A man has said that crooks who broke into his van and made off with tools worth thousands of pounds had “taken food right out of his kids’ mouths”.
Darren O’Connor’s van was broken into as it sat outside his home, with tools worth a total of £2,000 stolen.
The theft left the 32-year-old joiner having to borrow tools from friends and family to keep his business afloat.
He told the Tele that he had built up his tools over a number of years and doesn’t have the means to replace them following the crime.
The Kirriemuir man said: “They managed to break in using a master key — apparently it is quite common with Transit vans.
“I run a small business and people think that everything is great when you are a business owner but we operate on very tight lines.
“I only realised what had happened because the lock didn’t feel right when I opened it up in the morning. We needed to go to family members and friends for help — you need it but you feel bad about it.
“You don’t realise how much you have accumulated over the years and how much you rely upon it to do your job until something like this happens.”
Items taken from the van included a 110v Makita circular saw, a 110v Makita jigsaw, an 18v Makita lithium ion cordless drill and an 18v Makita impact driver. Other tools that were taken in the raid were a Pasload lithium ion finishing gun and two Pasload IM350 finishing guns — one of which has Darren O’Connor written on it — and a brand new multi tool.
Darren, who lives with his wife Nikki, 32, said that he has been forced to invest in extra security measures to ensure that the perpetrators don’t strike again.
He said: “We have two kids, who are six and 10.
“I feel like Christmas has been scuppered for them. They have taken food right out the kids’ mouths.
“I am going to need to buy an anti-pick lock for the door and that will cost me about £100.
“I am also going to have CCTV installed because I can’t afford something like this happening again.
“It is sad that in this day and age you need to have cameras installed outside your own house.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said inquiries into the theft were ongoing.