Tradesman felt suicidal after thief stole £12k of tools from rental van
CCTV captured the shocking moment when a crook swiped £12,000 of tools from a carpenter’s van - as tradespeople march outside parliament over a ‘van tool theft epidemic’.
Footage (click to play above) shows the moment when a carpenter had £12k worth of tools stolen from a hire vehicle - which left him feeling suicidal.
Under the gaze of CCTV, the crooks popped the lock in just 22 seconds - emptied the van in four minutes - and carpenter Stephen Baker, 31, couldn't claim anything on insurance because it was a hire van.
I couldn’t get my tools back
Police couldn't catch the crooks - and when they found tools they thought were his, couldn't give them back because the serial numbers had been scratched off, Stephen says.
Stephen's tools were taken when he parked up his hire Ford Transit outside a hotel in Watford, in February 2023. He says hotel rules stopped him taking his tools in, but he chose a position which blocked the back door, and had CCTV on the side door.
Thieves emptied tools into a car
When he returned around 1am, he saw screws on the ground and was devastated to see his tool boxes empty inside. CCTV footage - shown above- shows the thieves using a tool to raid his van, emptying the contents into a car.
Stephen is one of 500 tradespeople who will march on parliament over a "van tool theft epidemic". The dad-of-three - and more than 500 tradies - are marching from Brent Cross to Parliament Square to demand the government takes action with stricter enforcement of existing laws, particularly concerning tool theft.
‘I’d grafted and grafted and it was all gone’
Gavin Crane, the head of charity Band of Builders (BOB), will join the rally, which is being organised by Trades United – a group of tradespeople who have come together to draw attention to the scourge of tool theft from vans and the impact it is having on small businesses in the UK construction industry.
He said tool theft has risen by 12% last year and a tool is stolen every 12 minutes in the UK. The construction charity said tool theft from vans has reached "epidemic" levels and described it as a "plague" which is "beyond crisis point".
Stephen, from Hertfordshire, whose firm is S B Multitrade, said: "It was such a violation. I started to panic about not being able to do my work. It really destroyed my mental health. I'd grafted and grafted and it was all gone in a moment.”
Wake up call from son
Stephen was on the brink of taking his own life when he received a text message - from his partner's phone - from his son, then two.
He said: "The message was complete gobble-dee-gook, but it was a wake-up call for me.
"Jacking it all in had felt like a solution for me, to get out of the pain and fear, but I knew I could never leave them behind.
‘Life had been sucked out of me’
"Power tools are expensive - you can't just replace them.
"The other things they take are hand tools, and little bits and pieces you have collected over years for fixing things.
"Then there's the stuff that has been handed down through the generations that has sentimental value but isn't worth anything to the thieves.
"The idea of losing my business for me also meant losing what I had built up to pass on to my own children - it felt very personal and was extremely upsetting.
"I felt like the life had been sucked out of me.”
Harsher penalties for tool thieves
BOB and Trades United want harsher penalties for those convicted of tool and vehicle theft, improved security at public spaces, a dedicated task force to address theft relating to tradespeople, better support for victims and a public awareness campaign.
Gavin Crane, CEO of Band of Builders, is attending. He has had his own van broken into twice under the gaze of CCTV cameras.
He said: "The UK construction industry can't go on like this - it's beyond crisis point.
"Tradespeople face this threat every day, their vehicles are their livelihoods.
"Enough is enough. The van rally will demonstrate the strength of feeling about this epidemic amongst the community of tradespeople in the UK.”
BoB has two vans that are taking part in the rally, and Gavin has applauded the efforts of Trades United in mobilising so many tradespeople to hammer home the issue to the government.
Mental health support
If you are affected by anything in this story, you can get help from https://www.samaritans.org/ . Call 116 123 or email [email protected].