Illegal vehicles stopped in Sheppey as part of rural crime crackdown

An operation to tackle unlawful waste removal and scrap metal collection has resulted in illegal vehicles being stopped and drivers fined on the Isle of Sheppey.

Officers from the Rural Task Force, who worked with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and Swale Borough Council as part of the crackdown, targeted suspicious vehicles in Sheerness on Friday 5 September 2025.

Enforcement

Lorries that were stopped included a white Ford flatbed Transit, which was seized on Warden Road after it was found to be unroadworthy - with a cracked chassis, broken lights and an overweight load that was not properly secured. The driver was fined and a prohibition notice was issued.

A proactive stop in Cromwell Road led to the driver of a Ford Transit Tipper being fined and his vehicle immobilized, after he was found to be carrying excess weight and displaying an illegal number plate.

A further Ford Transit Tipper was stopped on Brielle Way. The driver was given a traffic offence report and a notice prohibiting him from driving the truck, which had two bald tyres and a smashed windscreen.

Sergeant Darren Walshaw from Kent Police’s Rural Task Force said: ‘As part of our work to tackle rural crime - which can have a significant and negative impact on the businesses within, residents of, and visitors to, our countryside communities - we complete regular checks on vehicles carrying waste. Often, the illegal transportation of waste and scrap metal can be linked to other forms of criminality, including fly tipping. ‘We work regularly with councils and other partner agencies to target those who operate illegally and the enforcement will continue, as we target those involved in the criminal disposal of residential and construction waste across our county.’