POLICE are urging van owners to be vigilant and take extra measures to ensure their tools are secure following a spate of thefts across Wiltshire.

The most recent incident happened in Wyke Road, Trowbridge, overnight between midnight on Wednesday, April 5 and 6.30am on Thursday, April 6.

A Ford Transit was broken into and tools to the value of almost £3,000 were stolen, including a De Walt nail gun, Makita jigsaw, angle grinders, battery chargers, two Attachi circular saws, Makita drill, a De Walt jigsaw and drill bits.

Between 4pm on April 5 and 8.30am on Thursday, April 6, a Ford Transit was broken into in Gloucester Road, Trowbridge, and a variety of hand held tools were stolen including a Makitta hammer drill and impact driver and an orange tool bag containing various tools.

Tools were stolen from a Ford Transit in Mills Road, Melksham, at around11pm on Saturday, April 1.

A Ford Transit was broken into between 10.15am and 12.15pm on Wednesday, March 29 in Furlong Gardens, Trowbridge. The van was open at the time while the owner was cleaning his patio.

Items to the value of £5,000 were stolen including an orange Hesqualer disc cutter and a Lasermark laser level.

A door to a wooden shed in a garden in Shaw Hill, Melksham, was broken into at 4.30pm on Sunday, March 26 and a rotavator, hand gardening tools and new Wolf combined tool kit was stolen.

Between 5pm on Tuesday, March 28 and 9.30am on Wednesday, March 29, a Ford Transit van was broken into in Plants Green, Warminster, and commercial power tools to the value of approximately £1,400 were stolen including a Festool plunge saw, a Dewalt router, cordless drills and a Dewalt jigsaw.

Between 3.30pm on Monday, March 20 and 6.15am on Tuesday, March 21, a Ford Transit in The Old Brewery Newtown in Bradford on Avon and on the same day, a Ford Transit was broken into in Bond Street, Trowbridge, with tools stolen including chain saws, nail gun, drills and angle grinders.

And between 6pm on Sunday, March 19 and 5.30pm on Monday, March 20, a secure container unit at a site off Holt Road, Bradford on Avon, was broken into and a large number of hand tools and site tools were stolen. In total the items were worth between £2,000 and £3,000.

Community coordinator Alex Trombetta said: “It’s really important that van owners remove tools and valuables from their vehicles at night or when vehicles are left unattended.

“It may seem obvious but we are continuing to see thefts of this nature – the message is simple, please remove all valuables, including tools, from vehicles at night or when they are left unattended.

“Many of the victims in these incidents are self-employed and have been hit hard by the loss of their tools as it is preventing them from earning a living. If it’s valuable to you, please remove it.

“I’d like to appeal to anyone who may have been sold tools recently – please check the battery compartments as many items that have been stolen are engraved with the initials of the owner internally, on the battery.

“If you think you may have been sold these items, please call police on 101. Likewise, if you have seen these items for sale online, please let us know via 101.”