A Cotswolds-based carpenter has voiced his frustration after thieves swiped crucial kit in broad daylight, leaving him unable to finish a high-street conservation repair.

Tom Nash, who runs Wotton-under-Edge-based Nash Carpentry and Conservation, was carrying out crucial repairs to the Grade 2-listed shop front for the recently relocated Clarences Gift Shop, at 27 Long Street, when thieves brazenly walked off with a £250 multi-tool, paralysing his chances of finishing the job before he is able to pay for new kit.

Mr Nash told Punchline-Gloucester.com: "I was annoyed to say the least. It's a case of sod's law: I put the tool down outside the shop where the work was in progress and popped back in to pick up a piece of timber. I was gone for seconds," he said.

The Makita cordless multi-tool, complete with blade and a 5-amp battery pack, had a value of £250 and represented a huge impact for his business: "A larger company might shrug this off, but we ae a small team and basically that's my profit margin gone and although the work is almost finished now the absence of that tool has left it unable to be signed off."

Mr Nash reported the theft, which took place last Thursday afternoon at some time between 5.20pm and 5.30pm, immediately to Gloucestershire police but says he felt frustrated by their response.

"They have been relatively apathetic. They called me back and said they will look at CCTV from Wotton's Tesco shop, which is just about opposite where I was working, but because I can't be specific about the exact time they say that realistically they can't spend more time looking into it."

The theft follows a week on from an incident between Wotton-under-Edge and nearby Charfield when a masked gang forced their way into the address of an elderly man to commit a robbery . 

Mr Nash, who has been in business for seven years, told clients through social media it was not the first time he had had tools stolen in the town.

● If you have any information on the theft, Nash Carpenty and Conservation can be contacted on 07592 326719.