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Police in England and Wales recorded 312,250 vehicle offences in the year to March 2026. That’s more than 850 a day. The count covers thefts of vehicles as well as thefts from them, and nobody publishes an official figure for tools alone. It was also down 11% on the year before, which is good news but not much comfort if it’s your van.
The practical answer is simple. A van parked on a street overnight is the weak point, so take the tools out of it. For a Redcar trade, that means a container at ground level, behind a PIN gate, with a padlock on the door that you hold the key to.
What does a van break-in actually cost a trade?
More than the tools. The replacement bill is only the part you can see.
There’s the morning you lose finding out, the day or two sourcing kit, and the job you can’t start. Then the insurance side: an excess to pay, a claim on your record, and a renewal quote that remembers it.
Redcar and Cleveland has around 510 construction businesses, roughly one in eight of every firm in the borough. Most are small. For a one-van outfit, a week without tools is a week without income.
Why do vans get targeted, and do the stickers work?
Vans get hit because everyone knows what’s inside. A sign-written van outside a house overnight tells a thief the trade, and so the tools, before they’ve touched the door.
A “no tools left in this van overnight” sticker only works if it’s true. If the kit is still in the back, the sticker is a hope and not a plan. Better locks and alarms help, and they buy time. They don’t change what’s behind the door.
The one thing that removes the risk is an empty van.
What does an overnight unload look like?
It’s a short stop on the way home. The routine that sticks is the one that takes minutes.
- Pull up at the gate and key in your personal PIN. Access is 24 hours a day, so it works after a late finish.
- Drive to your container. They sit at ground level in the yard, so there are no stairs or lifts between the van and the door.
- Unload the expensive kit first. Cordless tools, batteries, lasers, the big saws. Leave the fixings and the dust sheets in the van.
- Lock the door and go home. We supply a high-security padlock for the container, and you hold the key.
Morning is the same in reverse, and 5am is fine. Time it once on a normal day. If it adds much more than a tea break to your day, set the container up better: racking down one side, cases stacked by job, tomorrow’s kit nearest the door.
A tip from the trades who do this well. Keep the tools in their cases and the cases on a trolley or in stacking boxes. You’re moving six things, not sixty.
Container or internal unit for tools?
For daily in-and-out, a ground-level container is the easier fit. An internal unit suits kit you visit less often, and some are on the first floor, which is a long carry with a chop saw.
Size is the other question. A 10ft container is about a large shed, which covers one trade’s tools and some materials. A 20ft is the size of a single garage, enough for two vans’ worth or tools plus stock. The size guide goes through what fits in each.
One thing to plan for on this coast is moisture. Salt air and cold nights are hard on bare steel, in a van or anywhere else. Keep tools cased and off the floor, and read our guide to damp, sea air and stored kit in Redcar before winter sets in.
What does it cost against one insurance excess?
Less than most people expect: a 20ft container works out at under £4 a day. Set that against your own excess and the days you’d lose after a break-in.
| 10ft container | 20ft container | |
|---|---|---|
| Per month, including VAT | £90 | £118.80 |
| Per month, excluding VAT | £75 | £99 |
| Per week | about £21 | about £27 |
| Per day | about £2.96 | about £3.91 |
| Per year | £1,080 | £1,425.60 |
| One insurance excess | Check your policy schedule | Check your policy schedule |
| Days of work lost after a theft | Yours to estimate | Yours to estimate |
Guide prices, checked 2 October 2026. Sizes and availability change from week to week, and not every size is offered at every site. For what's available today, with live prices, see the Redcar, Ingleby Barwick and Stockton (Preston Farm) pages.
The honest sum is yours to do. Look up your excess, add a realistic number of lost days at your day rate, and compare it with a year of storage. If you’re VAT registered, use the lower line.
Storage doesn’t replace insurance. It makes the claim less likely.
Where is the Redcar site?
Our Redcar site is at 14 Limerick Road, TS10 5JU. The gate works on your personal PIN around the clock, the site has 24-hour CCTV and access control, and your container is locked with a high-security padlock that you hold the key to. All three iBOXED sites are pinned on the map below.
If the van has been keeping you awake, have a look at the Redcar site page for sizes and current prices.
