A keen photographer who uses the hobby to help with his autism turned detective to track down his camera equipment after it was stolen from his car.

Self-taught David Neale takes pictures of Medway’s landscapes and also volunteers to take photos for events at places like Fort Amherst.

The thief took four cameras, eight lenses and a number of filters worth around £6,000, as well as a sat nav.

Mr Neale, from Rainham, said: “It took me five years to get that and they took it away from me in one fell swoop. They have ruined me and they don’t understand the emotional stress and anger they have caused me.

“Photography was my method of calming my nerves and anger due to my autistic issues. I might be 41 but these conditions still affect us in different ways and developing control measures such as my photography are a help to this.”

They also took a unique watch that Mr Neale had designed for a competition 20 years ago.

His design was one of just 10 chosen to be turned into a working timepiece and is the only one of its kind in the world.

The stress has also triggered Mr Neale’s sleep-related epilepsy, causing him to have serious seizures at night.

He located one of his cameras, three lenses and his sat nav in the CeX store in Gillingham after spotting them online.

Mr Neale was able to prove they were his as he still has the boxes with the serial numbers matching the cameras.

He has also been checking in various shops in case anyone has tried to sell the watch. He said staff at one shop told him they had refused to buy a similar watch as the paperwork did not match the seller’s name.

A spokesman for CeX said: “Customers are not required to show proof of purchase when selling items to CeX, but do require a membership account.

“When an item is sold to CeX, we check the serial number against multiple databases to ensure it has not been reported stolen.

“Where we identify anyone selling stolen goods, we work with the police, assist with all investigations and inquiries and where applicable we ban the person from trading with CeX.”

A police spokesman said they were investigating a report of a theft from a car parked in Beverley Close, Rainham, between 11pm on Thursday, October 6 and 4.15am on Friday, October 7.

A 37-year-old Chatham man and a 35-year-old Chatham woman have been arrested on suspicion of theft. They have both been bailed until November 24.

Anyone with information is asked to call 01634 792209 quoting reference XY/39662/16 or contact Kent Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.