A spate of burglaries by masked men driving a white van have left a village “on edge”.

Residents in Istead Rise, near Gravesend, have had tools and other valuable items taken from their garages and sheds in 12 late-night raids.

One man, who wishes to remain anonymous, had his van stolen and then used to drive around and fill up with other stolen goods. It was later ditched with his and neighbours’ tools inside.

The Lewis Road resident said: “This is the second weekend in a row this has happened. But it’s been going on in all rural areas and Riverview park for a good month or two.

“For me personally it’s a bit of an embarrassment as I run my own security company specialising in domestic systems, I have very good CCTV on my house but the people who are doing it wear hoods and balaclavas, so there’s no footage of them that’s useful.

“It does put you a little on edge and gives you a heightened awareness of people and vehicles coming and going.”

"I am worried for my elderly parents and my young children, who are quite frightened." - Hannah Bayley, 39

Fellow resident, carer Hannah Bayley, 39, thinks the village is falling victim to organised crime.

She said: “I think that it’s modern slavery, as the CCTV shows youngish males doing these things.

“A van was stolen and eventually abandoned with all expensive tools removed, so someone else must be involved, and in my opinion, organising it.

“This is definitely organised because of the precision, quantity and speed it’s being done with. Istead Rise has been targeted for at least the last four weeks with shed thefts.

“As a resident I am worried for my elderly parents and my young children, who are quite frightened.

“We moved here to give them a better, more relaxed, traditional childhood and now we’re giving them personal alarms and bolting the doors.”

Mrs Bayley revealed that the residents all keep in touch on social media and WhatsApp to report everything, and that some of the younger men have been doing patrols of the area.

She added: “Vigilantes isn’t the way, but we hope it will be a deterrent. We are all upping security and helping our elderly neighbours do the same.”

A 68-year-old from the village, who is now retired and wants to remain anonymous, revealed her house was targeted by the group.

More than £3000 worth of tools, including a compressor, MIG welder, an assortment of drills and saws, was taken from a workshop at her property.

She said: “They climbed over the back fence and opened the gate from the inside, then jemmied the workshop doors open. We lost a great deal of expensive tools.

“It has made us very angry that things that we worked hard to buy have been taken by these people.”

Spokesman for Kent Police, James Walker, said: “Police are investigating a series of reported burglaries at garages, sheds and outbuildings in Istead Rise committed in December.

“Officers have received 12 reports of this nature between Friday, December 28, and Sunday, December 30, with similar reports also received for the weekend of Saturday, December 15 and Sunday, December 16.

“Roads targeted include Lewis Road, Upper Avenue and Downs Road. Power tools and fishing equipment are among the items reported stolen.”

Superintendent Andy Gadd, Kent Police’s Deputy Divisional Commander for North Division, said: “We are conducting numerous enquiries to identify and prosecute offenders and this includes checking for CCTV, speaking with witnesses and assessing for forensic opportunities.

“We have also shared crime prevention advice on our social media feeds, and with local media, in addition to dropping leaflets providing further advice to residents living in affected areas.

“I would also like to re-iterate advice that residents can take to reduce the chances of becoming victim to this type of crime, including: fitting an alarm, security lights and closed shackle padlocks, ensuring doors and windows and gates are shut and locked, removing valuables from view and securing items such as bike to the ground.”

Anyone with information on these break-ins can contact police on 01474 366149.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.