Rally Car Stolen

A very expensive rally car (similar to this one being driven by WRC driver Petter Solberg in Sardinia and pictured here by Adam McCalden) has been stolen.

The green, white and black Subaru Impreza that was taken disappeared from outside the Cohannon Inn near Coalisland at about 4.15am on Friday.

Police were called to the scene in the early hours of this morning as the specialist rally car - worth tens of thousands of pounds - was being stolen, but didn't arrive quickly enough, as the vehicle and trailer was gone and remains missing.

The car belongs to one of the top rally drivers in the UK, Welshman Wyn Humphries, who is in Northern Ireland for the Ulster leg of the British rally championship this weekend.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster this morning, it was revealed that a blue van Berlingo van seen in the area at the time is being hunted.

"To get woken up at 5am to hear the car and trailer have gone is a big shock. It has never happened to us before," Mr Humphries, 26, said.

"I know it does happen, but it is one of those things you think will never happen to you."

Police rushed to the scene after they were called by an eyewitness who was nearby and who noted the vehicle details, but the crooks had left before they could attend the rural location.

The rally car - with a new, and very expensive engine installed - was parked on a specialised trailer, itself worth over £10,000 and specifically left tight against a wall.

However, the thieves, who may not have even known the rally car was onboard the enclosed trailer, still managed to take it.

This year's Toddsleap.com Ulster International Rally looks like being a major road, as entries have been confirmed from some of the fastest pilots in UK and Irish rally sport, being a key round of both the British Rally Championship and the Irish Tarmac Championship.

As well as being the decider for this year's Irish Tarmac Championship, the rally hosts rounds of the 2008 UK Evo Challenge, the UK C2R2 Cup, the Suzuki Swift Cup, the Fiesta Sporting Trophy and the ITC Historics, all of which start from Armagh City centre today.

(BMcC)