Surfing photographers in Devon are appealing for help in tracing £13,000 worth of camera gear stolen from a car parked outside a house in Barnstaple.

Thieves escaped with high-end kit including a Nikon D2X and Fuji FinePix S2 Pro digital SLR from a silver Skoda Fabia parked in Trinity Place, Barnstaple on 23 July.

The haul included a Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4 telephoto lens, which alone carries a street value, when new, of more than £6,000.

The equipment belonged to Extreme Board Shots, a business specialising in photographs of surfing and other water-based sports which was forced to cancel its planned coverage of one of the year?s biggest surfing events, The Rip Curl Boardmasters in Newquay, Cornwall.

A few days later it is believed the thieves returned and broke into the house, taking property including a computer hard drive containing precious family photographs – along with other items of high sentimental value belonging to photographer Rob Tibbles.

The theft is a big setback for the business which is based in Woolacombe, North Devon and has only been in operation for 18 months. ?This represents not just a large monetary loss but a damaging blow to our business,? said Rob who has been a photographer for many years.

The Nikon D2X carried serial number 5024494 while the Fuji S2 Pro was marked 31L13857. The cameras were contained in a black Lowepro Reporter 500AW camera bag along with an Nikon 18-70mm and 17-35mm zoom lenses, Nikon 60mm Micro lens and SB-800 flashgun.

The Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4 telephoto lens was housed in a gold coloured aluminium case with an ?Animal? surf sticker on the side.

Rob added ?We are running most of our services as usual and hope to be back to normal soon.?

For details of more of the stolen items, along with serial numbers, visit extremeboardshots.com

Anyone who has information about the stolen equipment, or who is suspicious after being offered any such kit cheaply, is urged to call Extreme Board Shots on 01271 870084 or Barnstaple Police Station on 0845 2777444.

Picture credit: Matt Samuel/extremeboardshots.com