BRAZEN thieves stole thousands of pounds of property in a burglary spree on a Canvey industrial site.

Furious traders have spoken out after six businesses along Northwick Road were targeted in the space of a week.

Among those hit was Ray Linge Market Stalls, where thousands of pounds was stolen from the company safe.

During the three-hour rampage in Northwick Road, they cut the locks from six buildings , tore down an office wall and were even captured on CCTV casually sipping orange juice from the office fridge.

Market stall company owner Ray Linge, who has been based on the island for 50 years, said: “I was actually down there that evening to sort out a van to take home and I left at about 11pm.

“According to the CCTV footage, they were in there at 11.04pm. When the manager came in the following morning the whole place had just been ransacked.

“They were here for three hours, so clearly, they weren’t worried about being caught by the police, considering the amount of time they took.

“One of them was even so confident they nicked orange juice out of the fridge.

“This is the world we live in, unfortunately. We have been burgled before, but I just think it is getting worse and worse, to be honest.”

Mr Linge’s business was targeted on Tuesday of last week.

Four days later, on Saturday night, burglars targeted a car salvage yard on the Southern Property Services estate further along Northwick Road.

They rammed one set of gates at about 11.14pm, before stealing a Ford Focus,aFord KA, and the keys to several othervehicles and ramming another set of gates to get out.

The 42-year-old security guard at the site, who did not wish to be named, said: “They just came and rammed the gates, went in and got out one of the cars, stole the keys to some other ones, rammed the main gates and just left.

“They then came back an hour and 15 minutes later and nicked another car. You just don’t expect to come into work and find this has happened.

“If you speak to all the businesses around here, no one really has any faith the police will catch the people who did this, but who knows?”

It is then thought the crooks drove to Northwick Farm, in Northwick Road, where four industrial units were broken into that same night, as well as the stables.Agenerator and a steam cleaner were stolen.

Dean Holland, 50, from Canvey, owner of one of the units, said: “I came in on Sunday and they’d chopped off the locks from all the containers with bolt cutters and tried to get into them.

“Thankfully, nothing of mine was taken, butIknow they got off with a generator and other items from one of the other units.

“Obviously, we are all really upset about it, butIjust don’t know what we can do, really.

“We just hope the police will be able to catch who did it.”

Chief Insp Ian Cummings, Castle Point district police commander, said: “We are actively investigating the incident at Ray Linge Market Stalls.

“It is of some concern they seem to have gone to considerable effort to force entry into the site, but unfortunately, if the area is not well overlooked, businesses can be vulnerable.”

Police have asked witnesses and anyone with information on the raids to call them on 101, or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.