The charity claims thousands of pounds of power tools were stolen, set to cost them £20,000 to replace.
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00:00A Kent Wildlife charity has been left shaken up after they say thousands of pounds worth
00:06of gardening equipment has been stolen from their Sevenoaks premises this week.
00:11Police are now investigating after reports of two of Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve's equipment
00:16containers being damaged between 4pm on Sunday and 9 Monday morning.
00:22This was the moment they noticed the damage and realised their equipment had gone missing.
00:27The table's been cut out of the way, so there's the cones and those bits there.
00:32They've cut their way through there, haven't been inside yet,
00:35but by the look of it it's the brush cutters and the chainsaws they've gone for.
00:38And to replace the lost equipment and repair the shipping containers,
00:41it's estimated to set the charity back £20,000.
00:46What we do as a conservation charity is ultimately for the benefit of not just the wildlife,
00:53but then the ongoing impacts that that has in terms of affecting things like climate change.
00:59And having to continuously have to fork out for the replacement, for the repairs,
01:06the impact on us as an organisation in terms of insurance.
01:10It just impacts on what we can do, so ultimately it impacts them as well.
01:14So it's frustratingly short-sighted.
01:17And it's thought this is how it was all possible.
01:19This hole that was made on the side of the container is what was used to gain access to the shed,
01:24where those involved then went on to steal thousands of pounds worth of equipment.
01:28But you'll notice there were also several cameras dotted around site too.
01:32Well, some of those were also taken in the process.
01:35And the cameras that weren't taken, well, those involved somehow managed to evade them.
01:40The wildlife charity says the loss of its power tools and nature trail cameras
01:45isn't only impacting the nature reserve, but the charity as a whole.
01:49And it says it's not the first time something like this has happened.
01:53For volunteers, it's making them concerned about their safety.
01:57It's so disheartening. I mean, at the end of the day, we're a charity.
02:01People are stealing from a charity for their own gain.
02:05And we really rely on the tools that we have on site here
02:08to carry out the essential management work on the reserves.
02:11It's not just this site either.
02:12It's going to impact a number of our other sites in the Derwent Valley as well.
02:16So, yeah, it's really going to have a knock-on effect.
02:18Kent Police is urging witnesses to come forward regarding any suspicious behaviour in the area.
02:24The force is also appealing for CCTV and dashcam footage which may assist.
02:29The Sevenoaks Nature Reserve says its doors will remain open to the public
02:33during police investigations.
02:36Sophia Akin for KMTV in Sevenoaks.