Stolen Garden Tools Recovered

Garden machinery and tools stolen from a private school in Surrey have been recovered due to the fact that they were securely labelled and registered on our Secure Asset Register (SAR).

The equipment, valued at around £6,000 and including a number of Stihl electrical items was stolen from a secured shed at the Duke of Kent school.

Surrey Police later recovered the tools while conducting a search at the suspected thief’s home address and were able to trace them back to the school after TESA labels used on the equipment led police to run a check on our Secure Asset Register.

TESA labels are the most secure self-adhesive label and are used by clients such as Formula 1. They are tamper-proof, resistant to chemicals and have a hi-tac adhesive that can withstand temperatures of -50C to 200C, making them ideal for outdoor use. The suspect has since been charged with 27 offences including business burglary and theft from motor vehicles. He is next at court in mid-September.

Ollie Riches, Head Groundsman at Duke of Kent school, which is set in acres of countryside, said: “We are delighted to get the equipment back as it would have been very expensive to replace it otherwise. None of the tools were damaged, so we were able to start using them again straight away. In fact, I am using some of the equipment today.”