£10k theft ‘frustration’

Tradesmen have tools stolen during work trip

A DUNDEE tradesman has spoken of his “frustration” after nearly £10,000 worth of tools were stolen during a work trip.

Ralph Berg, 39, from Stobswell, had been working with a number of colleagues in Watford on a new property development.

Ralph, owner of kitchen fitting business RBKS Installation, said his van had been broken into at the Ramada Hotel in Mill Hill, near London.

Items including a Festool vacuum, Festool Kapex chop saw and Festool Carvex Jigsaw were taken during the raid.

The Peugeot Partner van had been parked in the hotel’s car park before one of Ralph’s workmates noticed the equipment had been stolen.

Ralph said: “I’ve been working on projects in the London area since I was 18 and I’ve never had any trouble before. This was the first time we had used this hotel. It is situated close to the motorway.

“We had left one of the vans in the car park and used another vehicle to transport us back and forth.

“A workmate had gone out for a smoke on Tuesday evening when he noticed the back door of the van was ajar. There were about £2,500 worth of tools stolen that belong to me, but he has been hit for more than £7,000 worth of equipment — he’s lost everything.

“Fortunately, the tools are insured, but it has impacted on our work.

“The hotel has CCTV, but the police have advised us we can’t get access to the footage.

“This is the first time we’ve used this hotel and we are working down here for the next three weeks.

“After we’d reported this incident, another tradesman’s van was broken into the following night.

“We’ve now started taking all our tools into the hotel room to ensure they are safe.

“It has been a frustration that this has happened. I had to drive back up to Dundee to get other tools from a joiner.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the help we’ve had from the Mafell talk group and Festool social media page.”

Ralph, on the right, with a work colleague.