Thieves caused £20,000 of damage to a nature reserve after power tools and wildlife cameras were stolen.

Sevenoaks Nature Reserve in Bradbourne Vale Road, which is run by Kent Wildlife Trust, was targeted overnight dealing a “bitter blow” to the conservation charity.

The culprits caused a significant amount of damage to two storage containers to gain entry before stealing power tools and several nature trail cameras which are used to monitor wildlife.

Other items taken included strimmers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers, pruners, safety equipment and a trailer jokey wheel.

The cost to replace the items, and fix the shipping containers, is estimated to be around £20,000.

The charity says the crime will significantly impact its ability to practically manage its sites across West Kent.

The trust’s Simon Bateman-Brown said: “This incident is a bitter blow for us.

“We are working hard to restore nature in and around the Sevenoaks area and this is yet more expense and time that could be best put to helping wildlife in the county.

“They have taken the tools we rely on each day to practically manage our nature reserves in west Kent.

“These tools help us to create an environment for wildlife in which they thrive and, for the time being, we will be unable to manage these areas in the most beneficial way.

“If anyone has any information, or has been offered a wildlife trail camera, please get in contact with the police and report it.

“Those wishing to support us as we work towards protecting more of the Sevenoaks area for nature can do so by supporting our Protect Polhill campaign.

“We are so close to reaching our goal and it is devastating that we are having to put our money and time into replacing stolen items and repairing the damage caused.”

Those looking to support the charity can donate to its nature nightmares appeal, which was set up to help cover the cost of crime across its sites.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact police on 01622 604100 quoting SD-6681-24-4646-IR01.