Car key fobs are failing en masse at a Kent shopping centre... and no-one knows why.

Drivers parked at the Quarry Wood Industrial Estate in Aylesford returned to their cars to find their keys were no longer working.

Shoppers visiting PC World, Halfords, and Sainsbury's branches on the Mills Road estate have all reported the problem.

But it's not bad news for everyone.

Timpson's, based in the Sainsbury's store, has done a roaring trade as motorists come in for key fob battery replacements.

Ryan, who works at Timpson's, said: "There's obviously something wrong in the area, none of the batteries are working."

One shopper, Heather Giles, said she had popped down to Halfords to get a summer check when she came across the issue.

"I don't know if people are doing something to jam cars so they can steal them, but someone at Halfords suggested it was due to a boosted Wi-Fi signal at PC World," she said.

It's not clear whether this problem is only occurring for people with a specific make of car.

A number of people have had issues with using their manual key however.

Linda Clifton said: "I had this problem on Hermitage Lane today. The key fob wouldn't work to unlock the car so I had to unlock with the key, which set the alarm off."

Chris Hunter had the same problem.

"The key first failed outside Screwfix, and the car alarm went off when I used the key manually.

"The same thing then happened near PC World. When I went into Halfords to ask if they could do something, the guy said I was the fourth that morning and directed me to Timpson's," he said.

Car key signals are sometimes interfered with by masts for mobile phone providers.

O2 has a mast in Ditton which serves this area, but there are no reported faults with it. The only O2 mast in that area that is being worked on is one in West Malling.

There are also fears that people are jamming cars to prevent owners from being able to lock them, but Kent Police have not had any reports of this.

A Kent Police spokesman said: "We have received two calls on 1 September reporting issues with car keys not working, in Romney Place, Maidstone and in Alexander Grove, Kings Hill. However, no offences have been reported."

A spokesman for the RAC explained a potential fix.

"It's quite a common problem. Our engineers will sometimes be called to reports of a car fob not working, and when they tow the car a little way up the road, it begins working again.

"These fobs work on a very low frequency, so radio masts shouldn't interfere with them. Things like CCTV cameras and baby monitors run on the same frequency however, so it's a common problem in town centres."

The store manager at Sainsbury's said the store has not done anything recently with their CCTV system, so that shouldn't be the cause of the problem.

She said: "When I got into work yesterday my car didn't lock, but today it worked. We had quite a few complaints yesterday but as far as I'm aware we haven't had any today."

Following enquiries from the KM, an Ofcom engineer visited the site, but could not find a cause of the issues.

Have you had a similar problem today in the Aylesford area? Get in touch on 01622 695666 or by email messengernews@thekmgroup.co.uk.