The "flying" Ford Anglia used in the Harry Potter films has been stolen from a film studio lot, police said on Friday. "For those who have not seen the Harry Potter films, this is the car that flies in the movies and is very well known," a police spokesman said.

The blue Anglia went missing from South West Film Studios at St Agnes in the south-western English county of Cornwall.

"The film prop was being stored under a tarpaulin. It was not in good condition and could not have been driven away under its own steam," the police spokesman said.

Copyright Reuters, 2005