CRIMINALS made off with thousands of pounds worth of tools and equipment after targeting Malvern cemetery and a disabled man during a spate of break-ins this week.

Thieves got away with tools and equipment from two household sheds as well as the former chapel at the cemetery, which is now used for storage.

Heavy-duty locks were smashed off the old chapel and equipment valued at between £2,000- £3,000 was stolen some time between Monday, June 1 and Tuesday, June 2.

It is believed a vehicle would have been used to transport some of the heavier items - a two-feet square electric generator and a petrol engine pump. A £400 drill was also stolen.

The site is owned by Malvern Town Council and clerk Richard Chapman said they would be considering increasing security.

He added that the equipment was insured and would be replaced within the next couple of weeks.

“The generator is used by our operations team when they are working off-site and require electricity,” he said. “It is used quite frequently. It will be easy enough to replace, it is just a nuisance.”

A bungalow in Elmley Close, which backs onto the cemetery grounds was also targeted with a 48-year-old disabled man losing an electric drill, mitre saw and hedge trimmer from his shed.

Nigel Holder was watching television until the early hours of the morning on Tuesday but did not hear anyone break the lock of his shed.

He said: “I feel sick. What do you do to protect yourself?”

A homeowner in nearby Madresfield Road reported the theft of a £150 Black and Decker strimmer from their garden shed between 3pm on Monday, June 1 and 9.30am on Tuesday, June 2.

Advice to shed owners has been re-issued by the police in light of this current spate of thefts.

Home-owners are advised to ensure gates, fences and walls are kept in good repair to stop intruders getting in your garden, to grow ‘defensive planting’, such as prickly plants, bushes and shrubs, close to vulnerable areas such as windows, fences, boundary walls and drainpipes.