A man says he is devastated after about 40 “irreplaceable” kites were stolen from his car.

Peter Hulcoop, from Ramsgate, flies kites professionally at events all over the world, raising money for charities at the same time.

In his collection were handmade kites created for him by artists who live in places as far away as South Africa.

The kites were all stored in two bags, one red and one blue, that he had left in his car overnight.

The 66-year-old said: “The kites are irreplaceable. Someone who made me one of the kites has now died and another person spent six months making me a kite and that has all been lost.

“There were special commissions in the bags too, some hand-painted, others hand-dyed, and some I made myself. The amount of hours put in to those kites is unbelievable.

“The very first one I made 35 years ago was in there and a rare Malaysian kite that is 40 years old has also been taken.

“Whoever took them wouldn’t be able to sell them. They are hugely complicated even to put together and some of them have such a strong pull it can be very dangerous.

“If they get dumped I just need them to be brought inside as quickly as possible to stop them getting ruined.

“I am desperate to find them.”

Mr Hulcoop’s car was parked in St Luke’s Avenue when the theft took place.

He was due to fly out to France for the Dieppe Kite Festival last week but his passport was also stolen during the theft.

Mr Hulcoop has managed to identify 28 of the kites to police but says there are a number of others to look out for.

Police spokesman Scarlet Jones said: “We are investigating a report of theft from a car which occurred between 11pm on September 3, and 6.15pm on September 4, in St Luke’s Avenue, Ramsgate.

“A number of items including several kites, were reported missing following the incident. Anyone with information can contact us quoting ZY/31159/16.”