A plumber’s business has been left “up in the air” after tools worth £2,000 were stolen from his van.

Steve Banks, of Romany Close in Letchworth GC, said the incident happened while the van was parked at a building site on Bedford Road in Pirton at some point between midday and 5pm last Wednesday, June 25.

The thieves took a number of tools including specialist plumbing and gas fitting equipment worth hundreds of pounds each.

The 46-year-old – who is self-employed – told the Comet it was the third time this had happened to him in the past three years, after two previous thefts outside his home.

The father-of-three said: “Everything’s up in the air at the moment. It’s lucky that I have got some spares but I will have to order a lot of things which isn’t going to be cheap.

“It’s not just about the money either. You can’t just go out there and buy all these tools. Some of them were specialist pieces of equipment I’ve had since I trained five years ago.

“The police have been out and fingerprinted the van but didn’t find anything because the criminals must have used gloves.

“It’s not even the first time it’s happened. Since the last break-in I’ve put a board in to stop people getting in from the front and have deadlocks on the back but there’s only so much you can do.”

Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information should call Hertfordshire Constabulary on non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

u