A FARM and forestry worker has been left distraught and could be forced out of businesses after being repeatedly targeted by burglars.

Colin Barker lost thousands of pounds worth of machinery and tools after his smallholding and storage units were hit by thieves for the second time in three months.

Burglars targeted Littlegarth Farm in Binchester, between Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor, County Durham, the first time overnight on November 13, 2015.

Access to the land was gained after fencing was damaged and property worth more than £17,000, including Stihl chainsaws, a Honda power washer, a Stihl stone cutter, were taken.

The farm was broken into again overnight on Sunday, February 7, losing a tool kit and a container of fuel housed in a metal storage building.

Police believe access was gained after the locks on the building were damaged.

Mr Barker, a great grandfather, said: “They took every piece of valuable machinery off the farm all together, we cannot replace it so I think that’s it.

“I feel beaten, I feel devastated.

“We’ve done what we can and I go to the farm every day to look after my pony, chickens and ducks but with the equipment gone I cannot see how I can keep working.”

The 66-year-old and his wife Valerie, 60, used to live on the site in a mobile home but moved to a house in Bishop Auckland when their daughter Chloe was born.

He said: “The land has been in my family for 100 plus years, I’ve always worked hard to look after it and earn an honest living.

“I retired as a farm labourer after a heart attack five or six years ago and have jobbed on since but with all that I’ve lost I cannot go on.

“It has happened time and again over the years, I cannot face it.

“These people are disgusting.

“Someone knows something, it would have taken a long time and a lot of noise to cause the damage and take what they did and that amount of stuff doesn’t just vaporise.”

PC Paul Canvin appealed to anyone with information that could help police investigating the burglaries or relating to the whereabouts of the stolen items to contact officers on 101, quoting incident 125 from February 8.