A devastated Sydney tradie has shared details of how his ute was stolen in Western Sydney while his wife was in hospital giving birth.
A doorbell camera captured the theft about 12.37am on Tuesday, and revealed the moment a hooded figure walks over to the ute parked on The Boulevarde in Wiley park.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Moment ute full of tools is stolen in Western Sydney.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
The figure then jumps into the white Toyota, which was storing thousands of dollars worth of tools, before driving it away down the street.
Dan Charbel told 7NEWS he was in hospital with his wife, who was giving birth at the time of the theft, and returned home to find the vehicle missing.
“Straight away I looked through the footage, and saw the ute was gone on Tuesday morning … then I phoned the police, and we went from there,” he said.
“It’s a very low act to do so.”
Charbel said as a sole trader, he relied on his ute every day.
“I’m left now with nothing,” he said.
“Man, it’s like 10 years of work … of hard work just to get to where I am, and it’s just gone down the drain, virtually.”
What was a special moment in Charbel and his wife’s life had turned into a nightmare, he explained.
“I walked into the hospital just praising my wife with my first child and brought in flowers,” he said.
“But then everyone was shocked, especially my wife.”
Charbel urged thieves to stop these “low acts” hurting Sydney families.
“My message to everybody that’s doing this sort of act to stop doing it because there are families that are really struggling and going through a hard time,” he said.
“You don’t know what everyone’s going through, so it’s better to stop this low act and go on with your life … leave people alone.”
The matter was reported to police on Wednesday, NSW Police confirmed.
“An investigation has commenced into the incident,” they said.
It comes after reports a man’s car had been allegedly stolen and destroyed in Merrylands, in Sydney’s west, earlier in the week.
About 2.45am on Thursday, emergency services responded to the car fire involving a Toyota RAV4, which saw residents evacuated as a precaution.
Police said the car was stolen from Moorebank on Sunday, September 15.
There were no reports of any injuries or damage to the unit complex.
Police say investigations will continue into the incident.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1800 333 000.
