Two Bromley men have been jailed after they rented business units to sell off parts from stolen Ford Transit vans worth nearly £750,000.

Dave Pearce and his nephew Lee Pearce pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to receive stolen goods, from October 17, 2013 to March 7, 2014 and between June 20, 2014 to September 12, 2014.

Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court last week, Dave Pearce, 44, of Ballamore Road, Bromley, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Lee Pearce, 31, of Keedonwood Road, Bromley, was jailed for 18 months.

An investigation began in January 2014 when an activated tracking device, fitted to a stolen Transit from Lambeth, alerted Kent Police to an industrial unit in Queenborough.

Officers carried out a warrant at the address and located four stolen Transits, together with parts from 17 other vans identified as stolen.

Vehicles belonging to the offenders were found parked nearby.

It became clear the men had been using the site as a secure location to receive and strip stolen vans for parts.

The shell of a stripped Transit van was found loaded onto a lorry, while another was in the process of being stripped in the main building.

Further investigations showed Transit vans stolen in London were being checked for tracking devices, which would be removed and left at the roadside, before the vehicles were driven to Kent.

Lee Pearce was found to be operating under the guise of a legitimate commercial seller of van parts.

He ran a Transit spares business from a unit in Green Street, Dartford, and after stolen vans were broken up, his business received the parts.

They were mixed with legitimate stock in an attempt to hide the criminal activity.

The shells of the vans were sold to scrap dealers around the county.

In total, Lee and Dave Pearce were responsible for breaking up and selling parts from at least 64 stolen Ford Transits.

They were also given concurrent sentences for their roles in stealing and handling stolen vehicles during 2011 and 2012 in a separate Met Police case.

A further offender, Paul Aylward , 34, of Roundtable Road, Bromley, admitted handling stolen goods between December 2013 and February 2014 and was given an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Don Share, of the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: "The impact the thefts have had on self-employed victims and small businesses is frightening.

"The loss of a vehicle containing tools and equipment has placed many in debt and come close to putting some out of business."