A mystery fleet of freshly painted black vans is taking over the Isle of Sheppey.

First, six appeared at Swale council’s Ship on Shore car park in Marine Parade, Sheerness.

Now others have turned up parked on the Island’s roads.

All the vans appear to be old but seem to be linked to a website for a house rental company called Sheppey Rentals.

Some have had their wheels and rear bumpers painted blue. Others are painted yellow.

When we checked, one of the vans in the Ship on Shore car park, a 1997 Ford Transit originally painted red, did not appear to have had an MOT since January 2020.

There has been a lot of speculation on social media. One furious resident complained: “Clapped-out vans which should clearly be in the knacker’s yard are parked all over the island making it dangerous for people to manoeuvre.

“People are suffering. They never move but they are never clamped. Everyone wants to know how he (the vans’ owner) gets away with it.

“He is taking liberties. Peoples’ lives are made miserable by coming out of their homes to see the same junk motor sitting there. Drive around Sheerness and you will see how bad it is.”

A number of apparently abandoned white vans made the news in July last year after ‘vigilantes’ toured the area spraying them with graffiti demanding they be moved.

Swale councillor Cameron Beart estimates there are up to 50 vans scattered around Sheppey either left in car parks or parked on drives or in streets. “I understand many hold spare car parts,” he said.

Sheppey Rentals has been asked for a comment.

This week, some of the vans were sporting new signs advertising the car sales website www.hotlux.co.uk.

A Swale council spokesman said: “We are aware of the black vans parked in Sheerness and are taking appropriate action.”

It is understood an enforcement notice was served previously and a court case is now pending on May 10.