THE owner of a rare £130,000 Jaguar has been left “gutted” after thieves snatched his pride and joy along with thousands of pounds in cash and jewellery in a day-time raid.

Last year Lee Scott, 42, managed to buy the car of his dreams after decades of hard work restoring classic cars.

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Together with his 20-year-old son, Oliver, he spent months tuning the 1964 Jaguar E-Type, Series 1, 4.2 litre, fixed head coupe.

But CCTV cameras installed at his home, in Church Road, Brightlingsea, captured footage of two crooks stealing his beloved car from the driveway on Tuesday.

The thieves smashed through the lock on a back door, before ransacking bedrooms and stealing thousands of pounds in cash and jewellery.

They made their escape in the rare car, while a van believed to be a Fiat Scudo was also used during the raid.

Mr Scott said the car is now worth about £130,000.

He said: “It is my pride and joy.

“The car must have been taken at around 3.10pm as a guy down the road had footage of it being driven away at around that time.

“It was seen in the Rowhedge at around 3.50pm.

“It is a distinctive and rare car.

“The burglars smashed the lock off the double glazed back doors.

“We have been lucky in one sense, a local double glazing company did the repairs free of charge - we have seen a lot of good community spirit.”

He added: “They stole all of my son’s money - he works for me and is gutted.

“He had £500 taken, he had worked until 9pm the whole month. My wife had £460 stolen, this was money for our youngest son who is 11.

“He is going to high school soon and this was money for his uniform and bits like that.

“The jewellery was all gone - including my wife’s nan’s necklace, which is a cross, and my late mother’s jewellery.

“The jewellery would be worth thousands, but it is worth more than the car in sentimental value. It is all absolutely gutting.”

“I have spent 30 years working my socks off and the car was something I had always wanted - that exact make, model and colour.

“I finally got it last year and myself and my son had spent a lot of time tuning it and working on it. I work hard and the car was my treat.”

Mr Scott said he had heard of several burglaries in Brightlingsea on the same day. He added: “There has been a massive issue with crime since the police station was removed. It has been diabolical recently.

“When we were burgled there were three in one day. A guy down the road from us had his house trashed - they were trying to find the keys to his car but luckily for him they couldn’t.

“Unfortunately for me they found the keys.”

Anyone with information should contact Essex Police on 101.