The lead guitarist of a Sussex band is gutted after his beloved vintage guitar was stolen after a gig.

The Fold’s Jon Wood had his 35-year-old Gibson SG Standard snatched from The Con Club in Lewes after midnight on October 24.

The guitar, a left-handed model, was taken from a room behind the stage that was being used by the band as a dressing room.

Mr Wood, 56, of Hartington Road, noticed the theft as he loaded up his wife’s car at the end of the evening.

He said: “We’d had a brilliant gig, the place was packed and and everyone was on a real high.”

He said CCTV footage had clearly captured three young men entering the club through the main doors and going through a door to the right where the band’s equipment was being stored, as the band were getting ready to leave.

After the men spotted two guitars, they checked to see if anyone was looking before grabbing the Gibson and running down the street.

Mr Wood’s wife Sue, 50, chased the men as she saw them leave the club but was unable to catch them.

Mr Wood believes that the men were opportunists, not specialist guitar thieves.

He said: “The left-handed guitar fraternity is a close-knit group and any instrument that comes on the market is going to be spotted instantly.

“I guess these were opportunist thieves but they’ve ended up with a highly specialised item.”

The band are due to begin recording their latest album next month and Mr Wood is upset that he will not have the guitar that he has played for the past ten years.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without my guitar for the recording sessions – this is devastating for me,” he said.