A MAN whose vehicle was broken into said he is 'absolutely devastated' after losing thousands of pounds worth of possessions.

Neil Hennessey's van was broken into on Thursday, April 18, on Martin Close in Creekmoor.

The thief stole some of his work tools, including his whole golf bag containing all his clubs, shoes, and a Garmin watch.

On CCTV footage, the thief was seen going in and out of the van for over twenty minutes and leaving with Neil's possessions.

He has expressed frustration with the police response to the investigation after Dorset Police said, 'There are no further lines of enquiry, and the crime is now closed,' shortly after the theft took place, despite Neil and his wife sending them CCTV footage and a possible lead.

Neil said: "Because the crime isn't an emergency, it was quite difficult to contact the police.

"We had to fill out some forms and then wait for someone to call us back. A couple of hours later, they called and told us no one was coming around.

"It kind of made us feel like our problem wasn't important. I think this is why vehicle theft is so common, because people know they can get away with it and they know nothing is going to happen."

Neil felt discouraged when he initially reported the theft. He was informed that it might take the police as long as two weeks to investigate the matter, and he said it was "really disheartening".

As a builder, he had thousands of pounds worth of equipment stolen, including Makita tools, a Garmin watch, and golf equipment that held sentimental value for him and his family.

Neil said: "It was a bit of a nightmare when I realised they had taken all of my tools, which I had been collecting over the years.

"I am going to have to go and buy new ones, which is a shame, as no one has much spare money at the moment.

"At the end of the day, tools can be replaced, but the heart-breaking thing is that some of my golf equipment had a lot of sentimental value.

"What hurt the most was that they stole a putter which belonged to my wife's late father, who died of cancer.

"The likelihood is that I will never see it again."

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "Dorset Police takes all reports of vehicle crime seriously and we will consider all proportionate and available lines of enquiry in order to investigate reported incidents.

"We understand that vehicle crime is extremely frustrating for motorists who are targeted and we continue to encourage members of the public to report all incidents to us.

"As well as investigating reports where there are viable lines of enquiry, we will continue to monitor for patterns of offending and where we see an increase in reports in a particular area, local officers will respond with increased patrols in the vicinity.

"We will also proactively target known offenders who commit this type of crime using various means, including intelligence, to prosecute where possible."