Barrow joiner 'shocked' and 'angry' after £5K of tools stolen from van

Wayne Buchanan, 58, from Roose, was preparing to go to work on Monday morning when he noticed the quarter light window of his van had been smashed.

The van, which was parked between North Row and South Row in Roose, had been broken into using the driver’s door window some time between 5.30pm on Sunday and 8am on Monday.

Mr Buchanan, who has his own business as a craftsman joiner, knew immediately he had been targeted.

“I was getting ready to go to work when I put my keys in the door and realised it was already unlocked,” he said.

“Then I saw glass on the pavement and noticed the quarter light on the driver’s side had been smashed in.

“I unlocked the back door and saw everything had been taken.

“Electric and manual tools, saws, ladders, a drill worth £600 - everything.”

Mr Buchanan estimates £5,000 of tools were stolen from his van.

“I’m very angry about this,” he said. “It’s not just about the tools, it’s my livelihood which is going to suffer because of this too.”

Mr Buchanan has been forced to cancel any ‘on-call’ work planned during Christmas.

“It doesn’t matter what time of year this happens to you, whether it’s in summer or Christmas, it’s still horrible,” he said.

“But it’s never nice during Christmas time.

“I have no tools so can’t take on call-outs in the next few weeks.

“And my van has to be repaired before I can get back on the road.

“This is costing me a lot of time and money.”

Mr Buchanan is appealing to anyone who may have seen or heard any suspicious activity.

“Hopefully someone has spotted something which will help catch who did this,” he said.

“A few people have offered to lend me tools which is very generous.”

A police spokeswoman said: “A Vauxhall Movano was parked on the road between North Row and South Row, Barrow when unknown persons have broken the quarter light window on the driver’s door and a number of power tools taken.

“Anyone with any info should call 10 quoting log 49 of Dec 23.”