Irreplaceable tools used by a craftsman who works in Bolton Abbey’s Strid Wood have been stolen.

Thieves escaped with the specialist collection stored in Richard Law’s Land Rover, which was stolen from outside his home in Farnhill on Monday night.

Now Mr Law, who is proud to be called a bodger – the ancient term for a craftsman who prepared the legs and spindles for chairs ready for assembly – has made a plea for the return of his toolbox.

“They were mostly second hand tools for wood turning which will be extremely difficult to replace and I used them every day,” said Mr Law, 56, who works in the wood under a tarpaulin shelter using two foot-operated lathes.

“I’m afraid that the thieves will just dump them as they will mean nothing to them, but they mean the world to me.”

Mr Law, whose toolbox of chisels and axes, worth £1,500, would have been familiar to his medieval forebears, has also lost a week’s worth of work he had left in the vehicle.

“I work in Strid Wood, open to the elements, and so have nowhere to store things on site. I was building up my Christmas stock and had made quite a few elves which would make nice Christmas decorations. There were also stools, bird boxes and rolling pins in the back of the Land Rover. I won’t be able to start work again until I’ve built up my tools again. I was in the middle of completing an order for some chairs and a model deer made from tree trimmings.”

Among the tools stolen were specialised knives for bow carving, small hand axes for splitting wood, chisels, nails, screws and drill bits.

The theft comes in the wake of a warning by police for Land Rover owners to step up security. Four Land Rovers and a Nissan Pathfinder four-wheel drive have been stolen in Craven since September. Mr Law’s Land Rover Defender carried the registration number YX54 UNW. Anyone with information should contact Skipton Police on 0845 6060 247 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.