As well as individual tradespeople, organisations are also being targeted.
Power tools worth more than £20,000 were stolen from a charity workshop in Chichester, West Sussex, just before Christmas.
Sue Livett, the managing director of the Aldingbourne Trust, which supports adults with learning disabilities, said: “They were high value, good, solid tools, all worth a lot of money and necessary for the work we do.”
Since the break-in the charity says it has increased security, but the long-term effects will be harder to fix:
“It makes people a bit less trusting and will affect the activities they can do,” Ms Livett said.
