Father of two, Nathan Whayman, had his building tools stolen from his shed and his van over the weekend.

A young family renovating their own home to get ahead have had their dreams shattered after most of their tools were stolen for the second time.

More than $10,000 worth of tools were stolen from Nathan and Victoria Whayman's New Plymouth house early on Sunday morning while they slept with their children Jai, 6, and Isla, 8 months, inside.

"The alarm's gone off but because it's so early in the morning everyone's in a deep sleep and no-one's heard the start of it. Then they've jammed pink bats into it to stop the alarm system going," Nathan Whayman said.

Robert Charles/FAIRFAX NZ Nathan and Victoria Whayman, with their children Jai, 6, and Isla, 8 months, were halfway through renovating their house when most of their tools were stolen.

A shed in front of their property and their van parked behind the house had been broken into, with a large amount of equipment taken.

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A self-employed builder, Whayman had almost all of his tools at home at the time as he was renovating and building an extension on his home.

This is the second time Whayman's tools have been stolen. Last year he lost most of his equipment when a container at a job site he was working at was broken into.

"Most of the tools that were stolen this time were hard fought insurance battles to get," he said.

The latest burglary had put them back to square one as the tools were not insured this time around because they were on such a tight budget, Whayman said.

"We could see down the end of the tunnel and this happens which puts a bit of a bump in the road," he said.

The 30-year-old had been collecting tools since he began working as a builder 15 years ago and to have them stolen was "heart-wrenching".

He still had a couple of tools that he had loaned to a workmate the week before, but they were only the bare basics.

In the year and a half since they began working on the house, they had expanded it from a "box" with a tarpaulin for a roof, into a two bedroom home with an apartment beneath it.

Nathan said he usually spent 50 hours a week working on the house on top of the 44 hours he spent at work.

On the weekends, Whayman's parents would come and help.

The worst part of the whole ordeal was the possibility that the tools could be thrown away or used for the wrong purpose.

"That's the disheartening bit, they're never going to be used for what they were made for ever again," Whayman said.

The Whaymans said the brashness of the thieves was a worry, especially since their son and daughter were at home at the time.

It isn't the first time they have been the victims of crime since they moved into their house on Downe St in central New Plymouth.

Their house has had eggs thrown at it twice and tyres on both their cars have been slashed.

They were now considering installing security lights or cameras for better security.

If anyone has information to assist the investigation into the theft, call the police at 06 7595500 or Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111.

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