A young carpenter has had around $14,000 worth of tools he needs to work stolen, severely restricting his ability to earn a living for himself and his family.
The blow to Chris Wall’s career and life occurred last week when brazen thieves took almost all the tools from his ute in a matter of minutes.
The theft of tools from tradesmen has become an alarming national trend, with the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria saying such crimes are costing Victorian tradesmen up to $20 million a year.
“They took everything – my batteries, all my cordless tools, a bag of hand tools and a bunch of other stuff,” said Mr Wall, who is still an apprentice. yahoo news.
Wall, who lives in Balwyn, in Melbourne’s east, discovered what happened when he was about to leave for work at 7am and saw his toolbox open and around 90 per cent of his tools missing.
Young carpenter Chris Wall (pictured with his partner Jaimie and baby, Charlie) has had around $14,000 worth of tools he needs to work stolen, severely restricting his ability to earn a living for himself and his family.
It took the thieves just six or seven minutes to go through all their storage containers, throw the tools into the back of their ute and drive away (pictured).
After calling the police, he asked his neighbor to review security footage, which showed how quickly the robbery occurred.
Mr Wall was up and getting ready for work when the thieves pounced on him and he did not realize they were taking tools from his Isuzu D-Max.
It took just six or seven minutes for the thieves to go through all their storage containers, throw the tools into the back of their ute and drive off.
With baby Charlie and partner Jaimie to support, the robbery came at a terrible time for the family.
Buying some spare tools has consumed most of his savings and he has had to borrow other tools to work.
But now there are some jobs he can’t do.
“I can’t take certain jobs because in a lot of places you have to be a little more autonomous and have all your own things,” he said.
Wall has had to borrow money from family and friends, one of whom has created a GoFundMe Page to help the family.
After being robbed, the shopkeeper discovered that he was not alone and had heard many stories of similar robberies that had happened to other people, including his former boss, who had his entire van emptied.
The Royal Automobile Club said trade tools are often targeted for theft “because they are of high value and easy to transport”.
The theft of Chris Wall’s tools from the back of his ute (pictured) has cost the young dad around $14,000.