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00:00Hello there. Hope you had a lovely day. Welcome to Kentonite live here on KNTV. I'm Gabriel
00:29Morris and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 25th of June.
00:34Well well Tunbridge Wells. Could one of Kent's oldest Conservative seats change hands on
00:39the 4th of July?
00:40And I don't believe that a campaign that simply says, you know, vote Lib Dem tactically
00:46because that's the only way to get the Conservatives out is a valid campaign.
00:49Kicking out the stigmas as England faces Slovenia. One charity is tackling mental health with
00:54football therapy sessions.
00:56Actually, maybe I'll give this a go first because I might be able to improve my mental
01:01health if I come to these sessions before the need to go and see the doctor.
01:06And on the right track. Maidstone School set to open Converted Train Cafe at long last.
01:12There's quite a lot of people here that will be coming here to see the carriage in its
01:18final final state.
01:26But first tonight. We're just over a week to go until the general election. One of Kent's
01:34most historically Conservative seats could be set to change hands as polls suggest Tunbridge
01:39Wells could be won by the Liberal Democrats for the first time.
01:43It comes just months after the constituency's local council was taken over by the Lib Dems
01:47for the first time in 30 years.
01:49Well you can see him on the screen Bartholomew Hall's live from our newsroom this evening
01:53for us.
01:54He's studying the polls today. Bartholomew what can you tell us?
01:58Well Gabriel as you say Tunbridge Wells is one of Kent's most Conservative seats in the
02:03past 50 years. It's only had two MPs both of them Conservatives. And one thing's for
02:08certain is come the 5th of July there will be a third MP to add to that list within the
02:13past 50 years.
02:14And that's because the previous MP Greg Clark is not standing for re-election. His replacement
02:20in the Conservative party is the candidate Neil Mahapatra.
02:25Now in the past few weeks he's found himself in a little bit of controversy over some of
02:29the comments he made about the Conservatives to Kent Online. He said the Conservatives
02:33have had some poor policies, there's been too much infighting and that they've let people
02:37down.
02:38Now in the past couple of weeks or so he has slightly stepped back on those comments. Here
02:41he is in the past couple of days speaking to West Kent Radio about why he thinks the
02:46Conservatives should continue to serve Tunbridge Wells into the next Parliament.
02:52I would say that there's a huge amount of progress that we have made. So through education
02:56our, when we took power in 2010 the number of schools that were ranked good or outstanding
03:02was 68% and now up to 88%. We've made huge strides in education. Climate change as well.
03:08We have reduced our carbon emissions by the fastest rate compared to any country in the
03:12G20. So there's real good that we are doing. But I do understand some of the dissatisfaction
03:19that is out there and the argument is actually here in Tunbridge Wells, what Tunbridge Wells
03:24needs is a good local MP.
03:28Now the party that's made the most gains in Tunbridge Wells since the last election in
03:312019 is in fact the Liberal Democrats. They took control over the local council, Tunbridge
03:37Wells Borough Council at the local elections earlier this year. Now that was the first
03:41time the party had achieved this in 30 years. Their candidate Mike Martin, he is tipped
03:46by the pollsters, by the polls to being the next MP but of course the only poll that really
03:51matters is that one on the 4th of July. And in fact it's the voters, it's what he's been
03:56talking to West Kent Radio about, telling them what he's been hearing on the doorsteps.
04:02So my background is as an army officer and since leaving the army I've worked in a number
04:07of things. I've been a senior leader in a charity, I've written a number of books. Over
04:10the last year I've spoken to 5,600 people and it's interesting, you know, when you speak
04:18to that many people, clear messages come through. First and foremost, particularly for the people
04:23who live in Tunbridge Wells but also the villages around like Lamberhurst and Spellhurst, is
04:27they want the town centre of Tunbridge Wells sorted out. We really need to make this a
04:30town centre that's fit for the 21st century.
04:34Now if you speak to the Liberal Democrats they'll have you believe they're the only
04:37party credible enough in the polls to take on the Conservatives next week. But Labour
04:43would disagree. Here's their candidate Hugo Pound speaking about one of the most controversial
04:49Labour policies and that is introducing VAT to private schools, something which in Tunbridge
04:54Wells is influencing a lot of people's votes.
04:5793% of children in the UK do not go to private school. They are educated by the state and
05:03Rachel Reeves particularly has already identified that that state system needs money to support
05:09young children in nursery places before they even arrive at school, in free breakfasts
05:14and after school clubs and that money has to come from somewhere.
05:18Well not long to go now, just over a week till Kent heads to the polls and just over
05:23a week until you'll be able to watch KNTV's 12 hour special coverage of the election results
05:27as they come in live. Joining me now in the studio to tell us exactly what to expect is
05:32KNTV's channel director Andy Richards. Go Andy, what exactly are we doing this special
05:3712 hour show?
05:38Well I enjoyed just how you said 12 hour just then. It is a long time. No, I think it's
05:44a really, really important thing for us to be doing. We did do a similar programme back
05:49in 2019 and how do I put this nicely, it wasn't exactly, we weren't on tenterhooks on what
05:57the results were going to be because everything stayed the same in 2019 but it was still really
06:02important for local democracy that we were able to cover all those different constituencies.
06:08This time around, wow, if the polls are to be believed, it's going to be a really brilliant
06:14night. But I think what's really, really important is that, I don't know about you Gabriel, but
06:19when you're watching election count or election coverage, I really try to sift through all
06:27the different constituencies. I'm not really that bothered what's going on in Stafford,
06:30I'm interested in what's going on in Ashford or what's going on in Tonbridge. So I think
06:34that's really important that we're able to supply that sort of service.
06:37Well as you say, 18 different constituencies in Kent, how are we going to be splitting
06:40coverage?
06:41Yeah, name them all Gabriel. No, I'm joking. See, that's the other thing we've got to get
06:44used to is the 18 different constituencies. I must not call it Tonbridge and Morling,
06:50that's not what it is anymore. But basically, we're going to be at all of the counts, we're
06:54going to be live and we are going to make sure that we cover the Medway counts in particular
07:01detail. We're going to have a pop-up studio there where we're going to have live coverage
07:05for the night from there. Every half an hour we're coming back to the studio here to talk
07:09about other constituencies. So it's going to be really fun, especially with 40 guests
07:13around as well. It's going to be great.
07:14Yes, a lot to look forward to, a little more than a week to go.
07:17Absolutely, and here's a little sneak peek of what you might see.
07:21On Thursday, the 4th of July, six weeks of hard campaigning for this year's general election
07:27will be over. You will have cast your vote on who you want to run our country. KMTV's
07:34exclusive 12-hour live election programme will bring you all the action from across
07:39every Kent count. The constituencies that really matter to you. The Kent Politics Show
07:46Election 2024 special, live and exclusive on KMTV and Kent Online. Make sure you're
07:53there when Kent decides.
07:58Thursday 10pm, well a week on Thursday 10pm, looking forward to that. But in other news,
08:03a swarm of bees has led to Canterbury's Primark being evacuated today, forcing the whole store
08:08to close for several hours. This afternoon, a beekeeper arrived to tackle the swarm, which
08:13clustered around a hanging basket outside, causing a lot of people to stop what they
08:17were doing and stare as a cordon was being set up. The beekeeper managed to subdue the
08:22swarm by containing the queen of the hive in a cardboard box, whilst the workers followed
08:27suit. Despite this, many insects were still seen flying around outside the Whitefriars
08:32area. Now, pride flags and banners have been flying high in Maidstone as the town is celebrating
08:40after holding its first ever Pride Festival. The event, which will now be held annually,
08:45was organised by only three people, led by 13-year-old Kitty Eales. She says the goal
08:51of the celebration is to bring some much needed LGBTQ plus representation and inclusivity
08:57to Maidstone, as Henry Lark has been finding out.
09:00It's been a day to remember for Maidstone, as the town celebrated its first ever Pride
09:06Festival. Starting off with a parade towards Jubilee Square, the party was then taken to
09:12the Loch Meadow, where visitors were treated to performances from a variety of LGBTQ plus
09:20artists. Well, as you can see behind me, Maidstone's first ever Pride is absolutely packed. And
09:27while it literally rained on their parade earlier, it hasn't stopped them from bringing
09:32their own rainbow and sunshine to the town.
09:36Maidstone Pride was made possible because of a small group of young people with a £2,000
09:41grant from the Borough Council. Maidstone Pride's founder is only 13 years old.
09:47Me and my mum went to London Pride and on the train back I asked why was there a Maidstone
09:53Pride and my mum said she wasn't sure. And it was a shame to me that they hadn't already
09:59had one and that Maidstone didn't have that sense of inclusivity or diversity that other
10:03towns did.
10:04Pride festivals are about bringing a sense of love and belonging to the LGBTQ plus community.
10:11And then there's the all important question on whether or not the turnout met expectations.
10:16I expected it to be exactly like this. A lot more people turned up than I thought would.
10:21I thought a lot of people would turn up, but just more than I thought would actually happen
10:27and the parade went very well.
10:28Where we could have Maidstone Pride was pretty hard, so there was a lot of debate where we
10:32could have it.
10:33We finally settled on Loch Meadow, which I think is a good venue.
10:36I asked visitors about the importance of Maidstone's First Pride.
10:40I think it's really good, because there's not, especially in Maidstone, there's not
10:46a lot of acceptance for people a lot of the time.
10:52I think it's very important, especially with the parade, because people get to kind of
11:02see that queer people are humans.
11:06Because it's not always known as the most accepted community in Maidstone, so it's
11:11even better to have Pride event here.
11:15I think it's really lovely that Maidstone's actually doing this for once.
11:20It's like, well, I've seen so many Prides going on in other places, but never here.
11:24It looks like Maidstone Pride will be looking to stay, with supporters waiting eagerly for
11:30next year's celebrations.
11:32Henry Luck for Keen TV in Maidstone.
11:37Now it's time for a quick break, but coming up, a Kent wellbeing charity speaks on the
11:42importance of mental health and how they can promote the important issue through the love
11:46And a school in Maidstone has taken a creative approach to school dinners, as a carriage
11:50from a train comes to the school grounds.
11:52All that and more after this break.
12:16Thank you.
12:46Thank you.
13:16Thank you.
13:46Thank you.
14:16Thank you.
14:46Thank you.
14:48Thank you.
14:50Thank you.
14:52Thank you.
15:16Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live here on Keen TV.
15:18now ahead of England's final group stage match in Euro 2024 this evening, one Kent charity
15:23knows football is so much more than a beautiful game. Head in the Game offers six to 12 week
15:28programmes to improve mental fitness and to help relieve the pressures of life. Its CEO
15:33and founder Mike Pinckney says the service could be the first portico for those who struggle
15:38to talk about their mental health.
15:41The idea behind the 12 weeks is to, as I said, is to get people out there and talking. Anyone
15:47can come along, don't need to have a mental health diagnosis, but quite often it's people
15:51who, yeah, know that something's wrong, know that they need to talk to somebody and Head
15:56in the Game provides a really good bridge to actually, maybe I'll give this a go first
16:03because I might be able to improve my mental health if I come to these sessions before
16:07the need to go and see the doctor.
16:11Now don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging
16:15on to our website kmtv.co.uk. There you'll find all our reports including this one about
16:20how a Medway animal charity played a huge part in getting the legislation through to
16:24make it mandatory to microchip cats.
16:28The Medway charity that turned a dream into legislation. Natasha and her partner Dee started
16:34Animals Lost and Found in Kent after their cat went missing. They've played a crucial
16:39role in making microchipping cats mandatory across the UK and the legislation came into
16:45force this week.
16:48This is where it all began for Dee and Natasha ten years ago in their mission to help rescue
16:52and protect cats right across Medway and Kent. But it's been in the last six years where
16:57they've really been pushing that all cats in the UK get microchipped. Currently about
17:0225% aren't, but they hope with this new legislation those numbers will start to change.
17:09I mean we're only a small cog in a massive part of a massive machine that's actually
17:14made this work. Then when it came to the, how strongly we felt about the microchipping
17:20legislation and it needing to be changed to cats too, we did get a bit of a back from
17:26it but people saying actually you can't govern this, it's not going to work and dogs are
17:31bigger than cats and you know cats are free roamers and what about the feral? If your
17:35cat is chipped, it comes home. It's as simple as that because you don't own the animal,
17:39you own the chip. It's exactly the same really technically as a car and a log book. You're
17:45the log book, not the car.
17:46And if you're not logging your pet, well you could face a fine of up to £500. National
17:52charity Cats Protection say the deterrent is working, despite record numbers of animals
17:57being rescued and microchipping being a challenge to police.
18:02This isn't about trying to fine people or make money from people. This is more about
18:06trying to encourage people and show how important it is that they have their cats microchipped.
18:11So I think when people are found to not have their cats microchipped, they'll be given
18:15a notice and have 21 days to go to the vet and get their cat microchipped and this will
18:21cost between, depending where you are in the country, £20 and £30.
18:25And that money means volunteers like Natasha can check on any lost or injured cats.
18:30So you have to really go over the entire animal. I always start here and I go down and then
18:37I go down the other side and I do it slowly. I go in with the mindset of there's a chip
18:41there, I need to find it. Where some people just go, oh they're not checked. It's not
18:46good enough. I always try really hard and all our volunteers try really hard to make
18:50sure that that animal is scanned properly and thoroughly.
18:53Unlike dogs at eight weeks, cats must be microchipped and registered by the time they're 20 weeks
18:59old, with contact details stored and kept up to date in an approved database.
19:04And just like the paw prints in the concrete when this place was built, Natasha's push
19:09for this legislation is now cemented in the heart of what they do.
19:13Abbey Hook for KMTV in Medway.
19:18Now we're being urged to reduce the risk of emergencies this summer by taking care in
19:22the sun. Kent Fire and Rescue Service has launched its Make for Rights Call safety campaign
19:28which aims to inform people of which emergency services to call in certain situations, such
19:33as in the event of a wildfire or when finding yourself out at sea. Vicky Board from the
19:38service gave us this update.
19:41So during the summer months, the temperatures can cause the ground to be extremely dry,
19:46which increases the risk of grass and wildfires. So we're just asking people to help us reduce
19:52those types of incidents. And there's several things people can do. So disposing of smoke
19:58and cooking materials responsibly. Don't throw them on the ground. Keeping barbecues well
20:03away from any greenery, any fence lines, any properties and making sure that they're cold.
20:09If they're a disposable barbecue, they're completely cold before they're disposed of
20:13in a bin. And supervise any bonfires and barbecues that you have.
20:20Well, with that in mind, let's take a look at the weather.
20:28Now, going into this evening, there's going to be mild temperatures of 17 across Kent
20:32and as well, clear skies all around. Now, Wednesday morning shows warmer weather towards
20:38the north and west of the county, but slightly colder in the east towards Margate. Coming
20:42into the afternoon, expect some clouds, but mostly sunny spells across the board with
20:47highs of 27 degrees in Maidstone. Enjoy it whilst it lasts, because here's a look at
20:50the outlook. Temperatures peaking at 27 Thursday while cooling down to 22 on the weekend.
20:58Now, it's time for your pick of the papers, taking a look at what's making the headlines
21:07in Kent's newspapers online and radio. Earlier, I was joined by our reporter, Jack Darkin
21:13to tell us about a rescue operation littering on a seaside and the importance of CPR.
21:20So, Jack, what's your first story for us this evening?
21:23So, my first story is firefighters from Kent and Rescue, they successfully rescued a bull
21:27named Notorious. He ended up getting trapped into a ditch. The rescue operation, it took
21:30place in Tunbridge and it was very complex. It took quite a few hours to rescue this bull
21:35and as you can see here, firefighters, they worked to ensure that he could be safely released
21:39as the night fell and a fire service, after the rescue, the fire service contacted Kent
21:45online and they spoke about it and they said that the bull would be back to his normal
21:50Buddhist self in no time.
21:52Your second story, you can see pictures on the screen now. Lots of rubbish, lots of seagulls.
21:59What's going on?
22:00Well, I'll take a guess. It's Folkestone Beach. Basically, after this weekend, after the lovely
22:04sunny weather that we've had and thousands of people visiting it over the weekend, as
22:09you can see, it's been littered. Everyone's left their rubbish behind. You can see disposable
22:12barbecues, crates of beer, glass bottles were amongst the items that have been left and
22:16of course, with rubbish, attracts lots and lots of seagulls. Local residents as well
22:20have been describing it as a bomb site. They've expressed their frustration at a lack of respect
22:24shown by visitors and they're saying that this could be a similar scene every weekend.
22:28Of course, as summer is rolling around the corner, more and more hot weather brings more
22:32and more people, which might bring more and more rubbish.
22:34Yeah, lots of hot weather predicted for this week. Jack, final story for us.
22:38So, a 58-year-old man from Maystone, unfortunately, he had a heart attack while driving home from
22:42lunch with his son. He ended up crashing his car through some railings and into a tree
22:46on a very busy roundabout after he lost consciousness. However, luckily for him, a lady named Lena
22:51Dalton, who's a 29-year-old chemotherapy nurse, and her partner, they ended up witnessing
22:56the accident and they rushed over to help. Thankfully for the man who was involved, Lena,
23:01his CPR qualified and began doing chest compressions on the man. I'd find out he had no pulse and
23:05he wasn't breathing. Also, an off-duty paramedic also arrived on the scene to help them out.
23:11After all this had happened, they managed to get him breathing again and they got him
23:14to William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where he is still in hospital, but he is recovering
23:18quite well now. But it is an incident in times like this where it really places importance
23:22on learning something like CPR, because you'll just never know when you'll need it.
23:26Jack, thank you for bringing us those stories. Thank you.
23:30And finally, when you think about school dinners, what comes to mind? Bland food? Hairnets?
23:37But what about trains? Well, for one school in Maystone, school dinners are set to take
23:42place in a newly transformed train carriage that has been turned into a fully functioning
23:47cafe. Robert Isaacson has the story.
23:52Students at the Five Acre Wood School in Maystone are excited as a train carriage brought onto
23:57their grounds has been transformed into a fully functioning cafe, which is set to open
24:02this September. The project has received backing from several businesses, including the nationwide
24:07coffee house chain Costa Coffee, which has agreed to provide coffee beans and machines
24:11for them to use. Once the cafe opens, older students will be able to prepare, serve and
24:16sell drinks and light snacks to the public. The school also aims to offer quality takeaway
24:22and delivery, as well as an eat-in service. Headteacher Tim Williams is currently planning
24:27the curriculum that will be used alongside the roles in the cafe.
24:31So this is one of my favourite features, one of, not my only, features in the train carriage.
24:36And it's the beautiful timeline of the transformation, but also I work on the project. And you can
24:41see at one end, we've got the initial discussions with Mike Littleboy, chair of Stones in the
24:47Community Trust. And the conversation was very much around, we want to do something
24:51different. I want to have something more than a hut that serves tea and coffee. And Mike
24:57came up with a train carriage. So I love that part of it. And then we go through to August,
25:03where it was craned in, in August 2023, by a specialist team made up of amazing people
25:09from Legacy Rail, Resource Rail, and so on, all the way through to the present time.
25:16And I think what's amazing about this is the timeline will probably grow and we will probably
25:21have more photos and more images in future as the next phases of this project take place.
25:28With the cafe being close to completion and the school working with Costa to give their
25:32managers barista training, the students eagerly look forward to cutting the ribbon on the
25:37cafe's official unveiling on September 27th.
25:41So we had the carriage delivered in August time last year. Work commenced in January
25:46this year, with an aim to have our official opening in September the 27th. So we have
25:53some quite important people coming from Costa Coffee, hopefully the CEO, the BBC, I think
25:59want to come and be involved. There's quite a lot of people here that will be coming here
26:05to see the carriage in its final state from when we started back in January, as I say, this year.
26:12Robert Isaacson for KMTV.
26:16Truly amazing stuff. My school canteen wasn't as interesting as that. What lucky people
26:21they are to have that for their school dinners. Well, that's it this evening on Kent today,
26:26but there's more news made just throughout Kent throughout the evening. I'll be back
26:29at eight o'clock with your Late Bulletin. Don't think there's much else on TV this evening
26:34at eight, is there? So come and join us for that. But in the meantime, you can check out
26:38all other news stories from across the county on Kent Online or our website. And of course,
26:42keep us up to date on social media as well on Facebook and on X. That's all for me. Goodnight.