{"id":519113,"date":"2026-04-08T07:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/519113\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T07:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:38:09","slug":"this-is-about-peoples-livelihoods-how-surging-tool-thefts-are-leaving-tradespeople-penniless-and-afraid-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/519113\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is about people\u2019s livelihoods\u2019: how surging tool thefts are leaving tradespeople penniless and afraid | Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re on social media and have even a passing interest in home improvement, there\u2019s a good chance you will have seen Kevin Tingley\u2019s work. The 39-year-old decorator is known as Paint Warrior<\/a> \u2013 and has millions of followers across TikTok<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. He\u2019s in demand, highly skilled, generous in sharing tips from his many years of experience and even has his own range of products on sale in the UK and the US.<\/p>\n

But even with his social media army and branded brushes, he\u2019s still not immune to the biggest threat faced by British tradespeople: tool theft. \u201cIt was Boxing Day morning,\u201d Tingley says. \u201cI was still in bed, my wife was on her way to the gym. She came running back in and told me that all the doors of my van were open.\u201d<\/p>\n

He immediately knew what that meant \u2013 he\u2019d been \u201cdone\u201d. Tingley ran outside to see the doors of his van bent out of shape, with the bulk of his tools missing and the bits that remained strewn across his driveway. He later learned from a neighbour\u2019s CCTV that the thieves had struck about an hour previously. Tingley\u2019s van was parked just a few feet from his house. \u201cI was pacing up and down the kitchen thinking: \u2018Oh, bloody hell.\u2019 And then it hit me \u2013 I\u2019d have to cancel all the jobs I\u2019d booked for January and February.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It came at the worst possible time\u2019 … Kevin Tingley, whose van was broken into. Photograph: Sarah Lee\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

That was the least of it. On top of the cancellations, there would be the cost of fixing his van (the sliding door had been prised off its rails and other panels had been damaged), plus replacing the equipment. And not just brushes, rollers, ladders and overalls: a modern decorator uses expensive dustless sanding setups, power tools, sprayers and all manner of other costly kit. But without money coming in, Tingley would still have to pay his bills and the wages of his son and daughter, who are both employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really shit,\u201d he says. \u201cIt came at the worst possible time; just after Christmas, which is obviously expensive, plus my wife, son and daughter have their birthdays in January. We\u2019d just committed to a car for his 18th. Nothing flashy, but it was a promise and we couldn\u2019t go back on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tingley called the police. At first, he says, they wanted to just give him a crime reference number for the theft, but he insisted officers pay him a visit to investigate further. He lives just outside Milton Keynes and it transpired there were several other similar incidents in his neighbourhood that night. Police<\/a> obtained CCTV footage, from which they found the number plate of a vehicle driven by the suspects, but more than two months on, Tingley is waiting for an update. He is not hopeful of a positive outcome, and has resigned himself to simply working flat out for the rest of the year to mitigate the damage.<\/p>\n

He estimates the theft has cost him about \u00a317,000, not to mention the many sleepless nights worrying that his business was ruined. He has also started renting a secure lock-up to store his equipment \u2013 another expense \u2013 to try to stop it happening again. While he is insured, he\u2019s not sure if this theft is covered by his policy as the tools were left in his van overnight.<\/p>\n

A van damaged in a robbery. Photograph: Stolen Tools UK<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an all-too-common story. More than 80% of tradespeople<\/a> in the UK report having had tools stolen at some point in their career, with associated costs such as damage, tool replacement and lost work collectively running into the hundreds of millions<\/a>. A 2023 study by Direct Line business insurance also stated that, on average, a tool was reported stolen every 12 minutes. It\u2019s a commonly quoted figure by police, insurers and tradespeople, but tool theft was up 16% last year from 2024<\/a>. Plus, many don\u2019t even report their tools stolen after losing faith in the insurance system \u2013 because it\u2019s too expensive or they\u2019re unable to claim due to not meeting the criteria set out in their policy \u2013 or in the police recovery rate<\/a>: about 2% of stolen tools are returned to their owners. That 12-minute figure will undoubtedly now be even worse.<\/p>\n

Of course, tool theft is not a new phenomenon. Most tradies will experience it multiple times in their career (37% will have it happen twice, 23% three times, according to a survey by construction industry organisation On the Tools<\/a>). What is new is the scale and frequency. Robin Clevett, a carpenter for almost 40 years, YouTuber<\/a> and presenter on construction station Fix Radio, recalls the first time he had his tools stolen \u2013 just weeks after he had qualified.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was 1987. I was 17, I\u2019d just started working and bought myself a Ford Capri,\u201d he says. \u201cAll my tools were in the back, and I went to the pub after work. When I returned, the rear window had been smashed and all my tools were gone. It\u2019s happened to me a couple of times since then, too. What\u2019s different now is the volume. It\u2019s industrial.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s such a problem that Clevett has entirely altered his approach to work: he won\u2019t entertain jobs in certain areas or for clients who can\u2019t provide a driveway or off-street parking. He also takes a packed lunch to sites every day so he won\u2019t have to call in to a supermarket \u2013 car parks are notorious break-in sites, even if you\u2019re just popping in for a meal deal. Every tradesperson I spoke to for this article said the same: fear of theft is very real, and it\u2019s causing a major shift in the way tradespeople are working.<\/p>\n

Just some of the \u00a32m worth of tools seized in Ilford, east London, earlier this year. Photograph: Metropolitan police<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is happening in all towns and cities,\u201d says Insp Mark Connolly of the Metropolitan police. He is part of a joint taskforce on tool theft in the borough of Havering in east London. Earlier this year, Connolly led a raid on a property in nearby Ilford, where officers discovered stolen tools worth a conservatively estimated \u00a32m. It\u2019s thought to be the largest haul of stolen tools ever discovered in the UK.<\/p>\n

It was the result of months of intelligence-gathering across the south-east in an operation known as Larkwood. Connolly has been working closely with Sgt Dave Catlow, who does similar work across Sidcup, Bexley and surrounding areas in south London.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Connolly and Catlow\u2019s work was frequently taking them to car boot sales across London and Essex for compliance checks among sellers, and a picture began to emerge. Stolen tools were rife, often laid out on tarpaulins in stripes of red, yellow and blue \u2013 Milwaukee, DeWalt and Makita, the three most popular brands for tradies and thieves alike. They realised the thefts were being carried out not by isolated opportunists but by serious organised criminal gangs.<\/p>\n

Power tools for sale at a car boot sale<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s correct to assume the majority of incidents involve highly portable items such as electric drills, saws and sanders \u2013 \u201cpotluck items from van break-ins\u201d, Catlow says \u2013 Operation Larkwood charted an alarming rise in the theft of more heavy-duty items. One recent theft saw surveying tools and even earth-moving equipment stolen from a construction site in Tilbury for the Lower Thames crossing, the \u00a310bn road that will connect Kent and Essex via a tunnel beneath the river when it\u2019s finished in the 2030s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen those sorts of items are being stolen, we know the gangs have been following surveyors and specialist contractors,\u201d says Catlow. \u201cWe know a lot of those items are going overseas. Another tactic for the gangs is to hire specialist equipment using a fraudulent company and then not return the tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catlow is about to embark on a new role with the national business crime centre, a Home Office-funded department previously tasked with tackling retail crimes such as shoplifting and warehouse theft. There\u2019s a huge overlap with tool theft, he says, pointing out that it\u2019s the same gangs doing most of the stealing. They are mobile and change tactics once the police have some success. If the spotlight on tool theft becomes too bright, for example, they switch to nicking catalytic converters or copper cables from beside railway lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some of these car boots, you can pick up a reciprocating saw, and next to it is some baby milk, olive oil and some coffee. The gangs are into everything,\u201d says Catlow. \u201cThe same gangs that are going out doing the vans for tools and cigarettes, often their other halves are out shoplifting, nicking the coffee and the baby milk. It does come together quite nicely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another emerging tactic is for the gangs to arrive at a car boot sale before it opens to the public and offload vanfuls of stolen tools wholesale to other traders, then vanish. They also steal number plates from other vehicles to become untraceable.<\/p>\n

Frankie Williams (right) and fellow activist Shoaib Awan (third from right), with Metropolitan police officers at a community tool marking event. Photograph: Courtesy of Frankie Williams\/Stolen_Tools_UK<\/p>\n

Frankie Williams is a window restorer in north London and had his tools stolen in November 2022. He was about \u00a33,500 out of pocket but only realised the extent of the problem in the weeks that followed as he talked to colleagues who told him their tales of tool theft. He quickly set up a Facebook page, followed by an Instagram account<\/a> and website \u2013 Stolen Tools UK<\/a> \u2013 where fellow tradespeople could go if they experienced theft.<\/p>\n

Initially, it was about putting a spotlight on the issue and creating a space for solidarity, but it has grown into something far bigger. He now posts \u2013 depressingly regularly \u2013 images and videos of thefts as well as tips to stay safe to almost 200,000 followers. His campaigning takes him all over the country to meet affected tradespeople and talk to tool manufacturers and insurers. \u201cThis is just what it\u2019s like being a tradesperson in 2026,\u201d says Williams. \u201cIt\u2019s tough enough out there as it is, and this just squeezes the trades more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has become so endemic that many tool manufacturers have policies in place to replace in-warranty stolen tools at a discounted rate. A spokesperson for Mirka, maker of high-end sanders, says: \u201cOur stolen tool support policy sends a clear message to users that they are not on their own when things go wrong. This is a serious issue that causes costly downtime and unexpected financial strain, and we want to help people get back to work faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams isn\u2019t the only campaigner. Shining a light on these car boot sales became a preoccupation for the plumber Shoaib Awan \u2013 The Gas Expert<\/a> on social media \u2013 when he became the victim of tool theft nearly three years ago. Outraged by the incident and thousands out of pocket, he started an online petition calling for the government (then the Conservatives) to act. It achieved 46,000 signatures and was well on its way to the requisite 100,000 to be discussed in the Commons, but a change in government when Labour took office meant the petition was taken down.<\/p>\n

Trades United protesting in London in February 2025. Photograph: PA Images\/Alamy Live News<\/p>\n

He then founded a campaign group, Trades United<\/a>, and organised some direct action. In June 2024, he hired a tank, gathered 200 tradies in their vans and drove in convoy from Brent Cross in north London to Parliament Square, where they blocked the roads. In February 2025, he did it again, and more than doubled the size of the protest. He also raised \u00a310,000 to distribute among victims and has since won a string of awards for his work highlighting the issue. It was through Awan\u2019s work that a number of MPs, including Reform\u2019s Robert Jenrick, have come to support the issue and call for legislation to ban car boot sales from selling power tools.<\/p>\n

Awan celebrated a small victory last month as organisers of Hounslow Heath car boot put up signs saying the sale of power tools is prohibited. He is hoping other sites follow suit, and that the government takes more concrete steps soon.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a feeling among the many tradespeople I spoke to that they are on their own, and that the government is not interested in dealing with the problem. Whether or not that\u2019s true, considering that the construction industry accounts for about 9% of the UK workforce and brings around \u00a3130bn to the economy<\/a> each year, you might expect stamping it out to be a vote-winning priority for any party.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just car boot sales that have been infiltrated. Catlow talks of high-street pawnbroker Cash Converters being used by thieves to offload tools: \u201cThey\u2019ve accepted that they\u2019ve got an issue and they\u2019re looking at policy changes.\u201d A spokesperson for Cash Converters said: \u201cCash Converters UK takes the issue of stolen goods extremely seriously. Every item we buy or sell undergoes a rigorous identification and verification process in line with the secondhand dealer legislation, Consumer Rights Act and money-laundering regulations as well as our own strict internal policies and procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ed Davey launching his campaign to tackle tool theft in January. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt\/PA Wire<\/p>\n

Tougher sentencing for criminals is something every interviewee wants to see. There are hopes that recent changes to the Sentencing Act 2026, championed by, among others, the Labour MP for Portsmouth North, Amanda Martin, will have an effect. The legal change encourages judges to take emotional distress and loss of livelihood caused by tool theft into consideration when handing down sentences.<\/p>\n

In Ireland, where tool theft is a similar-sized problem, a mandatory three-year jail sentence<\/a> for those caught stealing trade tools has been proposed by Fine Gael\u2019s PJ Murphy, a senator from Galway. The amendment recently passed the second of five stages before it can become law.<\/p>\n

The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey launched Operation Ironclad earlier this year, the party\u2019s campaign to make stopping tool theft a priority, underpinned by tougher sentencing, stricter rules on sales and calls for van manufacturers to install security measures as standard. (Some of these changes are already on the way \u2013 for example, Catlow tells me, from February next year, all van manufacturers will be required to fit new vehicles with alarms in the rear, not just the cabin.)<\/p>\n

As the police are making progress and the government looks to be, finally, taking the problem seriously, Clevett, the carpenter, wants everyone to shun the secondhand market, no matter how good a deal might appear at first. \u201cIt\u2019s just fuelling the thefts. Hopefully no DIYer will buy them, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018This is happening in all towns and cities\u2019 \u2026 Insp Mark Connolly. Photograph: Metropolitan police<\/p>\n

Awan points out that stolen tools are easy to spot \u2013 they will be absolutely battered as a result of their constant use before being stolen. \u201cTradespeople love their tools, and use them until they break,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ll get your garage clearances, like when a relative dies or something, but those tools look very different to a tradie\u2019s tool. It\u2019s unusual that they\u2019d be for sale legitimately.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to think the situation is hopeless but Connolly and Catlow point to things that can be done to help. Tool marking is something everyone I spoke to mentions (and not simply writing your initials on a drill in black Sharpie, as is commonly the case). They say they are pleading with people in the construction trade to mark their tools with SelectaDNA, a substance that gives a tool a unique code when sprayed on, which helps police reunite recovered items with their owners. They regularly hand out free kits at events. Proving that it works, an expensive tool called a fibre optic splicer was returned last month to Openreach<\/a> after being stolen and discovered by Connolly and Catlow\u2019s team in the Ilford raid.<\/p>\n

Gary Ross is CEO of Blip insurance, a relatively new company that specialises in cover for small businesses. He, as you might imagine, believes insurance is vital for a tradesperson, and that, along with upgrading any van locks or installing a secure cage in a van, the best thing a tradie could do is to take an afternoon to read through their policy documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cInsurers pay out on about 97% of valid, qualifying claims, so it\u2019s not pointless. But it is vital that people take an itemised inventory of their tools,\u201d he says. \u201cAlso, keep the receipts and take photos of the tools to help with any insurance claim. Be canny, and take some ownership. It might seem boring but it would take a weekend and could dramatically change the outcome if the worst happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proving that a blended approach of awareness, tool-marking and police action works is Hertfordshire, just north of London. The county was once hostage to tool theft, but figures have been falling for three years in a row, dropping further during the first few months of 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Police seize suspected stolen tools during a raid of a car boot sale in 2025. Photograph: Courtesy of Frankie Williams\/Stolen_Tools_UK<\/p>\n

Jonathan Ash-Edwards is Hertfordshire\u2019s police and crime commissioner. \u201cSo much of the work we\u2019ve done is awareness,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is something that can, in part, be prevented. So we\u2019ve been encouraging people not to leave tools in their vans, in their vehicles, wherever possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, that isn\u2019t always practical given how much most tradespeople have in their vans. Plus, many thefts happen during the day, when they\u2019re working, or visiting a prospective client to provide a quote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this is targeted,\u201d continues Ash-Edwards, \u201cso we\u2019ve done a lot of work around understanding particular locations, such as hotels, for example, where a fair amount of tools are stolen from vans that are parked up for the night.\u201d Premier Inn, for example, is trialling a secure parking scheme involving enclosed parking spaces, CCTV and extra lighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can sometimes have too passive a view about crime \u2013 that it\u2019s just something people have to put up with. But it is not inevitable. And we have the data to show that when you focus on taking away opportunity for the thefts, the number of incidents goes down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is, ultimately, about people\u2019s livelihoods,\u201d says Ash-Edwards. \u201cTradespeople should be able to get up in the morning with a busy day of work ahead of them and not have to worry whether their tools have been nicked overnight. We owe it to them for there to be a consistent focus on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters<\/a> section, please click here<\/a><\/p>\n