Thieves broke open a van in a supermarket car park in the middle of the afternoon and stole over £700 worth of power tools on Monday.

A 59-year-old man parked his white Mercedes-Benz Vito for only 15 minutes outside ASDA in Beckton to go food shopping.

But when he returned to his vehicle at around 3.15pm, the sliding door had been forced open and a number of power tools worth around £760 in total were missing.

The stolen DIY equipment included two Dewalt power drills, a Dewalt jigsaw, a Dewalt circular Saw, and a Bosch Grinder.

Pc Andy Whitfield, crime prevention design advisor for Newham police, said: “A few simple steps can help prevent you from becoming a victim of crime.

“In particular, I want to ‘hammer’ the message home to tradesmen to take their tool security seriously.

“After all, tools are extremely valuable assets and their loss can hugely affect a small business.”

Newham police recommened owners register valuable items for free at www.immobilise.com so officers can trace stolen property, remove tools from vehicles left unattended for long periods of time or overnight, and place a notice stating tools are not kept in the vehicle on the windscreen or the door.