Thief steals WA carpenter’s ute full of tools just two days after he purchased it

A tradie has been left $25,000 out of pocket after his two-day-old ute full of tools was stolen from his driveway.

A Western Australian tradie has been left $25,000 out of pocket after his ute was stolen just two days after purchasing it.

The carpenter and student, who did not wish to be named, purchased the white 4x4 Toyota HiLux two weeks ago and took out an insurance policy for the new vehicle.

But just two days later, the ute was stolen with all his tools inside.

The man has only purchased his ute two days before it was stolen. Picture: Finbar Gaffney

A friend of the victim said the carpenter hadn’t yet taken out insurance on the tools or the vehicle’s canopy, which has left him $25,000 out of pocket.

The man said his car was stolen about 10pm on July 23 and CCTV cameras captured the thief making off with his ute parked in the Fremantle area.

He said the HiLux was last spotted Maddington that same night.

Friends of the WA tradie have rallied around him and set up a GoFundMe page to help him “get back on his feet”.

“He had been working away on a rural job to save up as he’s currently studying while working as a chippy so it won’t be easy to save the kind of money required to replace everything that has been stolen,” organiser Zebedee Dwyer said.

Nearby cameras captured the thief making off with his car. Picture: Finbar Gaffney

“To help him get back on his feet I’m hoping we can use this platform to raise some funds among his friends and the wider tradie community around WA who know what a good bloke he is and what a crushing blow this would be if it happened to one of us.”

While his insurance will likely cover the cost of the stolen ute, donated funds will go towards replacing tools and the vehicle’s canopy.

At the time of publication, the page had raised more than $2601.

Originally published as Thief steals WA carpenter’s ute full of tools just two days after he purchased it