Kent Tonight - Tuesday 1st August 2023
Catch up on the latest news from across the county with Sofia Akin.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Hello and welcome to Cancer Night live on KMTV.
00:24 I'm Sophia Akin and here are your top stories
00:26 on Tuesday the 1st of August.
00:29 The cost of crime, nearly 2 million pounds
00:32 spent on rural theft in Kent.
00:35 - So what we do know is that with current high prices
00:37 and supply chain issues, there's a growing illicit market
00:41 for expensive farm machinery.
00:42 And we think that's fueling some of these
00:44 rising costs of rural crime.
00:46 - Under pressure, Medway Council predicting
00:48 near 20 million pound overspend this year.
00:52 - We know that there are some tough decisions to make,
00:54 but we're prepared to make them.
00:56 - And meet the Ashford woman who dropped everything
00:59 to dedicate her life to art.
01:02 - Three, four weeks ago I gave up my job
01:04 and now doing this full time.
01:06 (upbeat music)
01:09 - First tonight, rural crime costs in Kent
01:19 have risen by nearly 40% according to a new report
01:22 by NFU Mutual.
01:23 The insurer says the increase is driven
01:25 by criminal gangs targeting farm machinery
01:28 and technology equipment, such as tractors,
01:30 GPS devices, and quad bikes.
01:32 The report also reveals that livestock theft
01:34 is a growing problem, with more than 50 sheep
01:37 stolen in some raids.
01:39 Well, we're now joined by Abbey Hook
01:41 from a farm near Mepham.
01:42 Abbey, thanks for joining us.
01:43 So a pretty big increase in rural crime.
01:46 - That's right, Sophia.
01:49 Harville House Farm here in Mepham,
01:51 and its farmer, Steve Jones, have been the target
01:53 and victim of a lot of rural crime theft,
01:57 two weeks in the most recent occasion.
01:59 It's the same unfortunate story right across Kent
02:01 with us here in the county, the fifth worst,
02:04 most affected county, sorry.
02:05 And as you said, rural crime is on the rise,
02:07 up nearly 40% from 2021, costing Kent 1.9 million pounds.
02:12 Now it follows the national trend too,
02:15 with a rise of 20%.
02:17 But for Steve Jones, the farmer on this land in Mepham,
02:20 it's impacting his livelihood.
02:22 Thank you so much for joining us, Steve,
02:23 and for allowing us to be here on your farm.
02:25 Now, tell us, how have you been impacted by rural crime?
02:28 - I mean, it's all sorts of stuff that we get stolen.
02:31 The bigger stuff, we've sort of stopped having.
02:35 We don't have good tools anymore.
02:37 We don't have good chainsaws because they disappear.
02:40 We can't have a quad anymore.
02:42 We've owned four quads.
02:44 We've never sold one.
02:45 They always get stolen.
02:47 And now the cost of insurance for a quad has gone so high,
02:51 we just can't afford to run one.
02:53 So, and I mean, even on our insurance,
02:57 which was five years ago,
02:59 our farm insurance was 11,000 pounds a year.
03:02 It's now 21,000 pounds a year.
03:04 And that's largely due to general thefts on farms.
03:09 A big one being, of course, GPS equipment.
03:12 So the satellite controls on tops of tractors,
03:15 which are fairly easy to remove and are a lot of money.
03:20 So our neighbor had three of his stolen.
03:22 That was 35,000 pounds.
03:25 And most of that is ending up abroad very quickly.
03:28 It's very easy to box up and ship,
03:30 and it's good money for people to do it.
03:32 - Now, what lengths are farmers going to
03:36 to help protect them?
03:37 What have you had to do?
03:38 - We have to lock everything we can.
03:41 The GPS equipment on machines, we have to take off.
03:45 So every night we remove it, take it in the house,
03:48 take it down in the cellar so it can't be got.
03:51 Unfortunately, that means it then
03:52 has to be insured separately,
03:54 because it's not on the tractor,
03:56 but at least we get to keep it.
03:58 Other stuff now, gates have to be locked.
04:00 But even then, it makes no real difference.
04:03 They come out with battery-powered angle grinders,
04:07 just whiz whiz, off it goes, and away go the gates.
04:11 - And if you had to, we've only got about 30 seconds left,
04:15 but what would be your message to those
04:16 who are breaking in and taking things from your farm?
04:19 - It's very difficult to say.
04:22 I'd like to say, one day we will catch you.
04:25 We are not going to the police,
04:27 is the only way I think we can deal with it.
04:29 - Well, thank you very much, Steve, for your time today
04:32 and for allowing us to speak with you on your farm.
04:34 Now, it's a big issue for farmers right across Kent.
04:37 They're tackling this while tackling
04:39 lots of other difficulties the industry's facing too,
04:42 like the wet weather we've been experiencing recently too.
04:44 Now, earlier I spoke with NFU Mutual
04:46 to ask what farmers can do to prevent rural crime
04:49 and what rights they actually have to protect their farms.
04:53 - So what we do know is that with current high prices
04:56 and supply chain issues, there's a growing illicit market
04:59 for expensive farm machinery,
05:01 and we think that's fueling some of these rising costs
05:03 of rural crime.
05:04 But police are stepping up their efforts.
05:05 So NFU Mutual funds a new national rural crime unit,
05:08 and that coordinates the response to rural crime
05:10 from police forces across the country.
05:12 So in the future, hopefully,
05:15 there won't be as much opportunity
05:16 to take something across the border
05:17 and know that you won't be caught.
05:19 And there's more organized criminals
05:20 and also opportunistic thieves,
05:22 and they'll often come into a field,
05:24 take away 60, 100 sheep, and drive away again.
05:27 Now, obviously this is highly disruptive to the farmers,
05:31 and it causes a financial issue.
05:33 They'll be covered by their insurance,
05:34 but there's the disruption that it causes
05:37 does have a financial effect.
05:39 As well as that, you don't know where that meat's going,
05:41 so it may well end up on people's plates,
05:42 but it's not going through the correct butchering process.
05:46 It's not going by regulations, things like that.
05:48 So that is a concern for everyone involved.
05:51 Next tonight, the government is changing
05:53 the way alcohol is taxed across the UK,
05:55 which is set to impact Kent producers.
05:57 From today, it will be more expensive
05:59 for drinks with a higher alcohol content
06:01 and cheaper for drinks with lower alcohol content.
06:05 The Treasury says it's a common sense move,
06:07 but critics say it will hit consumers and businesses hard.
06:11 Now, the duty on most wines and spirits will go up,
06:13 but sparkling wine and some pre-mixed drinks
06:16 will actually be cheaper.
06:17 The government says draft beer
06:18 will stay the same to help pubs.
06:21 Next tonight, two young men have died
06:25 following a crash between a car and van near Farningham.
06:28 Emergency services were called to the incident
06:30 on the A20 main road at around four yesterday afternoon.
06:34 A red Ford Escort was heading east
06:36 when it was involved in a collision
06:38 with a silver Ford panel van
06:40 travelling in the opposite direction.
06:42 The two occupants of the Ford Escort,
06:43 two men aged 19 and 20, were confirmed dead at the scene.
06:47 Two air ambulances were also in attendance
06:49 and road closures were in place
06:50 throughout the afternoon and evening.
06:52 The roads have since reopened.
06:54 Next tonight, Medway Council is forecasting
06:56 an overspend of almost £17 million,
06:59 exceeding their reserves by £7 million this period.
07:02 The leader, Vince Maple, has called for a new deal
07:04 between central and local governments
07:06 to address the funding challenges.
07:08 He also warns that the council may have to cut
07:10 some non-saturated services to balance the books.
07:13 Well, earlier today, I was joined by Adrian Golvin,
07:16 the opposition leader at Medway Council.
07:18 Medway's facing quite significant financial challenge,
07:21 aren't they?
07:21 So, but of course, it was run by the Conservatives
07:24 for a while, so is this the previous administration's
07:27 fault at all?
07:28 Well, first of all, thanks, Sophia,
07:30 for having me on the programme.
07:32 I've been, or was a portfolio holder on Medway Council
07:36 for eight years.
07:37 Every year, this time, when we got the first quarter
07:42 outturn of the financial year,
07:46 there was an eye-wateringly high budget gap.
07:50 So this has happened every year.
07:51 So this isn't nothing unusual at all.
07:53 This is virtually business as usual.
07:57 And to say that the council,
08:00 the Conservative administration would deliberately
08:03 left a mess behind, as some have been trying to say,
08:05 it's absolute rubbish, because I and my colleagues
08:08 worked our socks off to try and keep
08:11 a Conservative administration here in Medway.
08:14 So I could have very well been sat here,
08:17 as hopefully still a portfolio holder
08:20 in a Conservative administration having to deal with this.
08:23 So this is nothing unusual.
08:25 It happens, it's happened every year.
08:27 I will say every year, it seemed to get
08:30 slightly more difficult, as the amount of support grant
08:33 that the government gives local authorities
08:37 got whittled away to, as it is now, virtually nothing.
08:40 What you have to do to put that situation right
08:43 is you have to go through every budget lining
08:46 in great detail and look and see
08:50 where you can make the savings.
08:52 And a lot of it is not about cutting services.
08:54 It's making sure that you can deliver
08:56 your services more efficiently.
08:59 Unfortunately, there's a little bit of a battle
09:01 between the members and the officers,
09:02 the officers who want to often gold plate things
09:05 and the members who want to try and keep the costs
09:08 as low as possible, because if we don't keep the costs
09:11 as low as possible, we will have to start cutting
09:14 nice things out of the budget,
09:16 and that's what we don't want to do.
09:18 - And yeah, you mentioned that those cuts there,
09:19 what sort of things could we see cuts in?
09:21 What sort of areas would we be seeing cuts?
09:24 - I would not be looking for cuts, first of all.
09:27 I'd be looking for savings.
09:29 And the first thing that the new administration
09:31 have got to double up their efforts on
09:34 is the transformation programme,
09:36 business change programme that we instigated.
09:39 In fact, I chaired the transformation board
09:42 for the whole of the time I was a portfolio holder.
09:45 And we've transformed the way the council works
09:48 by using better working methods.
09:51 And every saving you make by doing that transformation,
09:55 that's a permanent saving.
09:56 So if you add on to what you've already,
09:59 we have saved tens of millions of pounds,
10:01 that process must continue.
10:04 - And I wanted to ask you about Splash's Leisure Centre.
10:06 It's something that Labour and the co-operative group
10:08 have been very critical about.
10:11 And they actually said that it could cause,
10:14 could be financially irresponsible,
10:16 and that the Conservatives went ahead with it.
10:17 Do you think that has something to do
10:19 with the potential current financial overspend
10:22 that could be taking place?
10:23 - Not at the moment,
10:24 because that is purely capital expenditure at the moment.
10:26 It will create budget pressures later on.
10:28 There's no doubt about it.
10:30 But at the moment,
10:31 that's creating no budget pressures at all,
10:34 apart from funding the capital expenditure
10:37 that's been put out, but that's got to be found.
10:41 - Well, Adrian, thank you very much for joining us today.
10:43 - Thank you, it's been a pleasure.
10:44 Thank you.
10:45 - We also spoke to Medway Council's Deputy Leader
10:47 on how they plan to address the shortfall.
10:51 - We think that we can take prudent, sensible measures
10:54 in a timely way to avoid that happening.
10:57 We're not going to throw up our hands in despair
11:00 two months into our administration,
11:02 which we're very pleased to have,
11:04 and say that there's nothing we can do
11:06 and the council is going bankrupt.
11:07 We're not going to behave like that.
11:09 We know that there are some tough decisions to make,
11:11 but we're prepared to make them.
11:14 And we're going to make them together as a team,
11:16 and we're going to bring the council officers along with us.
11:18 And we're certainly not going to blame people
11:22 who are working hard at the council
11:24 to deliver the best services for Medway.
11:26 Not going to blame them for the situation.
11:28 The blame lays firmly at the door
11:30 of the outgoing administration.
11:32 There are things that they didn't do
11:33 that they could have done to sort this out.
11:36 In fact, they avoided it and hoped it would go away.
11:38 We're not going to do that.
11:40 - Time for us to take a quick break,
11:41 but coming up, we'll have the latest sports news
11:43 with Bartholomew Hall.
11:44 I'll see you then.
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15:02 - Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
15:13 Now as the world faces record breaking heat,
15:15 a local group is giving Kent residents and businesses
15:18 a chance to fight climate change and also earn some money.
15:21 Kent Community Energy has launched a share offer
15:23 to buy into their solar farm near Sittingbourne
15:26 and create a two million pound fund
15:28 for green projects across the county.
15:30 The group says investors could get a 6% annual return
15:34 whilst helping Kent transition to net zero emissions.
15:37 World Director Dan Watkins joins me on the line now.
15:40 Thank you very much for joining us today, Dan.
15:43 So firstly, I'd just like to know if somebody was interested
15:46 in buying a share, how much would that cost them?
15:49 - Well, anyone can invest from as little as 250 pounds
15:54 to become a member of our Community Energy Society.
15:59 And with that, they get the financial return potentially
16:02 that you just referenced, but also the chance
16:05 to shape the future of what our organisation does
16:07 in the community.
16:09 - And so where did this all come from?
16:11 Why was this such an important scheme
16:14 that you wanted to set up?
16:16 - So, I mean, once we completed this community share offer
16:23 in the next couple of months,
16:25 you can see the solar panels there on the screen,
16:29 which will generate five megawatts of energy.
16:32 And that's the equivalence of there are 1,700 homes
16:36 being powered by the sun, essentially.
16:38 That's carbon-free energy.
16:41 That will go live.
16:44 And at that stage, we're very keen to start looking
16:49 at how we can further develop the potential of this site.
16:54 It will be the largest community energy project
16:57 in our county, jointly with one other scheme
17:01 that's already live.
17:03 So, you know, very significant.
17:05 And this is just the start for us.
17:07 The income that this generates will also help us raise
17:11 over the lifetime of the solar farm, 2 million pounds,
17:14 which we can give to Kent communities, charities, etc.,
17:19 for further decarbonization and biodiversity projects.
17:23 - Now, we've seen the government announce
17:25 that hundreds of new oil and gas licenses
17:27 will be granted in the UK,
17:28 but this is the opposite of the renewable energy
17:31 that you're promoting.
17:32 So, I mean, what do you make of that?
17:34 Could you argue that solar power is reliable?
17:38 - Yeah, so there may or may not be a case
17:40 for more UK gas backed up by carbon capture.
17:44 I'll leave other people to debate those two sides
17:47 of the argument.
17:48 What is certainly the case is that solar powered
17:51 or wind powered renewable energy
17:53 is already the lowest cost form
17:56 of generating electricity in our country.
17:59 So, it's there, it's relatively cheap,
18:04 and there are communities like ours
18:07 who are willing to develop these projects
18:11 to generate more carbon free energy.
18:14 So, I mean, we're ready to go, as it were,
18:16 and we will be quicker than the sort of big energy project
18:19 which you see promoted up in Scotland today.
18:23 And we can be an absolute key part
18:25 of helping the UK continue to reduce its carbon emissions
18:30 in the coming years.
18:31 - Great, thank you so much, Dan.
18:32 It's all we've got time for.
18:34 I wanted to read you the government line.
18:36 They say that investment in the North Sea
18:37 will continue to unlock new projects,
18:39 protect jobs, reduce emissions,
18:41 and boost UK energy independence.
18:42 So, we'll have to see.
18:44 And thank you for joining us.
18:45 Thank you very much.
18:46 - Thank you.
18:48 - Next tonight, and Kent's Lionesses have helped England
18:51 qualify for the knockout stage in this year's World Cup.
18:54 With more on this and the rest of today's sport,
18:56 here's Bartholomew Hall.
18:59 (upbeat music)
19:01 - Well, we're here to talk about the World Cup, of course.
19:12 It's been a fantastic run of form for the England squad.
19:15 I mean, we were watching the game, weren't we,
19:19 earlier on in our newsroom.
19:22 And I mean, we were all up on our feet
19:24 when England won over China 6-1.
19:26 Let's have a look at their run of form so far.
19:28 England have 1-0 against Haiti,
19:32 1-0 again against Denmark,
19:33 but 6-1 against China.
19:36 I mean, if we didn't know already,
19:38 the England squad from the Euros who won
19:40 are definitely back to form.
19:42 Now, of course, we have many Kent players.
19:47 Two Kent players in the England squad this time around.
19:50 Alessia Russo from Maidstone.
19:51 Now, she got the ball rolling and got the goals
19:54 kick-started for England in just the fourth minute.
19:58 She was perfectly placed in the box,
20:00 a really well-controlled finish into the goal.
20:03 Now, we also had our other Kent player
20:05 from Gravesend, Laura Coombs.
20:07 She came on about midway through the game
20:09 and she assisted that 84th minute
20:11 for Rachel Daly as well.
20:13 Now, we have a lot of young players.
20:15 I will just grab myself a microphone very quickly.
20:18 I want to hear you, Vardhan.
20:19 There's so much exciting news to hear.
20:21 I know. I'm so sorry.
20:22 Great win against China, as you were saying.
20:24 Absolutely.
20:25 Absolutely. Yes, so carry on.
20:26 And also, Kent players, how did they do today?
20:28 Absolutely. I was just mentioning, wasn't I,
20:30 that brilliant assist from Laura Coombs.
20:32 And I mean, this World Cup squad,
20:35 I mean, we're seeing players coming
20:36 that haven't played before.
20:38 I mean, a few injuries for the England squad,
20:40 but it's really giving a platform for these players
20:42 and especially for our Kent players as well
20:44 to be carrying it on.
20:46 But to carry on with the rest of today's sport news,
20:49 and we move to cricket, where Kent have started
20:51 their defence of the One Day Cup title.
20:53 The Spitfires have been at Scarborough
20:55 as they visit the Yorkshire Vikings
20:57 on the first day of the series.
20:59 Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bowl first,
21:02 leaving Kent to face a tough start.
21:04 They lost four wickets before 50 runs were even scored.
21:06 Captain Jack Leaning, Kent's number two batter,
21:09 was caught out by the Vikings' wicketkeeper, Harry Duke.
21:12 However, as the innings progressed,
21:13 so did Kent's pace, with Ben Compton and Joey Everson
21:16 racking up the most of Kent's runs with a tonne each.
21:19 Kent ending their innings earlier today on 283 for nine.
21:23 A bit of rain delay during the start of Yorkshire's innings,
21:25 however, saw the target reduced to 235 in 35 overs.
21:31 And as things stand, further rain delays
21:33 are continuing at Scarborough right now.
21:35 Yorkshire need 182 runs to win from 24 overs,
21:39 with eight wickets remaining.
21:41 Now, Holcombe ladies have been busy signing
21:44 on a new cohort of players as they head towards a push
21:46 for the top flight of English club hockey.
21:49 A total of six players have been signed,
21:51 including Australian international Jade van der Zweyne
21:54 and New Zealand international Deanna Ritchie.
21:56 Wimbledon's Lucy Wally,
21:58 former Canterbury forward Tilly Tillings
22:00 and Hannah Bond from Sevenoaks
22:02 have all chosen to join Holcombe for the upcoming season.
22:05 I wasn't lying.
22:05 They have been signing players so far.
22:09 It comes after the club has relegated in the 22/23 season
22:12 from the Vitality Premier Division
22:14 and they'll be looking to join it again next year.
22:17 Well, finally for me, Kent Gymnastics Club,
22:19 the DC Diamonds, are representing Britain
22:21 on the world stage this week
22:22 as they form part of the largest ever team
22:24 at the sport's biggest celebration.
22:27 The Diamonds have sent a team of 12 gymnasts
22:29 who we just saw on the screen then.
22:31 They'll be joined by 20,000 participants in Amsterdam
22:36 from more than 50 countries.
22:38 The festival of gymnastics began on Sunday
22:40 and runs until this Saturday, the 5th of August.
22:43 The DC Diamonds will be performing five times
22:45 throughout the week.
22:47 Well, Bartholomew, lots of exciting things going on.
22:49 Thank you very much.
22:50 I think it's time for us now to take a look at the weather.
22:59 Now, with the winds expected to be in excess of 60 mph tomorrow,
23:03 the Met Office have issued yellow alerts.
23:06 It's also going to be wet and drizzly
23:08 and there'll be sunny skies tomorrow
23:10 but dampened by showers and even lightning
23:12 in parts of the East Coast.
23:13 Staying wet through till tomorrow afternoon
23:15 with fairly high winds towards North Kent.
23:17 That rain won't be disappearing this week, it seems.
23:20 Showers across the board with temperatures staying mild.
23:23 Hold on to your umbrellas.
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23:28 And finally, transforming pebbles into art.
23:36 An Ashford woman is dedicating her life to art.
23:39 Merely weeks ago, she left her job
23:41 and is now selling her pebble prints
23:43 in a range of markets across Kent.
23:45 But with a twist.
23:46 She makes the stones she uses in her works herself.
23:49 As she says, this is actually less wasteful.
23:51 Well, I went down to find out more.
23:54 A little more than a month ago,
23:56 an Ashford woman gave up her job in sales
23:58 to pursue her dream job.
24:01 And now for Kelly Walker, most days look like this.
24:04 Pitching up and selling her pebble prints
24:06 in markets across the county.
24:09 Now it sounds like this was always the plan
24:11 for this businesswoman.
24:12 But actually, it all started as an accidental creation.
24:16 So my husband and I were on a beach in Cornwall.
24:18 I found a little bit of slate
24:20 that looked like, in my eyes, a tin mine.
24:22 And I thought, "Oh, I'll make a picture."
24:24 It's horrendous.
24:25 And my husband won't let me take it down
24:27 in the porch at home, but it's still sitting there.
24:30 For some reason, I felt inspired and carried on.
24:34 And then went to a craft fair.
24:36 So my first craft fair experience, to say the least.
24:41 I felt so nervous.
24:43 But people were actually purchasing my products.
24:45 Whether it's a wedding, a birthday, even a divorce,
24:50 there are a range of designs for every occasion.
24:53 Now, for the past few weeks,
24:55 Kelly has primarily been selling her works
24:57 here at the Faversham local market.
24:58 But she hopes to take this one step further
25:01 and actually open her own store as well
25:02 to sell all of her works.
25:04 These prints are made of a combination of stones,
25:07 driftwood, dried flowers, and also reindeer moss.
25:11 And one of the key aims for Pebble Peeps
25:13 is using recycled products and also sustainable crafts.
25:17 One of the other reasons why I now make my own stones
25:20 is because there's a lot less wastage in what I'm using.
25:22 If I'm buying the stones from an aggregate,
25:24 they don't necessarily realise the depth of the frame
25:26 that I have, which is only two centimetres.
25:29 So making my own stones is a good way of not having wastage.
25:34 I do try and use as much recycled materials as possible.
25:38 And the dried flowers, well, yeah, they are flowers,
25:41 but they're drying.
25:43 But they get to last and look pretty.
25:45 And like all prints,
25:47 they have to be stamped with the artist's signature.
25:50 So my husband, he said to me I should be signing the pictures,
25:55 but I didn't want my signature because it's very scruffy.
25:59 I didn't want that on the pictures.
26:00 So the seagulls, that's the most popular design
26:04 with them on the posts.
26:05 So I decided that the seagull would be my signature
26:07 as I've not seen anybody else do the seagulls before.
26:10 So you'll see a seagull on pretty much every piece of my work,
26:13 apart from the wedding ones.
26:15 And the start of August marks the second birthday of Pebble Peeps,
26:19 which Kelly hopes is just the beginning.
26:22 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Faversham.
26:25 Well, Kelly will be joining us straight after the break
26:27 in Maidenkent with her husband.
26:29 From now on, Maidenkent will be on your screens
26:31 every single week, every Tuesday.
26:33 I'll see you in just a few minutes' time.
26:35 Good night.
26:36 (upbeat music)
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