An avid motocross fan is appealing for thieves to return his new racing bike after he captured the suspects on CCTV.

Heating engineer James Hazell, 36, bought his £3,500 KTM 450 bike six weeks ago to pursue his dream of competing in a motocross team.

But the prized bike was stolen from the locked garage attached to his house in Redwood Close, Witham on January 17 - one day before he was due to attend a race practice day at Mildenhall in Suffolk.

The distinctive bike is orange with yellow, black and white motifs with the number plate WX57 JVR.

He said: "I discovered the garage door open at about 5.30 the next morning, I didn’t hear a thing in the night.

“There aren’t too many of these bikes around in Witham, it’s not something you normally see. It would really stand out."

Mr Hazell installed a handy CCTV camera outside his home five years ago to keep an eye on his work van, which captured footage of the two suspects approaching his garage.

He says the thieves may have spotted his bike while he was cleaning it in the street with a friend the day before it was taken.

Contact Dc Tarling at Braintree Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.