Every trade has done this same walk. Job’s done, kit goes back in the van because there’s nowhere else for it to go. You park up somewhere you can see it from the window, and last thing before bed, you check it’s locked. Again. Every local trade WhatsApp group has had the message: “anyone seen a grey Transit near yours last night, mine’s been done.”
Already been hit, or know someone who has this month? Skip to the fix, then get a quote.
Want to know how big the risk actually is first? Start with the numbers below.
Taken on a second van or an apprentice? Jump to scaling up.
How big is van tool theft, really, right now?
Almost half of all UK tool thefts in 2024, 12,414 of 25,525 recorded cases (49%), were thefts from a vehicle, according to Direct Line for Business’s 2024 tool theft report. Not a shed, not a lockup, not a site compound. The van, parked and unattended, is where most stolen kit actually goes missing from.
Is tool theft actually going up or down?
Honestly, down. Tool theft fell 18% in 2024 compared with the year before, and the total value of what was stolen was estimated at £40 million. Not an exploding crisis, then, but a genuine drop that still leaves police forces recording a tool theft roughly every 21 minutes, on average, across the country. Both numbers matter together. Progress is real, and the scale is still large enough that it isn’t a fluke that only catches other people.
Why does “almost half from a vehicle” matter more than the total?
Because it tells you where the exposure actually sits. It isn’t a lockup, a site compound, or a shed that’s driving these figures, it’s the van, parked and unattended overnight. This is UK-wide, police-recorded data, not a figure specific to Bromsgrove or West Mercia, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But it tells any West Midlands trade something useful: the risk isn’t random, it’s concentrated in the hours your van sits still.
Why the van, specifically, is the exposure point
A parked van overnight is static, visible from the street, and unattended for eight hours or more, which is exactly the profile that makes it an easy target compared with almost any other place you could keep tools.
What makes a parked van an easy target compared with other storage?
No gate. No camera watching it specifically. No one checking on it between the moment you lock up and the moment you’re back in it the next morning. A driveway or a street space offers none of the structural barriers a gated, monitored site does.
Does locking the van or fitting extra locks solve this?
They help, and marking your tools is a sensible habit regardless. But extra locks don’t change the fundamental problem: the van is still parked in the open, all night, every night. Locks slow someone down. They don’t move the target somewhere less exposed.
The fix: what actually changes about the evening routine
Move the kit out of the van at the end of the day and into a gated, camera-covered unit, and the van has nothing left in it worth breaking a window for. Not a new lock, not a tracker: a different location for the highest-value hours of the day.
What does the evening routine look like after switching?
Picture it, illustratively: 5:45pm, kit goes into a unit at Wigwam Self Storage Bromsgrove instead of the van. The van sits empty overnight. At 6am, access opens and the kit comes out on the way to the first job, no admin, no waiting on anyone. The nightly habit of checking the van has nothing left to check.
Does this fit around an early start?
Yes. Access at Bromsgrove runs from 6:00am to 10:00pm, every day, which means kit is available before most sites even open for the day. It isn’t round-the-clock access, and we won’t tell you it is. It’s a window built around a trade’s actual working day, not an office day.
The security specifics (and their honest limits)
This is the part that earns your trust, not the part that just claims it. CCTV monitoring covers the whole site, every unit has its own alarm, and access is controlled through gated smart entry, so only people with an active booking can get onto site at all.
What security features does the unit actually have?
Site-wide CCTV monitoring, individual unit alarms, and gated smart entry that restricts access to people with a current booking. A concrete spec, not a vague “secure storage” claim.
Can a supplier, apprentice or courier drop off or collect kit for me?
Only if someone from your own business is there with them. The site is unmanned outside office hours, and our team can’t grant ad hoc third-party access on your behalf. It’s a genuine limit, and we’d rather tell you plainly than let you find out at the gate.
Is there a deposit?
Yes, and it deserves stating exactly rather than glossing over it. A deposit is required when you book, you give 14 days’ notice when you leave, and any days you’ve already paid for but not used are refunded. Three separate things, not one.
| Feature | Included at Bromsgrove | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CCTV monitoring | Yes | Site-wide |
| Individual unit alarms | Yes | |
| Gated smart entry | Yes | Staff can’t grant ad hoc third-party entry |
| Access window | 6am to 10pm daily | Not 24/7 |
| Staffed site | No | Office hours only: Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-2 |
Where insurance fits in (not advice, just the structural fact)
Trade tool policies often set conditions on how tools must be kept when they’re left in a van overnight, and moving high-value kit to a monitored, access-controlled unit is one way operators structurally reduce that overnight exposure.
Does off-site storage affect my tool insurance?
It can work in your favour, but we’re not the people to tell you how your specific policy reads. This is general information, not professional advice, check your own policy’s security requirements with your insurer or broker.
Is this just for Bromsgrove, or the wider West Midlands?
The Bromsgrove site sits at 27-29 Sherwood Road, Bromsgrove B60 3DR, and in practice it serves trades right across North Worcestershire and the wider West Midlands, not just people based in the town itself.
Where is the Bromsgrove site and who is it realistically for?
Anyone driving in from Redditch, Droitwich, Kidderminster or further into the West Midlands for jobs, who needs somewhere on the way rather than out of the way. If you’re already working this patch, the site sits on a route you’re likely covering anyway.
Better to check whether a unit fits your kit before the next job clashes with a decision. Check availability for a Bromsgrove unit sized for trade tools.
Does this scale as the business grows?
Growth is meant to feel like progress, not a bigger version of the same nightly worry. Taking on a second van or an apprentice tends to turn overnight security from a personal habit into a business-continuity question, and off-site storage answers that as capacity, not just security.
What if I’ve outgrown one van or one lockup?
This is exactly when it stops being a nice-to-have. Once there’s more kit than one vehicle or one lockup can sensibly hold, a unit gives you room to grow into rather than a decision you keep putting off.
Can I store bigger kit, generators, compressors, ladders?
Yes, within the unit sizes available. Trolleys, pallet trucks and sack trucks are provided on-site, which makes moving heavier kit like generators and compressors in and out considerably less of a job on your own.
Getting your kit off the van, starting tonight
Every evening right now, you’re handing your kit over to a driveway and hope. The alternative is handing it over to gates, cameras and a locked unit instead: the same nightly handover, made to something built to hold onto it. That’s the version that lets the checking-the-van habit finally stop.
What’s the next step if I want to move kit off the van this week?
See if a unit fits your kit at Wigwam Self Storage Bromsgrove, or go straight to check availability and get a quote. For a wider look at how businesses across trades, e-commerce and the professions use off-site storage, our business storage page covers the fuller picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Access runs from 6:00am to 10:00pm daily, and that window is fixed rather than flexible around individual start times.
Only if someone from your own business is present. The site is unmanned outside office hours, so our team can’t grant ad hoc third-party access on your behalf.
It can help, since many policies set security conditions for tools left in a van overnight. This isn’t insurance advice though, check your own policy’s requirements with your insurer or broker.
Yes. A deposit is required, you give 14 days’ notice when you leave, and any unused days already paid for are refunded.
Yes, within the unit size ranges available, and trolleys, pallet trucks and sack trucks are provided on-site to help move heavier items in and out.
