Tools believed to have been stolen from tradespeople's vans are being sold in their thousands at car boot sales that have sprung up across Britain - for rock bottom prices, GB News understands.
Robert Jenrick visited one site in Essex and found thousands of pounds of tools strewn across the floor. One power tool that is sold for £1,100 on the open market was offered to Jenrick for just £160.
Tradesman Shoaib Awan accompanied Jenrick with a hidden camera to expose the alleged stolen tool trade, exclusively for GB News.
Awan had previously been threatened by angry sellers the last time they had caught him filming.
Tools believed to have been stolen from tradespeople's vans are being sold in their thousands at car boot sales that have sprung up across Britain - for rock bottom prices, GB News understands
GB News
"He ran up to me and he said I saw you recording, delete the footage off your phone or I'll smash your face in right now," Awan said.
Awan estimates each stall can be stocked with up to £50,000 worth of tools and business is booming, so much so that car boots that were previously held on a Sunday are now operating twice, or even three times per week.
The anti-tool theft campaigner told Jenrick there was little doubt the tools had been stolen: "Tradesmen don't sell their tools. In six years, I've probably replaced one drill. I've got no reason to sell my tools.
"You can't have the same person selling tools in every car boot sale, seven days a week with an endless supply."
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The car boot sale was attended by hundreds, if not thousands of shoppers on the hunt for a bargain.
Among the stalls selling power tools, were others selling crossbows and airguns. There was no sign of any police officers around.
Tradespeople are facing an onslaught of tool thefts with some being attacked when trying to confront the gangs breaking into their vehicles.
Direct line estimated the average value of a stolen tool to be £2,200.60 and in 2023 the rate of tool theft was up 5 per cent on the previous year.
Half of all tools stolen in the UK are taken from a vehicle. Social media is awash with CCTV footage of thieves breaking into vans then making off with stolen gear.
While London is a hotspot, all regions of the UK are affected.
Tradesman Shoaib Awan accompanied Jenrick with a hidden camera to expose the alleged stolen tool trade, exclusively for GB News
GB News
"It's an insult to tradespeople, especially when they break into our vans and then they get a platform like that [car boot sale] to sell it at," Awan said.
He went on: "We've got tradespeople who have actually been to the car boot sale, they've found their tools, phoned the police and they couldn't do anything because they've scratched the serial number off.
"Places like this should be shut down."
Awan and his fellow tradesmen descended on Westminster earlier this month with a tank to draw attention to their plight, calling on the Government to take harsh action against tool thieves and make attempting to break into a tradesperson's van a specific crime.
Robert Jenrick said: "Millions of tradies are being let down. We need to make sure the police are taking action and councils are stepping up. It's not right."
Essex police did not respond to a request for comment.
