A minibus worth about £35,000 was stolen from an industrial estate in Felthorpe, near Taverham, along with thousands of pounds worth of heavy tools and equipment.

Four businesses in Fir Covert Road were targeted in the early hours yesterday, including the coach company, People Movers, which was also targeted last November. Thieves stripped the seats from the Mercedes sprinter minibus and left them lying on the ground, before filling the inside with stolen items and then driving away. Julie Harvey, part-owner of People Movers, said: 'I'm devastated. They have taken virtually everything we own from inside and out. They must have stolen about £70,000-worth of heavy tools from the workshop, and the 15-seater minibus, which we hand-built, must be worth about £35,000.

'We have not got the money to replace all the items stolen, so it could practically cripple us.

'I would just like to say, please bring the van back. We are just trying to earn a living.'

A large number of tools were also taken from the other businesses on the estate, WL Paving, J&H Sheet Metal Work and SM Masonry.

Graham Andrews, owner of WL Paving, said: 'They took a woodburner, which will cost about £500 to replace. Some shovels are also gone, and they damaged my lorry. It looks like they tried to steal it and broke the ignition. I cannot afford to replace everything taken.'

Darren Filby, owner of J&H Sheet Metal Work, said: 'They smashed through the window and destroyed the doors, so they wrecked the place inside. It will be very costly to put it all right. They also took a portable welder, hand tools, and they broke all the locks.'

Steve Miles, owner of SM Masonry, said he was 'very annoyed'. He added: 'It has put my work back quite a bit.'

As reported, People Movers was targeted last year when £7,000-worth of fuel was siphoned off, which kept its fleet of coaches off the road.

It happened between 1.30am and 5am yesterday. Anyone with information should call police on 101.

Has your business been targeted recently in the Norwich area? Call David Bale on 01603 772427, or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk