THE owner of a car worth £34,000 had it stolen from under his nose after he had let another man test drive it on Tuesday night.

The theft happened between 8.29pm and 9.15pm at the 44-year-old owner's address in Fountains Close, Willesborough, near Ashford.

A man responded to an advertisement for the red BMW M3 Convertible and arrived to view it in a black BMW Z3, which he parked some distance away from the address.

He went for a test drive in the BMW M3 with the owner.

After the test drive, the man claimed he could hear a funny noise coming from the car.

But when the owner got out to look around, the man sped off in the direction of the M20, leaving the BMW Z3 still parked.

The police carried out a search of roads in the area, but could find no trace of the car.

The offender is described as white and aged between 24 and 25. He was between 5ft 6in and 5ft 7in tall, clean-shaven with short cropped brown hair and he wore wire-framed glasses.

He spoke with a northern accent and was wearing a blue and white checked shirt and dark trousers.

DS Andy Chapman, of Ashford Police, said: "This is a distinctive car and we would like to speak to anyone who may have seen it being driven off, or perhaps recently parked.

"We would also like to speak to anyone who saw the black BMW Z3 parked in Fountains Close, Willesborough.”

He added: "All prospective sellers should be extra vigilant when allowing strangers to test drive their vehicles.

"As a precaution, we recommend that they are never left alone inside a car with the ignition keys and obtain details and proof of identity before the test drive."

Anyone with information is asked to contact DS Chapman on 01233 619188.