Second theft hits Shropshire's Raymond Froggatt Band
Shropshire's Raymond Froggatt Band has had £60,000 of equipment stolen in just over six months after being targeted by thieves for the second time.
The Telford-based band had £40,000 worth of equipment stolen this week, just months after £20,000 worth of gear was stolen.
The band are due to travel to the Isle of Wight for a concert on Saturday, and guitarist 'H' Hartley Cain said the thieves made off with a trailer where all the band's equipment including amplifiers, a mixing desk and guitar pedals was kept.
Merchandise including CDs and DVDs were also stolen during the theft.
In December, the band had around £20,000 worth of equipment stolen from their trailer and they had just finished replacing everything when the thieves struck.
The theft happened on New Works Lane, in New Works, Telford, between 8pm on Monday and 6am yesterday.
'H' said the band are "disheartened" by the latest theft.
"I know there are a lot of bigger issues going on, but the band means a lot to us," he said. "This is our livelihood and without our equipment it may mean we have to postpone some gigs.
"We are travelling to the Isle of Wight on Saturday, and someone down there has managed to find us equipment that we can use – so luckily we won't have to cancel that show.
"I think maybe the weather on Monday night made it easier for the thieves as it was windy, so people may not have heard anything.
"Plus as the weather was so horrible people probably didn't want to leave there homes, so the thieves didn't have to worry about being caught."
Mr Hartley-Cain has been playing with Froggatt, who also lives in Telford, since the early 1960s.
The Raymond Froggatt Band, initially known as the Buccaneers and later Monopoly, never enjoyed major chart success, although many of Froggatt's songs were hits for other groups, including The Red Balloon, a 1968 hit for The Dave Clark Five, and Big Ship, which made number eight for Cliff Richard.
Contact police on 101 with any details.
