We present optical follow up observations of the long \object GRB 001007 between 6.14 hours and \sim 468 days after the event .
An unusually bright optical afterglow ( OA ) was seen to decline following a steep power law decay with index \alpha = - 2.03 \pm 0.11 , possibly indicating a break in the light curve at t - t _ { \mathrm { 0 } } < 3.5 days , as found in other bursts .
Upper limits imposed by the LOTIS alerting system 6.14 hours after the gamma ray event provide tentative ( 1.2 \sigma ) evidence for a break in the optical light curve .
The spectral index \beta of the OA yields - 1.24 \pm 0.57 .
These values may be explained both by several fireball jet models and by the cannonball model .
Fireball spherical expansion models are not favoured .
Late epoch deep imaging revealed the presence of a complex host galaxy system , composed of at least two objects located 1.2 \arcsec ( 1.7 \sigma ) and 1.9 \arcsec ( 2.7 \sigma ) from the afterglow position .