A FULL-TIME musician says he has been left unable to work after a burglar stole his guitar.

Anthony Anderson was shocked when he returned to his Normanton home to find the back door wide open.

After searching his house in St Chad's Road, he discovered that his £2,500 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst guitar had gone.

Now he has had to cancel gigs and hold off plans to go into a recording studio.

The 48-year-old, who plays with four-piece Derby band Sheer Wave, said: "I feel like a mechanic who has lost his tools.

"I'm struggling financially because of this.

"I had all these gigs lined up which I've now had to cancel.

"I just can't afford to buy another guitar. It has really stopped me in my tracks."

Mr Anderson regularly plays open-mic events at city centre bars Ryan's, the Brewery Tap and the Old Bell.

He discovered the burglary after two days away, staying with a friend in Alvaston.

He said: "I noticed other things were missing at first, like a flat-screen monitor, DVDs, a Blackberry phone.

"I felt really angry because someone had broken into my house and done this to me. I was devastated.

"I've got lots of songs I'd written which I was going to get recorded – but I can't do anything like that now. This is holding me back.

"People have said to me, 'Why don't you play with someone else's guitar?' But you get so used to your guitar and the way it plays. It would be a completely different sort of feel.

"My guitar looked great and it played beautifully. I set it up to be perfect just for me.

"I've told the police I would forget about the rest of the stolen stuff if it meant getting my guitar back."

A police spokeswoman said a 42-year-old man has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of burglary.

Mr Anderson asks anyone who has seen his guitar to call Derbyshire police on 101.