AN IPSWICH man is picking up the pieces after his building maintenance business was ruined by thieves.Richard Driver, 38, started Driver Property Services five years ago but is being forced to start from scratch after £5,000 worth of tools and building equipment were stolen from the back of his van.

AN IPSWICH man is picking up the pieces after his building maintenance business was ruined by thieves.

Richard Driver, 38, started Driver Property Services five years ago but is being forced to start from scratch after £5,000 worth of tools and building equipment were stolen from the back of his van.

Mr Driver had stopped off at his work yard in The Drift, off Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, to finish some paperwork but upon returning to his van found that its entire contents were missing.

Mr Driver said: “It all must have happened in about half an hour. It looks like they pulled up next to the van and just unloaded everything. It wouldn't have looked very suspicious.

I'm going to have to dip into my savings which is partly down to my ignorance and not knowing I had to insure everything. I'm a one man band and some of the tools taken were ones I bought when I was an apprentice 20 years ago.”

Battery powered and electric drills, chisels and a circular saw were among the items taken from the van after thieves broke the locks on the van doors but it wasn't the first time Mr Driver has been faced with the problem.

He said: “Six months ago, when three vans got broken into along here, I found my van door had been damaged but they didn't get through the lock that. They could well have been disturbed or just given up. They were more determined this time.”