Power tools claimed by theft victims
OWNERS of power tools stolen from across the county were reunited with their property at a viewing event organised by Leicestershire Police.
More than 60 people attended the event at force headquarters and four tradesmen were able to prove they owned some of the items on display.
Eighteen others identified items but were not able to confirm ownership and so enquiries are ongoing to resolve the issue.
The event was held after more than 300 stolen power tools were recovered from addresses in the Golf Course Lane and Evelyn Drive area of Leicester on Thursday July 6.
Power drills, bolt croppers, generators and jet washers were among some of the items recovered which had been taken over a period of time from raids all across the county, including Hinckley and Bosworth.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Baker from the neighbourhood investigations team, said: “We had a great response to the property viewing event and the album of photographs we published on our force Facebook page.
“We still have large amount of tools which need to be reunited with their rightful owners.
“We would encourage people to look through the images online and contact us if they have been a victim of tool theft and believe we may have their items.
“In the last four months we have seen an increase in the number of thefts from van incidents reported to us, tools have been stolen costing victims thousands of pounds to replace. These incidents have a knock-on effect on people’s livelihoods and we take these crimes extremely seriously.
“We currently have an operation ongoing to educate people on how they can reduce their chances of being a victim, locate those responsible for such crimes and to ensure people report if they have been a victim.”
In July eight people were arrested on suspicion of theft offences and released from custody pending further investigation.
Anyone who wishes to get in touch to claim their stolen items is asked to call 101, quoting 417 of September 7.