News Published on : 25-Oct-2021 12:57:58

Van drivers across the UK are being targeted by thieves on the hunt for expensive tools with research revealing over a quarter (27%) have had equipment stolen from vans in the last 12 months. A study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles found over half of van drivers (57%) who own tools are at risk as they regularly leave gear in vans overnight. Yet a third (31%) are not protecting their expensive equipment with extra alarms secondary locks or vehicle trackers. London is the hotspot for tool theft with 55% of tradespeople having equipment stolen in the past year followed by the West Midlands (33%) North East (28%) North West (25%) and East Anglia (23%). An average of 20 000 individual cases are reported to police forces across the UK each year with the estimated cost of replacement tools and equipment standing at £ 15 million a year. The cost of tool theft to businesses is more than just replacement equipment too with tradespeople often unable to work while vans are re-stocked and locks repaired. Downtime costs companies an estimated £ 550 a day per van. The first step to protecting your vehicle is thinking about where you park it. Parking in a well-lit area or in a car park with CCTV will help reduce unwanted attention. Where this cannot be achieved or if you have more than one vehicle parking them defensively - in other words where doors are blocked by another vehicle or object - can be a good deterrent.