A Bearsted woman has been left devastated after callous thieves stole £10,000 worth of sound equipment from her van.

Katie Rowbotham, 27, parked her Ford Transit in Ware Street at 10.30pm on Monday, September 26.

She discovered the theft at midday the following day. There were no signs of forced entry.

The sound engineer, who runs events production company Making Music Live, said: "When I came back to the van and started driving I noticed it was a bit lighter than usual. I looked in the back and it was all gone.

Equipment taken includes Yamaha DXR12 speakers, an Allen & Heath QU-24 sound desk in flightcase lights and three Sennheiser e604 drum mics.

These are vital to the running of Ms Rowbotham's business. She is appealing for anyone with any information to contact police.

She said: "I have a young production company which was thriving and now sadly, I am not sure it can survive such a devastating incident.

She later added: "I felt like my life was over. I was pretty devastated really.

"It could have meant my business would be in jeopardy but for people who have all really rallied round and I have so many people offering stuff so I can keep working."

Whilst the equipment was insured the insurance didn’t cover theft from a motor vehicle prompting Katie to launch a JustGiving appeal to help get back on her feet.

Kent Police confirmed they are investigating the incident.

At present no arrests have been made and anyone who believes they may have information on the report is asked to call Kent Police on 101 quoting YY/021556/16.

To see a full list of the items stolen or to donate to the JustGiving appeal, click here.