THIEVES have stolen two kayaks from a water sport company in Studland - but have burnt holes in them rendering them unusable in the process.

Staff members from Fore / Adventure found the handles of two kayaks had been burnt off, meaning the boats would have holes in and sink.

Dan Scott, of the Studland-based business, said described it as really frustrating and didn’t want to think of the financial implications.

He said: “I was doing our routine checks, went on to the beach and noticed it didn’t look quite right.

“Two boats were missing, I looked closer and saw the way they had been stolen they had burnt the handles. The boats will probably sink.

“My day went from bad to worse, I spoke to the manufacturers of the kayaks, and they said they can’t order because they’ve already sold them for next season.

“We are down two kayaks, and we can’t replace them like for like, that is the most frustrating thing.”

Speaking of the financial loss the company would incur, Mr Scott said “I would not even like to calculate the amount”.

“The boats would take four people, three trips a day, 12 people. That’s 12 people down on our operation, I don’t want to think about it,” he added.

“It’s the first time we have been victim to it. Obviously with Covid it’s been a tough couple of years for everybody and small businesses like us dealing with any form of further challenges.”

Mr Scott described the way the boats had been stolen as “pretty daft” and said he alerted the coastguard in case they come across the kayaks.

He continued: “They have melted the handles off. That’s a pretty integral part of the kayak.

“Unless they have managed to weld the plastic back together, they have two kayaks with two holes in.

“The coastguard has entered it into lost and found, if they turn up they will contact me, they were also very sympathetic.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “We received a report that between 7pm on Saturday, December 4 and 11am on Monday, December 6 two kayaks and four back rests had been stolen from a kayak rack at Middle Beach in Studland.

“Enquiries into the incident are ongoing. No arrests have been made.”