Residents of Dorchester are ‘upset’ and ‘in shock’ over a spate of vehicle break-ins in the town.

As previously reported, two work vans along South Court Avenue were broken into with tools stolen late in the night, with victims awakening the next morning to see their valuable work items missing.

One of the victims of the theft said their work van was jimmied open last Saturday night, and when they went to leave for work the next day, discovered that thieves had taken £1,000 worth of tools.

They said: “We’re upset and just really shocked because this is a really nice street and you don’t expect this to happen.”

During the night of the theft, the victim of the crime didn’t see or hear any noise.

“It wasn’t just our van that was broken into that night either, and the PCSO told us that patrols in the area will increase,” they added.

They went on to say that one neighbour on a road nearby had recorded evidence of two people trying to pry open every car on the street.

One resident said: “It certainly makes you warier of the area and is definitely unusual for South Court Avenue but it looks as though they’ve targeted this road for the tools.”

According to one resident, a neighbourhood network email was sent out to those in the area following the break in to alert them of the danger.

They had experienced suspicious behaviour one night recently where they woke up during the middle of the night to see the light from a high beam torch through windows along the street. They thought someone might be ‘casing the joint.’

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “we received a report at 11.37am on Sunday 22 October 2023 that work tools had been stolen from a van in South Court Avenue in Dorchester. It was reported that the incident occurred between 10pm on Saturday 21 October and 4am on Sunday 22 October 2023.

“No arrests have been made in connection with the incident. Local officers have been made aware of the incident and will be conducting increased patrols in the area,” they added.