PUPPETS from the long running cult television series Rainbow were stolen from a car at Membury services on the M4.

Children's favourites Zippy, Bungle and George disappeared after they were left in the back of an estate car.

The iconic puppets were returning to London after being taken to Bristol to film scenes for Geoffrey Hayes' new stage show Over the Rainbow, set to premiere at the Edinburgh Festival on August 2.

And now the show's producer, Richard Temple is offering a £5,000 bounty for their safe return.

He said: "I'm devastated. The three characters are an irreplaceable part of Over the Rainbow and everybody connected to the show, especially Geoffrey himself, is very concerned. The costumes bear unique markings which means that we will be able to instantly know whether our three friends are the genuine articles."

Andy James, deputy general manager at Membury Service Station said: "Everyone of a certain age remembers Zippy, George and Bungle fondly. "It is a shame that they have been stolen and we are asking members of the public to report anyone dressed as Zippy, George or Bungle immediately to the police.

"We can confirm that no one matching their description has been seen around the service station but we are keeping our eyes peeled."

"We shall certainly be checking through our CCTV footage to see if we can shed any light on the theft."

Geoffrey Hayes, who worked alongside the talented trio for 20 years, was said to be very distressed by the loss of the puppets, one of only a handful of original sets used during the filming of the programme.

He had only just bought the Bungle puppet at an auction at Christie's for £3,500 and the trio as a set are thought to be worth thousands of pounds.

Only four of the five sets of characters are thought to have survived from the ITV children's show which was first broadcast in 1972.

Rainbow was produced by Thames TV, a Pearson TV company and ran until 1992 when Thames TV lost its ITV franchise.