Replica rally car taken from home

Roy Nunn said he had only been driving the car for 10 days

A replica rally car which took two years to refurbish at a cost of £15,000 has been stolen after only 10 days on the road.

Car enthusiast Roy Nunn, of Stourport- on-Severn, Worcestershire, said he is devastated and cannot eat after the theft on Sunday.

The Ford Escort Mexico was taken from the drive of a friend's house in Summer Road, Kidderminster.

The car is a replica of the 1977 RAC Rally winner, complete with stickers.

I have a 10-year-old boy who hasn't stopped crying because he absolutely loved it Roy Nunn

He said he had only briefly gone inside his friend's house and had taken the keys with him but when he came out again the car was gone.

"This has devastated me and I can't even bring myself to eat. It's made me feel so bad," he said.

"I have a 10-year-old boy who hasn't stopped crying because he absolutely loved it.

"The stickers alone cost me £600 but it's not a money issue - that can't replicate all the hours and effort I have put into it.

'Planned to race'

"When you have built something from scratch like that, it's a very personal thing."

Mr Nunn said a business contact of his had spotted the vehicle being driven in Ombersley in Worcestershire on Monday evening.

The car - registration SEG 661S - has copies of blue and red stickers from the original car's sponsors including British Airways.

Other distinctive features are a Union Jack sticker on the roof and a set of four front-mounted Super Oscar fog lamps.

Mr Nunn said that he had only just finished working on the car, which he estimates is worth at least £15,000 - £20,000, and had planned to compete in the Mark II Challenge Road Rally in Ireland next year.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: "This is a very distinctive car and we would like to talk to anyone who saw it being taken, has seen it being driven around or has any other information that could help us trace it."