Tradie gutted after being robbed of tools

Tradie gutted after being robbed of tools
Brendan Rees

A Kensington apprentice plumber has been left devastated after callous thieves stole more than $5000 worth of tools from his van.

Marcus, 23, had parked his van at the front of his home on Southey St when his gear was taken at around 9.30pm on July 25.

“They got something like a screwdriver and wrenched the lock off,” his partner Holly told North West City News.

She said the culprits “took anything they could see” including an impact driver, a reciprocating saw, and a circular saw.

She said her Holden Cruz, which was also parked on the street at the time, was broken into and ransacked.   

“No damage … not sure how they got in but there was stuff everywhere, they had gone through it,” she said.

Holly, who asked not to use their surnames, said Marcus, a first-year apprentice, had been left gutted and “can’t afford to replace his tools which have taken him years to accumulate”.

“It affects his ability to do his job, he has had to borrow tools,” she said, adding without insurance his boss wouldn’t be able to make a claim for his stolen DeWalt power tools which totalled $5350.

 

He started his apprenticeship later in life but his livelihood has been taken away. It’s just devastating.

 

Holly said they reported the incident to police who fingerprinted the van, but without CCTV she had taken to social media in the hope of appealing to witnesses.

So far, a neighbour has given a brief description of a man about 30 to 40 years of age driving a black or dark coloured SUV.

Other neighbours, she said, also reported their tools having been stolen from their vehicles on the same night.

In the meantime, Marcus has resorted to parking his van behind locked gates at his workplace in Cranbourne, in Melbourne’s south-east.

“Instead of driving straight to the job now, he has to drive to base and pick up the van. He won’t be leaving $5k worth of tools out the front again,” Holly said.

“We’re both paranoid and can’t sleep. We have both only been here a couple of months, we moved up from Mornington and it makes me just want to break my lease and go home.”

Victoria Police Leading Senior Constable Kendra Jackson said police had received a report of a theft from a motor vehicle in Kensington in July.

“Police have been told an unknown offender has gained entry to the victim’s locked vehicle parked on Southey St sometime between 7pm on July 24 and 9am on July 25 and stole items,” she said •

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