A narrowboat which was stolen in South Warwickshire last week has been found repainted by police - but the thieves remain at large.

Warwickshire's rural crime team released a public appeal to try and help recover the boat - which had had its name removed during some ongoing renovation work - after it was stolen on the canal in Wilmcote.

Officers thought the red and white boat was moved towards Stratford-upon-Avon but it was eventually recovered near Gloucester.

The 40ft craft was stolen between November 8 and 13 and officers originally used a drone to try and track it down, as the possible search was "huge" and included "many different waterways".

The police's appeal on social media was eventually seen by hundreds of thousands of people, with many getting in contact to share information with the force.

"Vital information was provided with recent sightings of the boat and possible offenders in Stratford, Bidford on Avon, Tewksbury," a police statement on Saturday 16 November said.

"With a confirmed direction of travel and significantly better idea of what days and times it had passed through specific areas of the canal and river network, we made contact with other agencies and businesses to see if the boat had gone through locks, docks and rivers.

"After many hours of calls to the Canal and River Trust, Avon Navigation Trust, waterside businesses and River Watch, we managed to establish that the boat had been painted white in an attempt to disguise her and had passed through the lock into the Gloucester Dock area at midday on the 14 of November.

"Now only 24 hours behind the boat and the stretch of canal we needed to search getting ever smaller, we had a fantastic response from the National Waterways Museum in Gloucester.

"After hearing about the theft and that the boat might be in the docks area, staff went out walking the tow paths looking. Amazingly they found the boat and immediately contacted our team.

"The team raced to the location (significantly quicker than a barge) and quickly secured the boat.

"Unfortunately, no offenders were with the boat but we're confident it won't be long before we're having a chat with them face to face."

The police were quick to thank the "incredible response" from residents, agencies and the "people that live and work on or near the waterways".

The investigation continues.