Kent Tonight - Tuesday 30th July 2024
Catch up with all the latest news across your county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:29I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Tuesday 30th July.
00:34Burning a hole in your pocket, can extra trains and hot weather boost Kent businesses?
00:40The town gets very busy, the beach is very busy. I think for the pub it will do very
00:44well.
00:45Shooting for the stars, Team GB's third Olympic gold medal secured by trap shooter from Chatham.
00:52A second chance for people and pets, Dogs Trust urging more to foster for those fleeing
00:58domestic violence.
01:00Knowledge that their pet will be safe and looked after and loved is sometimes the final
01:08piece of the puzzle to enable someone to leave that dangerous situation.
01:23Well it's finally starting to feel like summer in Kent after quite a lot of wet, cold and
01:27miserable weather. But this week's potential heat wave has prompted a yellow heat health
01:32alert. Temperatures were predicted to reach highs of 32 degrees here in the south east
01:38and the UK Health Security Agency is warning of the risks to the elderly and those with
01:42health conditions. To add to the mix, thunderstorms expected on Thursday.
01:46Finn McDermott sent us this report.
01:51Well no one can deny that this whole summer has been quite mild and quite cold. But that
01:57is not going to last with a potential heat wave on the horizon. Parts of the south east
02:02have been reaching temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius. Now down here in Kent we're
02:07not going to officially classify it as a heat wave until it reaches a certain level. That's
02:13a three day period of continued heat at a temperature of above 25 degrees. That's when
02:18we can start to call it a heat wave. We're also going to potentially be seeing some extreme
02:23weather events such as a thunderstorm potentially on Thursday evening and a yellow weather heat
02:29warning has been issued. Now this type of warning issued by the UK Health Security Office
02:36means that those vulnerable people among us, so children, the elderly and those with underlying
02:41health conditions should take extra special care to remain inside and hydrated during
02:48the more severe periods of heat. Now I'm not qualified to give specific health advice other
02:53than advising you to potentially close your windows from sun facing parts of your house.
02:59But someone who is qualified is Ellen Schwartz, the director of public health for Kent.
03:05If you do go out, protect your head, wear a hat, use some sunscreen because this sun
03:13is really strong. The risk is that we're kind of losing strength, developing some severe
03:21weakness, pain, heart problems can occur, lung problems can occur, even heart attacks
03:30can happen as a result of heat. Now Ellen also advised forward thinking. That means
03:36that the periods of heat where the sun is the worst would be 11am to 3pm. So try to
03:42plan excursions to the shops or the pharmacy around that time, making sure you're staying
03:48nice and hydrated. She also advised keeping a bottle of water on you at all times, especially
03:53in long car journeys. Now down here in Medway it is certainly hot, but the warm weather
03:59is especially good along the coastal towns, Herne Bay, Margate and Whitstable. So much
04:05so that Southeastern Railway have decided to allot extra trains to travel down from
04:11London, and this is going to be a big boost to local businesses, and I found out more
04:16in my report.
04:18With the wet weather seemingly behind us and heat on the horizon, it's little surprise
04:22that people want to get down to the beach. Southeastern Railways have responded with
04:26additional services between London Bridge and Ramsgate, allowing for direct links to
04:30the coast. Southeastern Railways have responded with additional services between London Bridge
04:35and Ramsgate, allowing for direct links to the coast. Towns like Whitstable, Herne Bay,
04:39Margate and Broadstairs will become part of the permanent two and a half hour trip across
04:43the coast. The choice by Southeastern was intended to be a boost to the southeast's
04:48tourism industry, which they've already provided in part with extra late night services from
04:52Margate to support music events over the summer.
04:55One of our trains going down towards the coast can carry about 800 passengers. Not only does
05:00that support local businesses, it also takes a lot of cars off the roads. We know that
05:05with Operation Brock and people heading down to the port of Dover, it can be a bit of a
05:09nightmare to drive around and to travel down to the coast by car, but travelling by train,
05:14air conditioning, which is really important for a day like this, and like I say, if we're
05:18taking some cars off the roads, we're supporting the environment as well.
05:22With the main route to these coastal towns currently being the M2 and A299 motorways,
05:27which can be prone to traffic and roadworks, the new trains hope to ease the pressure,
05:31both on the roads and the environment.
05:35In Whitstable, where the oyster trade reigns supreme and people flock to the ocean when
05:39the sun comes out, local businesses seem excited at the prospect.
05:43Everyone loves coming down, especially from when I've driven back from my dad's house
05:47back into Whitstable. The motorway really builds up and then the town gets very busy,
05:53the beach is very busy. I think for the pub it'll do very well. It'll bring more of an
05:57incentive for people to come, knowing they're going to be running more frequently. So yeah,
06:02I think that'll definitely improve tourism, hopefully make it busier and bring a bit more
06:07business for the new inn.
06:08The new inn is just one of the many local businesses that require high foot traffic
06:12around the area to turn a profit. So many hope the coming heatwave will boost tourism
06:17along the coast.
06:18We'll get out as much as possible, enjoy the breeze, the nice breeze up the sea.
06:25People with kids maybe who are off, yeah, I think so, probably more than a regular Tuesday.
06:31The schools are on holiday, it's a wonderful opportunity for them to use these first really
06:37summer days for this year.
06:39The poor weather so far this summer and the upcoming heatwaves may mean the additional
06:42trains allow businesses along Kent's coast to capitalise fully on the good weather.
06:47Finn MacDermid for KMTV.
06:50Next tonight, police are investigating after a man was reportedly stabbed and two others
06:55injured in Dover. Emergency services were called to Big Inn Street at 9am on Saturday
07:01to a disturbance involving a group of people known to each other. It was reported that
07:05one man had been assaulted and received a minor injury and later that a second man had
07:10been stabbed with a small bladed instrument. Police are linking this to another incident
07:15in the High Street just before 6pm that evening, urging anyone with CCTV footage to come forward.
07:23Now the soldier attacked in Gillingham near Brompton Barracks last week is still in a
07:27serious condition. Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teton was stabbed at Sally Court Gardens
07:32around 6pm last Tuesday while in his uniform. 24-year-old Anthony Essin has since been arrested
07:39and charged with attempted murder. You can see him on screen there. A police spokesman
07:43said in an update today that the soldier remains in a serious but stable condition.
07:50Now to Paris, and Team GB's third gold medal has been secured by Chatham's very own Nathan
07:57Hales who smashed the Olympics record in men's trap shooting after beating out some very
08:02stiff competition. Well, to tell us about that and more about Kent's athletes at the
08:06Games I'm joined now by Alex Skaith. Alex, this is quite a remarkable achievement.
08:12This is an incredible achievement. He beat the previous record by five hits. He got the
08:18first gold in shooting since 2012 and this is very important, he got the first gold in
08:23this particular competition since 1968. It's such a remarkable achievement. His name is
08:29Nathan Hales, he is from Chatham. He managed to beat out China's Shi Yang and Guatemala's
08:37Jean-Pierre Boros-Cardenas. Here you can see now the moment where he managed to beat the
08:42record and score victory and get a gold and that must have been just such a wonderful
08:47feeling. You can't imagine the emotions. We sit in the newsroom and we watch all these
08:50athletes competing and securing their wins and you just see the emotion on screen. It's
08:56quite impeccable. One of the things about it is what's probably contributing so much
09:00to that emotion, this is his Olympic debut. This is the first time he's been on the stage
09:04and I think to do something so remarkable, to make such a big achievement on your first
09:09time on the world's biggest stage, I think that's quite incredible. And someone else
09:13that will be feeling the nerves, the pressure and also the excitement, another one of our
09:17Kent athletes. So this is Georgia May Fenton. She is a gymnast. Recently last Sunday she
09:25managed to help Team GB get to the finals of the Women's Artistic Gymnastics. It wasn't
09:33a perfect performance, there were a few wobbles for sure, but what's most important is that
09:38she managed to make it to the finals. Now she is also a debutant for the Olympics. She
09:43said that she wasn't nervous her first time, which I can't imagine personally myself. I
09:47think you would be feeling the nerves. Not the gymnast in you, Alex. Not the gymnast
09:51in me. So I think it's a really remarkable achievement. Now she was the highest scorer
09:56during her team's routine with 41.966 and she's going to be competing by herself at
10:02the Women's All-Around final later this week. So good luck to her. And that team competition
10:08just started about 15 or so, 15-20 minutes ago. So we'll have more on that tomorrow and
10:14throughout the week. But another Kent athlete. Another Kent athlete, another Olympic debutant.
10:19So this is Isla Norman-Bell. She is 24 years old. She was competing in the Women's Rugby
10:25Sevens. Here you can see her on screen now. This was her debut. She scored this wonderful
10:31try against the Republic of Ireland. On your Olympic debut to kind of mark yourself out
10:39on the world's biggest stage, I mean it must have been an incredible achievement. Now unfortunately
10:45it didn't all go as wonderfully as this. Later in the day they managed to lose to Australia.
10:50Now they were the Rugby Sevens World Champions. There's no shame in that. And then they went
10:54on to lose to the USA earlier today. They lost to China which was very unfortunate.
11:02But you know, she's acquitted herself wonderfully on the stage. I mean to be an Olympic debutant
11:07and I think she can feel very proud of her achievements even if the team didn't get as
11:11far as they may have wanted. Definitely. And the team, they're about seventh or eighth
11:15now. What are they going to place? They're going to be competing later this week for
11:20seventh or eighth. So they're going to be either playing France or replaying Ireland.
11:24So she's probably hoping for another try. Usually she's more of a creative player but
11:28she probably wants to snatch some of the glory for herself and why wouldn't you, you know.
11:33Amazing. Alex, thank you very much for those details. Plenty more to come the rest of this
11:36week and the rest of a summer full of sport over in Paris. Alex, thank you very much.
11:42Well, we'll be supporting all of our Kent athletes as well. Good luck to Georgia Mae
11:45Fenton this evening. Well, it's time for a short break but coming up more news from
11:49across Kent. See you then.
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15:13Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
15:16The Dogs Trust have launched a new freedom scheme working with people who are fleeing
15:21domestic violence. Set up, they say, because of the increasing numbers of those not seeking help
15:26because they fear leaving pets behind. The Trust take care of the dogs or pets for up to nine
15:32months while more permanent accommodation can be found. With the increase in referrals,
15:37they're asking for more to welcome these pets into their home. Daisy Page reports.
15:4295% of professionals who help those facing domestic abuse say that some survivors won't
15:48leave without knowing their pet would be safe. But many refuges and shelters don't allow pets
15:54and the Dogs Trust say this is another barrier to finding freedom. It's a scheme led by the
15:59charity providing foster care for dogs whose owners may be in emergency or temporary accommodation,
16:05especially for those fleeing domestic violence. With a rise in referrals being made, they are
16:11urging more people to welcome a dog into their home. The knowledge that their pet will be safe
16:18and looked after and loved is sometimes the final piece of the puzzle to enable someone to leave
16:25that dangerous situation. And whilst they're with us, it's a completely free service. So the
16:31survivors don't have, you know, we cover all of the veterinary fees, we provide all of the food,
16:36provide all of the equipment, and that goes for the foster carers as well. So it's a completely
16:40free service for both sides. So you can have that joy of having a dog for around six to nine months
16:46without that, the financial commitment, the lifelong commitment of, you know, potentially
16:5014 years for a dog. And for volunteers, it can benefit their own mental wellbeing too. And this
16:55is not the only reason why there has been a call for more people to foster animals in Kent. I'm
16:59here at the Second Chance Animal Rescue to find out why animals are being brought to them. Lots of
17:05animals are brought to us. Either somebody's died and the family have got nowhere for the animals
17:12to go. A lot of it, especially post lockdown, is the cost. So we've had reptiles in because
17:23the electricity went up and a lot of people are finding it quite difficult to feed the animals now.
17:32We understand people have to, sometimes circumstances are they have to get rid of
17:39their animals. And we're quite understanding. We don't always ask for the circumstances.
17:47Founded in 2011, this rescue centre takes in animals where they have space. With the work of
17:53volunteers, they work on rehoming pets, caring for long-term residents, and rehabilitating animals
17:58back to the wild. Working from donations, they have helped a variety of species from cats,
18:03horses and rabbits. Charities in Kent are working to bring a second chance to both people and their
18:09pets. Daisy Page for KMTV. Well, it's time now for your pick of the papers, taking a look at
18:16what's making the headlines in Kent's newspapers, online and radio. Let's talk about children
18:21centres at risk, speed limit reductions in sheerness and Maidstone's nature recovery
18:26declaration. It's all about butterflies. I was joined earlier by Jessica Hulks.
18:32Suggest your first story for us this evening about the uncertainty of two new hubs for children.
18:38Yeah, two children centres face uncertainty due to Kent County Council withdrawing £400,000
18:45of funding. So that's Millmead in Margate and Seashells in Sheerness, the two at risk,
18:51which could result in dozens of people losing their jobs and obviously access to important
18:55hubs for children. The council has complained for years that they can't carry out statutory
19:01obligations because of government funding and stuff being high priced. So everything
19:08altogether just meant they had to cut in certain areas and this was their choice. In order to save
19:14Millmead, it would cost up to £250,000, which is like over half of their original funding. So
19:22Millmead manager Jan Collins said, I understand why this is happening, but I cannot and will not
19:27accept depleting these services in areas of high poverty. And that is why I am encouraging as many
19:33people as possible to respond to the public consultation before it's too late. And a local
19:38issue in Sheerness plans to reduce speed limits. Yeah, in Marine Parade in Sheerness, they're
19:45planning to reduce the speed limit from 40 to 30 miles per hour after it now being labelled as an
19:52accident black spot, because two people in the past five years have been killed there,
19:58unfortunately, a 20-year-old pedestrian and a 77-year-old woman. And they hope it will reduce
20:05accidents and obviously keep the safety of everyone up. But they do want to, lots of the
20:12public are calling for speed cameras to be put in place. People are complaining that those need to
20:16be put in place for people to actually adhere to the laws that they want to put in. And your final
20:21story for us, Jess, Nature Recovery Declaration, one's been made in Maidstone, but it's also
20:27with butterflies. Yes, due to the fact that butterfly numbers are a record low here in the UK,
20:34Councillor Tony Harwood specifically was brought to light that things need to be done. Basically,
20:40he said, Maidstone cannot save the world, but we can become a powerful local champion for nature
20:46recovery. And he really has been pushing for this to go forward so that we can be more
20:52mindful. So that includes stuff like providing more spaces for nature, improving existing nature
20:57spaces, embedding local nature recovery into all strategic plans and policy areas and things like
21:02that. And I spoke to him earlier to talk more about it. We need nature to survive. And without life,
21:08there's no policy, there's no dustbins collected, there's no grass mown, there is nothing. So I
21:14think the bottom line is that this is absolutely fundamental to what Maidstone Council and all
21:21other public sector bodies do. And it's got to inform everything. So we carry on doing the stuff
21:30we do. But the way we do it has got to be less harmful to nature. There are some of your latest
21:38headlines. And earlier in the programme, we were talking about the ongoing yellow heat health alert
21:42with some parts of Kent experiencing highs of up to 32 degrees and a thunderstorm coming on Thursday.
21:48So let's take a look at the full forecast across the county for the coming days.
21:58This evening, pretty mild across the county, cloudy right across Kent, lows of 19, highs of 20.
22:05By the morning, some wet weather coming into parts of the county,
22:08some sunshine peeking through the clouds, highs of 22. By the afternoon,
22:12drying up and warming up to highs of 25 in most of Kent. And here's your outlook for
22:19the county as well. Thursday, that thunderstorm. Friday, warm. Saturday, slightly cooler.
22:24Now, don't forget, you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging
22:28onto our website. It's kmtv.co.uk. There, you'll find all our reports, including this one about a
22:35national singing sensation taking to the local stage. It's not every day you get to meet the
22:41winner of the UK's most popular talent competition, but it's not every day you get to meet the winner
22:47of the UK's most popular talent competition, but it's not every day you get to meet the winner of
22:51the UK's most popular talent competition. Gravesend's Sydney Christmas stole the hearts
22:56of TV viewers across Kent when she sang her rendition of Tomorrow From Annie in her first
23:01audition. Before going on to win the whole thing. What have these past few months been like for you?
23:16Crazy. Mental. I feel like a rocket has been set off and I haven't come down yet, which is amazing.
23:25I mean, you've said in other interviews that Britain's Got Talent was kind of like your last
23:28shot. I mean, thinking back to that decision to apply and to go for Britain's Got Talent,
23:33you must be so thankful that you did it. I am so thankful that I got brave because I was on and off
23:40trying to get on BGT for about four years. So you have to go back and forth sending videos and
23:47apply and things like that. And I kept pulling out the process because I was frightened. And I was
23:52like, if this goes wrong, this is going to ruin my career. And that's when I think I was brave enough
23:57to go, well, why not? I've got nothing to lose now. I got told I could go in front of the judges. So I
24:02was like, okay, got accepted. Let's actually do it this time. The whole of Kent seemed like they
24:08were behind you. They heard you were from Gravesend. They heard you could sing amazingly,
24:11and they saw that golden buzzer and they followed you right through to the end. I mean,
24:14did you expect that much support from your hometown? No, absolutely not. So what I can do
24:21and give back and say thanks is come home for Christmas, come back to Dartford because I'm
24:26from Gravesend. So everybody near and far in Kent, come and see us. Now, just weeks on from that
24:34fateful day, it's back to her home county where she'll be performing as Fairy Christmas in this
24:39year's Orchard Theatre, Dartford pantomime production of Sleeping Beauty. Even when I was
24:44young, all my friends were getting in panto. I couldn't book it. And then the last time I went
24:52to a panto audition was about three years ago. Then I went back to Starlight and then,
24:57yeah, I'm living my panto dream. I've ticked it off. Yeah, you're giving something back to
25:02your younger self as well. Absolutely. We've done it, Sid. We've got into a panto. The Orchard
25:07Theatre West, as it's known, is a temporary theatre preparing to stage its second and hopefully last
25:13pantomime before the company moves back into the original Orchard West building, which was closed
25:19after rack concrete was found last year. Kind of supporting the industry as well? 100%. This is
25:24fantastic. This is amazing. I'm so impressed. I think everyone's going to love it. I used to go
25:30to the Orchard to watch pantomimes when I was young. So it's really good to now be a part of it,
25:38the Orchard West. But you know what I mean. There's still lots of magic to do before audiences
25:43pack in here for some pantomime fun. And with an album on the way, plus a royal variety performance
25:49still to prepare for, it's clear the Christmas season has arrived. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV
25:56in Dartford. We've had some serious stars on the show tonight, from the Olympics to
26:02Sydney Christmas there. Impressive stuff from her, and performing in Dartford very soon. Only six
26:07months to go till Christmas now. Well, just before we go, it's Carnival Week at Howlett's Wild Animal
26:13Park in Canterbury. At the park, there are various carnivorous animals, big and small, from familiar
26:18sights like lions, leopards and tigers, to the uncommon like servals, which are wild cats native
26:24to Africa. There will also be educational talks on at the park for those who wish to learn more
26:29about the animals' lives as well. Well, that's all we've got time for this evening. You've been
26:34watching Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV. There's, of course, more news made just for Kent throughout
26:40the evening. We'll be back at 8pm with your News Bulletin. That's all from me for now. Bye-bye.