Lewis Hamilton locked in legal battle over Caribbean villa

Lewis Hamilton is locked in a legal battle with a developer after he pulled out of a £3.5 million Caribbean house purchase.

The Formula One star was hoping to use the villa to spend time with his then-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger but pulled out of the project when they split.

Italian designer Bernardo Bertucci told The Sun newspaper: "I really trusted him, and we made a lot of changes in the original design. After six months he broke up with his girlfriend. One day when the villa was half built I received an email from him saying that he didn’t want to go ahead. It’s a sad story but these things happen. I am pretty sure he knows he didn’t behave correctly with me.

"I didn’t want to take legal action but it is very difficult to sell a personalised villa like this. I met him personally and he was very excited about the villa. He told me that when he finished racing he wanted to live a quiet and relaxing life in Grenada, where his father was originally from."

The home has been designed to his specifications, including a recording studio for Nicole, who found fame as part of girl group, the Pussycat Dolls.

It is described as an "amazing waterfront villa with private gym, recording studio, gourmet kitchen, sunset lounge area and private jetty with the best view in the Caribbean".

Lewis – who gave Bernardo the go ahead over email – hadn’t paid a deposit for the luxurious villa.

The first part of the case was won by Lewis, 31, at the Grenada Supreme Court in 2015. He is currently fighting an appeal.