Builder left unable to work after £5,000 worth of tools stolen from his workshop

Toby Ling, 45, was devastated to discover his storage unit in Brock Hill, Wickford, had been broken into.

Thieves ransacked the the workshop on Friday night and helped themselves to a haul of tools and equipment. Among the stash of stolen items were drills, power tools, screw drivers and welding masks.

It is understand the thieves used a wheelbarrow - which was left abandoned in the yard outside the workshop - to transport the items through bushes to a waiting car on the main road.

Mr Ling, who lives in Wickford, said: “It has basically put me out of business. I have got to buy everything from scratch.

“The equipment wasn’t insured, but I have looked into it before and it’s actually pretty hard to get insurance for that kind of thing.

“I do absolutely everything, from plumbing to fitting kitchens. We do a lot with schools, that’s our main job.

“I was brought up working with cars, so I have always restored them. That side of things is more of a hobby, to be honest.”

Mr Ling believes the thieves knew what they were doing - and thinks they checked out the building out before breaking in.

He spent Sunday visiting boot sales across Essex in the hope of finding his stolen tools for sale.

He added: “For the amount of stuff they took, they must have known what they were doing. I think someone’s definitely been down to have a little look beforehand.”

All of his Makita power tools have his initials on them, and he is urging anyone with information on their whereabouts to contact police.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Police were called to reports of a burglary at an address in Brock Hill, Wickford which took place between 10pm on May 19 and 9am on May 20.

“Entry was gained to a workshop, a messy search was conducted and tools worth a four-figure sum of cash were taken.”

So far, no arrests have been made.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101 or charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.