Plumber Howard Croker is counting the cost after thieves stole his work van with £4,000 worth of equipment inside it and set the vehicle alight.

Mr Croker, of Prospect, in Corsham, runs his 40-year-old business with wife Heather and sons David and Darren.

He had left the van with its engine running on a customer’s driveway in Pickwick Road for less than a minute at 10.30am on Tuesday.

Eight police patrol cars were used to hunt down the white Mercedes Vito but it was later found burnt out in Atworth.

Mrs Croker said: “It is just devastating. My husband has been left with nothing. He doesn’t even have a spanner. What hurts most is that they say they blow up the vehicles because it gives them a kick or a buzz. We never expected anything like this in Corsham.”

In a surprising twist, the thief answered a call from the family to Mr Croker’s mobile, which had been left in the van. He hung up when asked for his location. Mrs Croker said: “He had quite a broad countryfied accent, perhaps from Wiltshire or even Bristol.

“What shocks me is that it was just gone in an instance, which makes me think the house was being watched.”