The 'sting' of having all your work tools stolen

A joiner whose work van was emptied by thieves outside his home in County Down says "if there could be some way to stop the resale of stolen tools" it might prevent others being targeted.

Gordy Graham said the theft was a "bit of a sting", but that the kindness of his employer, friends and family helped him replace the stolen tools and return to work.

In 2023-24 the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) recorded 327 incidents of tools being stolen in Northern Ireland.

The PSNI encourages marking tools and registering them on an approved database.

Thieves stole all the tools from Gordy's van which was parked outside his house

Mr Graham, from Kilkeel, who has been working as a joiner for more than 20 years, discovered his tools had been stolen as he was leaving to go to work early one morning.

"It was like a minute or two before it dawned on me the tools were gone," he said.

"The side door of the van was actually closed so once they stopped stealing stuff they closed the door up."

He told BBC News NI that he experienced a range of emotions from confusion and anger to "a bit of sadness" once he realised what had happened.

All of the power tools that had been in the van were taken, including some that belonged to his apprentice and others that he had owned since he first trained at 16 years old.

Neither his house insurance or his van insurance covered the cost of his loss.

He's frustrated at how easy it is for tools to be sold online or at car boot sales.

"A local man had his tools stolen and they came up for sale on Facebook Marketplace," he said.

Mr Graham has had to buy a lot of new tools to be able to keep working

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor Henry Reilly said he was "astonished" when others got in touch to say they had experienced similar thefts.

"What more despicable thing could somebody do to steal a tradesman's tools?," he said.

He encourages anyone who is a victim of this type of crime to report it to the police.

"Even if you don't get an immediate response, all those reports are monitored and they can build up a pattern."

Councillor Henry Reilly says other workmen have been targeted in the Mourne area

PSNI Insp Tori Anderson said it can be worth "investing in high-security locks for both vehicles and other buildings that may be used to store tools".

She said that if people must store tools in a vehicle to "try and park in a well-lit area with CCTV or other camera coverage, or park with the vehicle's doors against a wall to try and prevent access".

Mr Graham said he has changed his working practices since the theft and installed security cameras at his property.

"I thought the van was safe outside my house" he said.

"You thought you would have heard somebody doing it, but they came in, they cleaned me and I didn't even know they were there".