A posse of scorpion wranglers is being formed by a museum to keep an eye on a colony of the stingers that have made the cracks in a former naval base wall their home.

As part of our Have a Go Joe series, reporter Joe Crossley attempted to track down the eight-legged arachnids on the Isle of Sheppey to see what the role entails.

As surprising as it sounds, for more than 200 years, yellow-tailed scorpions have stalked the walls of Sheerness Dockyard.

The critters are believed to have hitched a ride with granite slabs imported to build the 18ft-tall structure in 1813 - although it is not known where the blocks came from.

Opposite the wall is Blue Town Criterion Heritage Centre, founded by boss Jenny Hurkett in 2004 after a kitchen showroom and warehouse buildings flooded.

Over the years, the 75-year-old has amassed a collection of artefacts detailing the Island’s history.

And she says the scorpions in the wall opposite are part of the history of Sheppey and a keen point of interest.

In fact, they have become such a talking-point that she has now put out an advert for someone to become chief scorpion wrangler.

Since posting the job description, the centre has had more than 40 people inquiring about the role.

Given the positive reaction, Jenny is now planning on forming four groups - one each for researchers, promoters, conservationists and a Junior Scorpion Wranglers Club.

To see what the voluntary job was all about, I headed to Blue Town High Street, my first time there, at twilight.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the dockyard became a key strategic base for the Royal Navy, which was fighting the French and Spanish in the Napoleonic Wars.

Blue Town was built for dockyard workers and their families, its name coming from the blue paint used on the outside of the homes.

By the time of HMS Victory, Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar, it was full of sailors and dockers who could buy beer for less than water.

Today, apart from all the parked cars and modern signage, it is easy to transport yourself back to the 1800s.

The wall dominates one side of the road, as it has for centuries, with Victorian-style street lamps providing the light for people living there or visiting one of a number of businesses.

One of these is the Red Lion pub, where punters were enjoying an after-work Friday night pint.

Another is Blue Town Fish Bar, which has scorpions encased in glass and displayed in the window. Clearly, I was in the right place.

I met Jenny inside the museum and she gave me a tour of the building, which contains an 1860s’ music hall and exhibitions detailing Sheppey’s maritime history.

But what had this got to do with scorpions? And why is she looking to recruit a scorpion wrangler?

“If the ravens left the Tower of London what would happen?” she asked. “So what would happen if the scorpions left Blue Town?

“We don't know so we want to look after them. We want to cherish them and do scientific studies.

“It’s also a way to get people to come into Blue Town which is steeped in a rich history.”

I met some of the Islanders who have already signed up to become wranglers.

Among them is mum-of-one Kim Tanner who lives in Sheerness and is a self-professed animal lover.

She makes and sells art made out of animal bones at Stones Garden Centres’ crafty collective in Halfway Road alongside her job as a staff member at Co-op.

The 49-year-old said: “I got my love for nature from my dad, Mick Tanner, who worked in the docks and used to tell me stories about the creatures he would see, including the scorpions.

“So I wanted to get involved as the animals are just fascinating as they have established themselves on Sheppey and it would be amazing to be a part of looking after them.”

Meanwhile Peter Wood, 76, says he has always wanted to track down the scorpions and spend more time in Blue Town.

The former Lloyds banker and skip hire business boss said: “They are our scorpions which is special as I don’t know many other places where they have thrived like they have here.

“They only problem is that they are really shy and don’t come out for just anyone.”

Ex-chief scorpion wrangler and former KentOnline reporter John Nurden also joined me at the museum to explain how to find the tiny beasts.

The 71-year-old, who is now a Minster parish councillor, said: “Well it's kind of really difficult this time of the year because it's a little bit cold, so I would imagine if I was a scorpion I'd be in bed tucked up nice and warm.

“So firstly you’ll have to wrap up warm yourself.

“People tend to think that they're big and evil like they see in David Attenborough documentaries, but they're not, they're tiny, witchy things.

“While they are small under a UV light you’ll see them straight away.”

The scorpions emit a blue-green glow thanks to their exoskeleton, called the hyaline layer, when under the light.

This is handy as the scorpions are well camouflaged as they are the same brown colour as the wall, and are so small that it is hard to see them, especially in the dark.

Donning a hard helmet and carrying the UV torch given to me by the museum to borrow John and I took to the walls.

Using our lights we made our way from the museum and headed towards the roundabout which connects Garrison Road and Bridge Road.

We carefully scanned the nooks and crannies searching for the elusive arachnids but after half an hour we had not had a single sighting.

But our first sign that the scorpions were about was when we bumped into seven-year-old Rory Mohammed and his grandad, Alan Abbey, and mum, Ashleigh Abbey-Mohammed.

They had already spotted a pincer in a section of wall we had bypassed.

Rory suggested we look under the granite slabs.

With his advice noted we carried on along the wall, heading towards the Island Works in the Dockyard Church going through the opening which cuts through to Garrison Road.

The wall drops down here and is in front of a row of terrace houses, which meant we had to squat to take a look.

While focused on the task I somehow lost sight of John who I thought had left me to my own devices, so I gave him a quick call on his mobile to find out where he was.

My slight concern about being left to face the scorpions alone quickly vanished when he said he had finally uncovered one near the church.

It was around 7pm and almost an hour-and-a-half after we had left the museum but with the help of the UV light, I could see the tiny blue-green outline of the arachnid in one of the cracks.

It was a joy to finally see a scorpion, especially after braving the cold for the evening.

After posing long enough for me to grab a quick video, it scurried back into a hole.

It having retreated, we too were content to call it a night.

Applications for scorpion wrangling are open until Saturday, November 30.

To apply, send an email to criterionbluetown@outlook.com or call the museum on 01795 662981.

The museum will explain its plans for wrangling volunteers during an open day for all applicants from 3pm to 5pm on Saturday, January 4.