedicated a special doodle to the 70th anniversary of the event that is held on the last Wednesday in August in Buñol in eastern Spain.

The local authority said the plan was for the car to travel the route of the Tomatina before the festival began and then to repeat the journey during the pitched battle in which thousands of people hurl tomatoes at each other.

On the return trip dozens of partygoers climbed on to the car, breaking windows and mirrors and damaging the cameras. The car’s rear window was replaced with an Australian flag. Local mayor Rafael Pérez called it an act of vandalism.