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At least eight lorry trailers have been left abandoned around Ashford.

They are all believed to be filled with used tyres and have been stripped of their registration plates and other identification details.

There are no company markings on the abandoned containers dotted on the roadsides at venues which include the A20, the Hothfield lay-by, the entrance to Matalan, Bridge Road, in a lay-by along the A28 towards Tenterden and on the Cobbs Wood industrial estate.

It is not clear why the trailers have been left where they are.

Keith Hardy, factory manager at Mercury Windows, first noticed them more than five weeks ago.

He said: “I just happened to notice these trailers left there in lay-bys.

“There seems no intention to come back and pick them up.

“They look in a poor state of repair. The curtains are all bulging out the side, particularly the one near the Hare and Hounds pub. We drive past them every day. They quite clearly cannot be towed as they are.

“It’s taking up lay-by space. We did contact the police about them. If they are commercial tyres, they should be disposed of properly. They are meant to be recycling them.

“Presumably at some point the council will have to have the trailers removed and we will pay for the disposal as council taxpayers.”

Kentish Express news editor, Alastair Irvine added: “I’ve seen several of these trailers - on Cobbs Wood and the one in Bridge Road.

“As well as being unsightly, they are a real potential fire hazard. But it’s an absolute mystery why they’ve been dumped here. Someone told me they are brought here by HGV cabs and unhitched, to be picked up much later by another vehicle and either taken somewhere else in the UK or to be taken across the Channel somewhere but some of them have been here for weeks now.

“The fact they have no number plates and no markings is very suspicious.”

An Ashford Borough Council spokesman said: “We are aware of this emerging problem and, together with other agencies, are investigating legal options to resolve the issue.”

The council confirmed that they will work with Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent Police, Kent County Council and the Environment Agency to rectify the problem.

Brakes, on Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate, has one of the trailers parked outside its premises.

A spokesman said: “We undertake thousands of deliveries every year, so we understand how important it is to act responsibly on the roads.

“We have reported the abandoned trailers to the police and the council and hope that they can take action as it is very disappointing when you are faced with irresponsible and illegal activity which makes it more difficult for people and businesses to operate.”

A spokesman for the Freight Transport Association said: “As an organisation, FTA would completely condemn this type of behaviour, which is in essence fly-tipping.

“We would urge residents to notify their local council to have the offending equipment removed as quickly as possible and enforcement action taken where possible.”

Police Sergeant Jasmine Bloomfield from the Community Safety Unit at Kent Police said: "Kent Police has received reports concerning unattended trailers in Ashford and at this stage no offences have taken place.

"Where the law is being broken, action will be taken.

"Highways England and Kent Police work with their partners, including Kent County Council and local borough councils, to address the issue of unsafe, illegal and anti-social parking on the county’s roads."

Similar incidents, which have been treated as fly-tipping, have happened across the country in recent months.

In York, regional media reported that in Dunnington, a large trailer was abandoned in a lay-by on the A1079 in June last year.

It took nearly six months to be recovered following disputes about which authority was responsible for clearing it away.