Inspector Morse fans will be hoping the television character's classic Jaguar car finds a good home when it is auctioned in London next month.

Morse and motor

The burgundy 1959 Mark II Jaguar driven by the late John Thaw in the popular TV series is expected to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000 at auction.

The car was won in a competition in November by Oxford solicitor James Went. He sold it to a work colleague, who, in turn, has decided to sell the car at auction. Morse creator Colin Dexter said he was saddened that the famous Jaguar has not yet found a home.

He said: "I would like to see it given to a car museum so people could go and look at it."

Mr Went, who lives in central Oxford, sold the car shortly after winning it in a competition run by Carlton Video and Woolworths.

He said: "I don't have a garage so it was kept at my girlfriend's parents' garage, but it would have slowly rusted away there."

The car's next owner, Brian Hilditch, a solicitor in London, had the car restored in advance of the auction. He said: "The interior of the car and the chrome were in a terrible state. I would have loved to have kept it. I'm a big Morse fan and I have the films and the music, but it just wasn't realistic for a family with teenage children."

The car will be auctioned by Coys of Kensington, at the London Business Design Centre, in Upper Street, Islington, on April 30.