Watford carpenter appears on ITV after £12,000 stolen from van
A Watford carpenter who considered suicide when thieves swiped £12k of tools appeared on national television yesterday to discuss his ordeal.
Stephen Baker, 31, said he was left "feeling worthless" after the theft from his van in Church Street, Rickmansworth.
He appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain yesterday (April 25) amid new statistics which reveal that tradespeople lose at least £150 million worth of tools a year to theft.
Stephen Baker. (Image: Band of Builders / Stephen Baker / SWNS) Reflecting on what happened back in February 2023, he told the programme: "It meant that everything, my way of life and providing was just gone."
He recalled feeling "low as low" and contemplating taking his own life as a result of the crime.
New data shows that tradespeople lose at least £150 million worth of tools a year to theft. Carpenter Stephen Baker had tools worth more than £12,000 taken from a van. pic.twitter.com/akC9KjUJ28
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 25, 2025
Stephen found himself standing at the top of a multi-storey car park when he received a text message - from his partner's phone - from his son, then two.
"The message was complete gobble-dee-gook, but it was a wake-up call for me", he said.
The tools were taken as he parked his hire Ford Transit outside a hotel.
He says hotel rules stopped him taking his tools in, but he chose a position which blocked the back door, and had CCTV on the side door.
CCTV showing the two men who broke in to the van where Stephen Baker kept his tools overnight. (Image: Band of Builders / Stephen Baker / SWNS) When he returned around 1am, he saw screws on the ground and was devastated to see his tool boxes empty inside CCTV footage shows the thieves using a tool to raid his van, emptying the contents into a car.
Earlier this year, the father-of-three was one of more than 500 tradespeople who marched from Brent Cross to Parliament Square to demand the government takes action with stricter enforcement of existing laws, particularly concerning tool theft.
The rally was organised by Trades United – a group of tradespeople who have come together to draw attention to the scourge of tool theft from vans and the impact it is having on small businesses in the UK construction industry.
The construction charity said tool theft from vans has reached "epidemic" levels and described it as a "plague" which is "beyond crisis point".
Vehicles take part in a slow drive protest against tool theft in Parliament Square. (Image: Aaron Chown/PA)
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