A BUILDING contractor has spoken of his "night from hell" after raiders targeted two of his stores and stole more than £25,000 of equipment.

A reward of £1,000 has now been offered to anyone who can help catch the people behind the double burglary.

The raiders first smashed their way into R Whatmore Ltd in Oswaldtwistle.

The premises are owned by Matt Hartley and his wife Suzanne and are used to store the equipment that the couple need for their contracting business which employs 65 people.

Using a large vehicle, the thieves rammed the shutters at the back of the store in Brook Street before plundering the stock.

They made off with all of the business's hydraulic road breakers, 10 generators, floor saws, cordless drills and cement mixers.

Later that evening Mr Hartley's MHS Rossendale Ltd store in Rawtenstall was also broken into.

A £16,000 bob cat digger had been pulled from the shop but the two guard dogs at the New Hall Hey Road premises had disturbed the thieves before they could actually steal the machinery.

Mr Hartley, 32, said: "Two weeks before this the police were called to our Rawtenstall shop at around 11pm because someone had forced open the wrought iron gates and let the guard dogs out.

"It seems we were deliberately targeted and this was a well planned thing.

"The machinery they took was very heavy and would have needed several people to get it out of the Oswaldtwistle shop so quickly.

"It was a real night from hell, not just because we lost so much of our equipment but because that loss is now having a knock on effect on the rest of the business."

Mr Hartley, who bought the building contract and supply business two years ago, said: "We do a lot of the mainten-ance work for Hyndburn and Rossendale Councils with that equipment.

"On the Monday morning 65 blokes turned up for work and had no tools to carry out their jobs.

"We had to go out and buy what we could.

"What we couldn't buy we have had to hire. We can't just turn round to our clients and say sorry we aren't doing the work today. This has cost us a fortune."

Police are trying to trace the owners of a silver Ford transit van, a Ford Mondeo and a large red van that were seen near the Oswaldtwistle premises shortly before the raid.

The couple are offering a £1,000 reward, to be donated to charity, if someone comes forward with information that leads to a conviction.

Call 0845 125 3545 with information.