Thieves have apparently stolen the "flying" Ford Anglia car used in the Harry Potter films. British police say it vanished at some time between Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

The blue 1960s-style car's disappeared from under a South West Film Studios in St Agnes, Cornwall, south-west England.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman says, "For those who have not seen the Harry Potter films this is the car that flies in the movies and is very well known. It is believed that the vehicle could not have been driven, therefore it is suspected that it would have to have been towed or fully lifted from the scene."

The car made its first appearance in the second installment of the adventures of the boy wizard, taking the hero and his friend, Ron Weasley, to Hogwart's School.

Teh spokesman adds, "The thieves may not have known its connection with the films, and just thought it was a classic car, or it may have been a Harry Potter freak."

The fourth film in the series - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire