£3,000 fishing tackle stolen in burglary

Fishing equipment worth more than £3,000 has been stolen from a Lincoln angling champion.

The collection included four rods, a tackle box, poles, umbrellas, two hold-all bags and scores of floats, hooks and reels.

Some of the items are decades old and are no longer available to buy in the shops.

Thieves stole the haul after breaking into a garage in Boultham Park Road at some point between 5pm on Sunday and 6am yesterday morning.

Angler Robert Thorley (56), who has won several local competitions and been a finalist in national events, has now been forced to pull out of an event this weekend.

Mr Thorley said he is furious with the thieves who have robbed him of his lifetime hobby.

"There were things in that garage that were worth a lot of money that weren't even touched, it's like they knew exactly what they wanted and where to find it," said Mr Thorley, who was a Kamasan Competition and National Angler Championship finalist.

"It's just not something you expect to happen. I'm really disappointed.

"I had things in that collection that were more than 20 years old, such as a rod that you can't even buy anymore.

"What is most infuriating is that a rod that might have cost me about £1,600 would fetch about £50 on the black market."

Police say they the burglars climbed over a fence close to Boultham Park Road to get access to the garage.

Officers are now asking for people to report anyone selling similar items.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lincolnshire Police on (01522) 882222 with incident number 135 of January 5.

For more stories, see Tuesday's Echo.