A COUPLE have warned homeowners to be vigilant following a surge in thefts of top-of-the-range mowers and gardening tools.

Tomás and Christine Reidy were burgled twice at their home in Heath Road, Mistley - at the start of June and four weeks later.

Items totalling £5,000 were stolen from their locked garage but they were able to claim on insurance.

According to insurers' NFU Mutual, nationally the average claim for stolen mowers rose 44 per cent last year with thieves targeting more expensive models including robotic and ride on mowers.

Mrs Reidy, 41, said they had since splashed out on improving security at the home they moved into last year with 21-month-old son Cillian.

She added: "My husband was absolutely furious whereas I tended to look at it that everyone is safe and everything can be replaced and no one was hurt.

"But he sees it as a massive intrusion and how did this happen?"

On the first occasion, burglars snuck onto their seven-acre land overnight, bent the lock on the garage and took a strimmer, chainsaw, power drills, a hedge cutter and even a sailing bag with life jacket.

The couple believe the same crooks returned a month later for the ride-on mower and hopeful the items previously stolen might have been replaced - but fortunately they hadn't.

The second time the mower was taken from the garage and pushed over the lawn to minimise noise.

Both thefts have been reported to police.

Mrs Reidy added: "My advice would to make sure everything is secure as possible.

"People should be on their guard and lock everything away."

NFU Mutual insurer Tom Berryman, senior agent at its Great Tey branch, said: “Just as consumers are spending more on their gardens, thieves are being more selective with higher value items.

"The rise in advanced, robotic mowers is expected to further fuel the trend for richer pickings.

“While mowers, tools, bikes and heating oil are commonly stolen items, we have also had reports of architectural features and valuable garden ornaments being taken from people’s homes.

“It’s important to treat the items in your garden and outbuildings in the same way you treat the items inside your home. This means making sure you have adequate security in place, checking your insurance cover and reassessing the value of more expensive items such as mowers and statues on a regular basis.”

Anyone with information about the burglaries, which happened firstly, between June 4 and 8 and then on July 4, should contact police on 101.