"They knew exactly what they were looking for," said Steve Mole, the owner of Manor Garden Centre in Leasowe, Merseyside.
Arriving to open up shop at 10am on Sunday, January 8, Mr Mole said he knew instantly that something was wrong.

"There was a propane gas cylinder lying in the middle of the driveway," he said. "Someone had used it to rip a hole in the corrugated iron of the shed."

Four chainsaws, a stone-cutter and leaf blower were among the expensive items stolen between 9.40pm and 11.10pm on Saturday night. Mr Mole reported the crime to police straightaway and spent the rest of the day assessing the level of damage to the garden centre before closing up at 4pm.

After checking on the property at around 7.30pm that evening and finding everything quiet, Mr Mole headed to the pub. Just a few hours later he was shocked when his son burst through the doors with news of another break-in.

"My son said the steel gates were lying in the middle of the road and my truck was gone. I couldn't believe it."

The offenders used Mr Mole's Ford Eurocargo truck to batter their way though the locked steel gates, smashing concrete posts and leaving the gates strewn across the entrance way and busy Leasowe Road.

Merseyside police say the thieves could have broken into the property just moments after Mr Mole had checked the premises earlier that evening, estimating the time of offence between 7.30 and 9.40pm.

Although truck was recovered last Monday in St Helens, around 20 miles away, Mr Mole said he has not yet been updated about the state of the vehicle or whether he will be getting it back.

"When I heard about the second break-in I just thought: 'Why me?' We're one of seven similar businesses along the same road. One of the other business owners had been checking on his property after hearing of the first break-in and saw my gates in the road.

"It puts you off going to work in the morning. Nothing else has been recovered and I don't expect it will be - everything that was taken was portable and sellable."

Mr Mole added that he isn't completely sure of the total cost of the stolen property and damages, he estimates the final figure to be around £15,000.

According to the BRC's latest Retail Crime Survey, published today, the number of burglaries per 100 stores was down 42% in 2011. However, the cost to retailers per incident rose sharply, with the average value of goods taken in a burglary now more than £2,000.

Mr Mole said he agreed with the indication that thieves are targeting high-valued products.

Merseyside police officers are investigating both incidents and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Neighbourhood inspector Peter Kolokotroni said: "We have stepped up patrols in the area and are appealing to anyone with information about these offences to contact us. We take offences of this nature very seriously. Business crimes are very impactive on those involved and are not victimless crimes.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to remind people if they buy stolen goods they could be liable to criminal prosecution."

Anyone with any information about either of the offences is asked to contact Merseyside Police on 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.