A WARNING has gone out to residents to take extra care of their garden equipment after a spate of break-ins in the Vale.

Thieves stole a chain saw and a Stihl hedge trimmer, together valued at £600, from a garage in Kemerton near Pershore last Sunday.

A petrol operated John Deere rotary mower valued at £817.90 was reported stolen from Pershore Horticultural College on Monday. Also on the same day owners of a Hayter lawn mower valued at £167 discovered it missing from a shed in Defford.

PC Martin Tucker, of Evesham Police, said: "More often than not we take great care of securing our homes but forget the value of the contents of our sheds and the inconvenience their loss causes."