BUILDER Steven McCormick said he “broke down” when he discovered his car and work van had been stolen.

His £20,000 car has since been recovered but there is no sign of his van, nor the £10,000 of tools that are vital for his job.

“They included expensive specialist power tools which are vital for the work I do but a lot of them aren’t even made any more so I can’t just buy replacements,” said Mr McCormick, who works for building repair, maintenance and construction company, Liberty.

The Eccles-based firm has provided him with a van but is only able to loan him a few tools on a temporary basis.

“I’m going to have to dig into my savings, which is going to cause problems,” said Mr McCormick, 50.

Thieves struck at his Ashworth Lane home in Sharples in the early hours of Tuesday morning, taking the white Ford Transit van - registration number YC13 YUK - and the Kia car, which Mr McCormick paid £20,000 for.

He said: “They got in through the patio door and took the car and van keys. I don’t usually leave my tools in the van but I had that night because I had an early start the next day.”

A tracking device showed the van was in the Elmfield Road area of Astley Bridge, and after alerting the police, Mr McCormick visited the area where he found his car but not the van.

Police are investigating.