A city plumbing boss has been targeted by thieves so many times that he is now "used to" his equipment and materials being stolen.
Clive Smith, of Shorncliffe Avenue in Mile Cross, has had his garage of supplies broken into 14 times over a two-year period.
The 70-year-old of C Smith and Son Plumbing stores equipment and materials in his Hansard Close garage - a few minutes from his home by foot - but has been wary of what he leaves behind in recent years for fear that it will be nabbed by opportunistic thieves.
In the latest spate, copper piping and specialist commercial-grade fittings - which can cost upwards of £300 but go for mere pounds in scrap value - have been nabbed from the storage unit, which Clive thinks were taken as they're easy to shift.
"I now try not to keep anything too valuable in there," Mr Smith, who has lived in Mile Cross for more than 40 years, explained.
"But I do work in plumbing and heating.
"They always seem to know that it's my garage. There's copper piping and fittings - over the years I've had those taken.
"I've also had electrical gear, drills - all sorts go missing.
"It's been going on for some time.
"The police used to come out here so many times I got to know them.
"I feel so used to this now.
"I feel numb now I've been targeted so many times."
Mr Smith has been in the plumbing and heating business for more than 50 years and his small independent business mainly services commercial buildings such as schools.
This time of year - when facilities like schools are shut for the summer - is where Clive and his team are at their busiest, ensuring that buildings' plumbing systems are functioning properly ahead of the next academic year.
He added that other garages have been targeted in his strip of garages, and he suspects that the same opportunists are targeting Hansard Close each time.
Norfolk Police has been contacted for comment.
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