"Gory" street art which has appeared across a town showing outlines of dead bodies with bloody wounds has divided opinion.

Dozens of the bizarre works, which resemble a chalk outline of a body at a crime scene, have been spray-painted across Faversham town centre over the past week.

While some believe the work is interesting and offers something different to the usual tagging, others believe they are threatening and gory.

An Instagram account, with the handle @blueprint___ and the name Shadow Man, was launched on January 22.

The account includes pictures of the works in the town, which appear at a number of places, including on the St Ann's footbridge, at Faversham Rec and near the swimming pool, captioned with #crimescene and #shadowman.

Faversham borough councillor Hannah Perkin (Lib Dem) says public opinion is divided.

"Obviously graffiti of all kinds needs to be dealt with in an appropriate manner but some people seem to have quite liked them, which is odd," she said.

"It’s really difficult because graffiti and vandalism go hand in hand. But Banksy is an incredible graffiti artist and there are incredible ones out there. Some people are going to like it and some aren’t.

"I think some people have found them quite threatening, which is obviously worrying because it is not the nicest of content. I wish it was less gory."

RJ Newman, 60, shared a post with pictures of the graffiti on a local Facebook group, attracting more than 100 comments.

"There is graffiti tagging which is just vandalism but these are somewhere in the middle," the Upper St Ann's Road resident said.

"They’re not fantastic pieces of artwork. Someone posted saying their daughter was frightened of them and I can see that because there are blood splashes on them.

"They’re more interesting than any other graffiti I have seen over the past few years in Faversham."

The works are understood to have first appeared last month.

One person wrote: "I find it quite disconcerting due to the red marks, which I see as injuries due to bullets, but maybe I’m reading too much into them.

Another person did not approve, and wrote: "I think they're a blight on the town and giving them this publicity is just encouraging more. Not exactly Banksy material is it."

Meanwhile, another resident supported the artwork, writing: "It’s a matter of opinion but @blueprint has made it a talking point so job done, and if art is their passion good luck to them. You saw it in Faversham first."

Another person wrote: "Rather than getting sniffy about it - I personally like @blueprint's art - why don't we just embrace the fun?"

The artist spoke to KentOnline about their work and hit-out at some of the criticism which they have received.

"My inspiration is Richard Hambelton who was an artist in the 80s and he did these shadow men and crime cut outs which I thought were really cool.

"I love the work of Keith Haring and Basquiat but mainly it’s just me having fun and making people talk about it.

"I’ve seen people posing in the positions of the men I’ve drawn and it’s hilarious. My intentions aren’t bad, some people think they’re gang-related or threats but it’s all a bit of fun and a laugh.

"My passion for art is unparalleled and I adore it. I have lots of ideas in mind, little treasure hunts for people."

They added that people loving and hating the work it is great as all art is subjective.

"I understand my work isn’t lawful but I’m not killing anyone or doing drugs or harming people," they added. "It’s a bit of paint and if it makes people smile that’s my job done."

"I never paint on people’s houses or cars or places that have been recently painted over."

A spokesperson for Swale Borough Council said: "We are looking into the graffiti that has been appearing around Faversham and will work alongside police to investigate."