A high-performance Lotus racing car worth £50,000 was stolen from the car park at Dunston Hall Hotel when its Belgian owner was staying there before returning home.

The white Lotus Elise Cup R, and the trailer it was sitting on, were stolen some time between 6pm on Saturday (January 14) and 10am the following day.

The car's owner was racing car driver Denis Vandensavel, and for the past few months the vehicle was being worked on by ES Motorsport in Hempnall.

David Carr, ES Motorsport's owner, said the theft was devastating.

Mr Carr said: 'He had just bought it one or two months ago and we had been preparing it for racing.

'He went to stay at Dunston Hall on Saturday night before going back to Belgium and when he woke up it was gone.

'The trailer with the car on it was gone too.

'It's very bad news. He was uninsured.'

The car is not registered for use on British roads.

Mr Carr said the Lotus had been reported in Mildenhall on Sunday about 10pm, and the sighting was reported to the police, but nothing came of it.

He said Mr Vandensavel had planned to use the vehicle in the Lotus Cup Europe series, which includes races at Brands Hatch in Kent, Le Mans in France and Germany's Nürburgring.

Mr Carr said the theft had already generated a huge amount of interest after being shared on social media.

He said: 'We are trying to do whatever we can to get the car back.'

Anyone with information should contact Norfolk Police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.