A Faversham builder has lost all his tools in an overnight van raid.

Self-employed trader Grant Coe, 26, discovered he had lost £6,000 worth of equipment - his entire livelihood - when he went to price up a job on Saturday, July 28.

The new dad had parked his van outside his home in Luton Road, and it had been cleared out by thieves during the night.

He said: "I didn't even notice at first, because no damage had been done to the vehicle. But something didn't feel right.

"I then realised they had taken everything. I didn't even have a tape measure left.

"I've got a six-week-old baby, so it's quite important that I have got work. But I can't do anything without my tools.

"It's had a massive impact financially. I'm losing thousands."

Mr Coe, who runs E-Coe Build, a carpentry company which does extensions, new builds and conversions, has been forced to cancel work as a result.

Even worse, his insurers Coplus initially refused to reimburse him because the thieves didn't damage his van.

"In the space of ten minutes, they took my livelihood away," he continued.

"It's going to have an impact on my son over the next couple of years, when he will be a toddler.

"We are not going to have holidays, and Christmas isn't going to be the same. Without tools, I'm like Lewis Hamilton without a car."

The company has now agreed to reimburse him around £2,500, but some of the stolen items will be impossible to replace.

"I've spent the last ten years doing this, and have built my tools up over time," he continued.

"It's expensive equipment, and there are also things I have had given to me by tradesmen who have retired, which are sentimental to me.

"There were chisels you can't buy any more, passed down to me from the people who taught me when I was an apprentice.

"I'm now trying to get any work I can which doesn't involve many tools. All I have got really is a pair of hands."

Mr Coe, who is one of a number of Faversham traders to have their tools stolen in recent months, is now warning others to be vigilant.

"It's a huge problem. You don't get how bad it is until it happens to you," he said.

"It's taking the entire trade community down, one by one. And it's not just tradespeople who are affected, it's our customers too because we have now got to put our prices up to try and buy back what we have lost.

"A bigger police presence would be great. But tradesmen have also got to be more vigilant.

"We need security on our vans. And tradespeople need to be aware that there could be loopholes in their insurance policies.

"It's hard enough to make ends meet being self-employed as it is.

"We'll dust ourselves off and carry on, but we shouldn't have to."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 01795 419119 quoting crime number XY/046774/18.