A BUNGLING burglar left his tool kit after trying to break into a skip hire business.

Staff arrived at work at Canvey Skip Hire and Recycling, in Vikings Way, on Canvey's Charfleets Industrial Estate, to discover the raider had tried to break off the metal grate from the front of the office door.

The burglar appeared to have been disturbed, as a backpack containing a polo shirt, hoodie, spanners and screwdrivers, was left behind.

It was the twelfth time the business, which was taken over by husband and wife team Stuart and Zoe Clark in 2006, had been targeted.

Mrs Clark said: “One of our workers turned up early.

He didn’t see anything, but he must have disturbed them. He found the bag by the side of the fence.

“The burglars don’ normally go for the office’ as they tend to just want the scrap metal, so I don't think it’s the same people coming back time and time again.

They must have been after computer equipment this time and hoping we kept cash in there.

“Scrap metal theft is always a problem for businesses like ours. There is no streetlighting on the estate and no security guards patrolling the area, so once all the businesses are closed there isn’t anything to deter thieves.” The attempted break-in took place on Sunday night or early hours of Monday.

Tory councillor Ray Howard plans to organise a meeting with businesses on Charfleets about stepping up security.

He also hinted that part of the problem could be that Essex County Council turns off streelights between 1am and 5am in a bid to save cash.

He said: “It’s disgraceful that someone trying to run a business has been broken into this many times. I’m committed to getting LED lights across the county."

Anyone with information about the burglary should phone police on 101.