Police have this week asked garden shed owners in the Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge area to make sure their tools are properly secure and identifiable following a spate of burglaries across Somerset.
Sheds along main roads in the county are currently being picked, most often with petrol-powered tools commonly stolen from outbuildings left unlocked after dark.
Offences such as these have been recorded in most towns and large villages in Somerset over the last month, say police.
Sgt Nigel Downey told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The offenders are looking for valuable tools like strimmers, lawnmowers and chainsaws so my advice is that owners of items like these go outside now and make sure they are as secure as possible, and that they note the model and serial number if they haven’t already done so, so we can return them if recovered and make successful prosecutions.”
“If anyone is offered the chance to buy petrol-powered tools from the back of a van, they should decline and give me a description of the people and vehicles involved by calling 101.”
