Now David Swanson, who has worked in the town for 30 years, is taking the matter into his own hands and offering a £1,000 reward for any information which leads to the recovery of his summer home, which he renovated last year at a cost of some £6,000.

Mr Swanson stressed: "I am not anti-police – I have no axe to grind with them and I have never had any problems with them before.

"But the way they have treated me over this is absolutely appalling.

"They have shown a total disregard for me and this crime against me.

"They haven't contacted me or even had the courtesy to visit me and I live only about 50 metres from Petworth police station. I am appalled. It beggars belief."

Mr Swanson, who also has a home in Petworth, lives in the wagon in the summer months on land he owns in Windfall Woods near Lurgashall.

He made the grim discovery of the theft when he returned there on Monday, June 21.

"My home was missing and my clothes and belongings had been discarded and hurled into the undergrowth.

"It made me release the severity of the thieves' intentions. It was like the Wild West – I was distraught."

He discovered a neighbour had become suspicious when he saw the wagon being loaded on to a low-loader two days earlier and had reported the matter to police.

But not knowing this, Mr Swanson reported the theft on Tuesday, June 22.

"My partner spent two hours at Petworth police station and that's the last time she or I heard about it, apart from a letter thanking me for reporting the crime.

"This isn't just about this crime against me. This sort of thing goes on every day – and every day thieves are getting away with it.

"Any advice or help I could give the police now is more than two weeks old and probably of negative value."

Mr Swanson has owned the wagon, which he named 'Ruby', for 11 years.