A TROWBRIDGE builder has been hit by yet another raid by tool thieves.

The raiders targeted a metal container on a site in Bradford on Avon and stole more than £3,000 worth of tools.

Paul Pinney, 54, of Paul Pinney’s Building Services in Trowbridge, says it’s the fourth time in recent months that gangs have stolen tools from his building sites.

“With the latest raid, I’ve now had about £10,000 worth of tools stolen since moving to Wiltshire from Somerset.”

“I’m a sole trader and employ five people. I started the business from scratch.

“It’s soul-destroying and a bit disheartening when you get up in the morning and find everything has gone.”

“My carpenter, Will Orchard, also had his van broken into at Staverton last April while working on a site near The Old Bear.

“He came back to the vehicle to find it completely empty.”

In the latest raid at 6.20am last Thursday, the thieves all but stripped a metal container full of tools on a site in Belle Vue Terrace in Trowbridge Road, Bradford on Avon.

A former local convenience store with a a flat above is being converted into two four-bedroom homes in a £185,000 project.

The thieves are believed to have used an angle grinder to quickly cut through a lock on the container at the front of the site.

They also kicked in some wood cladding at the back of a property before stealing a number of tools and scrap metal.

The tools stolen include: two Makita hammer drills, a Makita breaker, a Makita 4” grinder, a Makita petrol saw, a Makita nail gun, a Makita skill saw and batteries.

They left behind a large breaker worth £1,500 - possibly because it was too heavy to take or it could be they were disturbed and fled.

Two of the firm’s workers, Charles Powell and Will Orchard, arrived within an hour of the theft and found the container open and the tools gone.

Mr Powell said: “This is the fourth time we’ve been hit on this site since last November. A neighbour heard grinding at 6.20am for about a minute but thought we’d started work early and didn’t call the police.

“The first time, we had scrap metal stolen, and in the second raid tools and metal. The third time was only four weeks ago.

“This time, they raided the container and kicked in some Sterling OSB boarding at the back of the property to gain access.

“They took a pick axe and some copper which they then left outside because they got disturbed.”

PC Sian Wilson, of Wiltshire Police, said: “It is likely that those responsible had a van with them due to the amount of tools and scrap metal that has been stolen.

“We are appealing for anyone who may have seen a suspicious vehicle parked in the area at the time, or anyone who saw people loading a vehicle with tools and other items.”

Anyone with information should call 101 and quote crime reference number 54190007987.