A TEENAGER who has helped young offenders turn their lives round through fishing has had £1,000 of his equipment stolen.

Thieves broke in to Charlie Hinds’s shed at his house off Great Knightleys, Basildon, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Mr Hinds, 19, was woken by a noise in the garden and spotted four teenagers making off.

Mr Hinds said: “They must have been carting stuff out of my shed bit by bit, because when I got outside I saw a lot of my gear scattered across the ground.”

Among the items taken were three Saxon Hexalite rods, worth a total of £1,000.

Mr Hinds said: “Fishing is a major hobby of mine. I was pretty naughty at school, so one of the teachers put me on a fishing course and I really got in to it. I was hanging round with the wrong people and it really changed me. After that I started coaching young offenders.

“The frustrating thing is the streetlights were off, which meant I couldn’t give a description.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Basildon police, on 101.