A scrapyard boss says there may be plans to bulldoze his business but he is not going anywhere.

Rob Davies has been running DRS car breakers at Monkey Farm in Sheerness for two years and says there are no plans to close as business is better than ever.

Swale council has given landowner and previous boss David Leaton permission to build 12 workshops and a showroom on the one-acre site between the canal and a holiday park.

But Mr Davies, 33, said: "I don't know when David is planning to start building work but I'm here for the foreseeable future.

"I have been inundated with people asking me if it is true I had closed."

He also countered some arguments Mr Leaton made about why he wanted to get out of the scrap business.

Mr Davies said: "Since I've taken over, we've worked really hard to clean up the site. We have reduced the number of cars to about 140 and now stack them two cars high rather than three."

He added: "We have also brought the operation up to date and now have a website where we have more than 9,000 items online and it is increasing every month."

He added: "I was aware of David's building plans but they were taking a long time to come together."

Mr Davies, from Dartford, had previously worked for a credit card company before deciding on a career change.

He said: "I have always loved cars. I'm a great fan of Formula One and rallying. When I heard David was looking to get out, I offered to take over."

He said far from dying out, many scrapyards are busier than ever.

"With the worldwide shortage of electronic chips, many drivers are now buying older cars rather than brand new ones," he explained.

"Spare parts are also becoming more expensive. When it comes to getting a new bonnet, lamp cluster or engine part you can't do better than try your local scrapyard."

Mr Leaton first applied to planners to end his car-breaking business at Monkey Farm in October 2015.

Outline permission was granted in November 2017 after he was forced to pay for a wad of expensive reports and surveys including a detailed heritage assessment as the site, at the entrance to Sheerness, is next to the canal which is a designated an ancient monument.

Details of how the units will look, together with plans to demolish a bungalow, have only just been finalised.