2015-01-06 18:00:35 | pauls writes:

Car is reported to have been stolen on Christmas eve 2014. Please report any sighting to the authorities in the UK.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11325566/Police-hunt-stolen-Austin-Healey- ...

A classic car worth £100,000 is being hunted by police after it was stolen from its owner's garage.

Pascal Maeter, from Chelsea, west London, spent 18 months restoring the 1955 Austin Healey convertible and said the project had been a "labour of love".

It was stolen from his locked garage on Christmas Eve.

Mr Maeter said: "When I was given this car it had not been used for 40 years. It looked good from 20 metres, but when you got up close you saw that it needed a great deal of work.

"It took me many months to get it back to being a beautiful and working machine.

"I really hope the public can help. It was not just an ordinary car to me. This was a much loved gift, one of a special production and restoring it was a labour of love."

Mr Maeter's wife gave the car to him as a 50th birthday present two years ago.

Described by Scotland Yard as "extremely rare" and "distinctive", the light blue and cream vehicle is estimated to be worth in the region of £100,000.

It was parked in Mr Maeter's garage at 2pm on Christmas Eve and later that evening he found the garage door had been forced open and the car taken.

Detective Constable Joe de Vere of the Metropolitan Police said: "This is the sort of car that people would notice and for that reason it has probably been stored off-road, but it will need to be moved eventually.

"The car is very distinctive and extremely rare.

I would ask the public to remember what it looks like and call police if they see it."