The owner of a popular burger van on the A12 at Martlesham has been left out of pocket after thieves stole £200 worth of stock from his trailer.

Marcus Livermore, who sells homemade burgers and breakfasts with Marcos Smokeshed, has spent more than £1,000 upgrading his van's security after the incident last weekend.

The former lorry driver parked up his trailer on his driveway in east Ipswich on Friday evening, but discovered it had been raided when he went to check on it the next morning.

Mr Livermore has now installed an alarm kit that will alert him if anyone tries to break into his van again.

He said: "We parked the trailer up on the drive on Friday evening like we always do. But on Saturday morning I could tell immediately that someone had been in there.

"They managed to break the locks on the trailer. They took about £200 worth of food stock – sausages, bacon, cans of drinks.

"If someone had come up to me hard on their luck, I would have fed them.

"My costs have skyrocketed in the last few months, so people shouldn't pick on the little man. I think I'm about £1,000 to £1,200 worse off because of this – they won't be getting in again."

A Suffolk police spokesman confirmed officers received reports of a theft from a food van in Ingelow Gardens in Ipswich at some point between 9pm on Friday and 8am on Saturday.

Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact Suffolk police, quoting crime reference number 37/41439/22.