Police recover stolen tools worth more than £1m

Kent Police said one of the power tools had a tracking device, which led them to the discovery

Kent Police has recovered more than 3,500 tools which it believes are worth over £1m.

Five men, aged between 18 and 44, were arrested alongside a 19-year-old woman and 17-year-old on suspicion of multiple offences relating to theft.

The force said it found the suspected stolen goods after searching for one power tool with a tracking device.

It has now finished cataloguing the items, which include drills, saws, angle grinders and nail guns, after making the discovery on 26 April.

Police said the victim of a stolen drill, who had previously been targeted by thieves, had attached trackers to their tools.

The tracker led officers to obtain and execute a warrant at an address in Swattenden, near Cranbrook.

Kent Police is appealing to the owners of the items to come forward to reclaim them

They then uncovered a large haul of suspected stolen goods, including a quad bike confirmed to be stolen from Ashford, and six caravans stolen from areas including Sussex, Wales, Southampton, Staffordshire and Bristol.

The seven people who were arrested have since been bailed pending further investigations.

Kent Police said it was keen to identify the owners of the tools, and encouraged them to email [e-mail] with either proof of purchase, serial numbers or details of unique identifying features.

Other stolen tools include impact drivers, multi tools, generators, disc cutters, hand tools, garden power tools, laser levels and batteries and chargers.

Brands include DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Bosch, Hitachi and Stihl.