Join Abby Hook and Bartholomew Hall with all the latest news for Kent, in the morning!
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00:00First, residents of Frognall Lane in Tenham have been repeatedly hit with severe sewage
00:10leaks, flooding their roads and even covering as far as their front doors.
00:15Yes, Southern Water themselves say that the current system could only support 50 additional
00:20homes, so perhaps with 300 homes that could be on the cards, locals worry for the health
00:25of their village, as Fim McDermid has been reporting.
00:29Residents have described it as raw sewage spewing out of their driveways, reaching as
00:34far as their front door.
00:36Ever since 2023, locals living here on Frognall Lane in Tenham have had their roads, showers
00:41and toilets subjected to floods of waste that bubble up from manhole covers and can reach
00:46from house number 39 all the way down to the end of the road.
00:50And with almost 300 more homes on the way as part of the Highstead Park development,
00:54people aren't sure the system will be able to cope.
00:57The smell and sheer amount of it has a disastrous effect on the area, with one discharge lasting
01:02for three days, and it particularly affects the population of elderly and vulnerable people
01:07who live there.
01:08Now, this is probably the worst area on Frognall Lane when it comes to these sewage discharges,
01:12and that's all because these houses here are for people with mobility issues.
01:16So all the bathrooms are on the ground floor.
01:18So when the sewage is pumped up out of the drains, it can come through their toilets
01:22and their showers, completely ruining their homes.
01:26Northern Water, on the other hand, say only 50 more homes could be added to the system
01:30without causing significant damage.
01:32They stated that a recent survey of our sewer network between Tenham and Sittingbourne Wastewater
01:36Treatment Works highlighted the need for upgrades, due to the risk of blockages from ingrowing
01:41tree roots and the build-up of unflushables like wet wipes, fat, oil and grease.
01:45The water company added that they do plan on upgrading the system between now and 2030.
01:50But for residents who have to live with the frequent overflows, they tell me that they
01:53are left with very little hope that their roads, driveways and front doors will remain
01:58free of sewage.
02:00Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tenham.
02:03OK, now a man who killed his father in a drunken argument at just 18 years old back in 2003
02:11has spoken out for the first time, sharing his story and message with Kent Online in
02:16an exclusive interview.
02:17Well, he hopes that by doing this, he can bring awareness to those who are released
02:21from prison and end up re-offending just to find shelter and food.
02:25Well, to tell us more about this story is Kristen Hawthorne.
02:28Kristen, an extraordinary exclusive that's made it to Kent Online this morning, a story
02:32that we don't tend to hear.
02:33What can you tell us?
02:34Yes, so, Luke Onyut murdered his alcoholic father in 2003.
02:43He was 18 at the time.
02:44He stabbed his father, who was a bodybuilder, called Michael Onyut, so same second name,
02:51you know, all this here.
02:54He doesn't fully remember the incident and he was given a slightly less on his prison
03:01sentence just because of the amount of stuff he went through as a child.
03:05Apparently, his mother abandoned him and his father was an alcoholic.
03:09By the time Luke was about 18, he was deemed an alcoholic as well, so he was spending time
03:14with older men and stuff and this is what happened.
03:17This is the house that it happened in as well, as you can see on screen now, as well
03:21as some older pictures and stuff as well.
03:26But he was being released from prison and now he's just noticing that there is a large
03:29struggle with people re-offending, not able to find jobs, therefore they can't find shelter
03:36and they can't find a home and then just to get a bit warmer, then they end up going back
03:40to prison.
03:41So, he's hoping to change a few things for sure.
03:44Yes, it's really interesting and we can actually hear from him.
03:47We have a short clip to play.
03:49So, there is no support for people in terms of when you're, you know, yeah, it's about
03:56the strength up there.
03:57If you haven't got that strength because there is people that are just kicked down to the
04:01streets and then they, you know, people criticise people and say that, oh, we'll end up back
04:04in prison.
04:05But, the thing is, you've got to realise that this man has got no help, no support, nothing.
04:12There's no helping hand whatsoever, so therefore there's no roof over his head, he's freezing
04:16cold, he's probably sleeping outside Tesco's or whatnot and then you sit there and criticise
04:20him for going back to prison.
04:22Yeah, and obviously he's calling for some of that support.
04:25What kind of support is he asking for?
04:27He thinks that there should be more money put into food banks for re-offenders, so,
04:32you know, they're able to find food a little bit easier.
04:35He thinks that, you know, there should be better things with, well, he himself struggles
04:40with guilt but he says that he should keep moving forward and if more money was put into
04:43food banks and helping people find houses and more support for ex-prisoners in general,
04:49you know, finding jobs and sort of alleviating that stigma that comes along with a lot of
04:54these issues, he just thinks that there should be more support in general and, yeah, I mean
04:59he was 18 when he did it, he was in a bad position so he just thinks that there should
05:03be more support in place for people who have been put in difficult positions like this.
05:10Richard Branson's Virgin Group says it's been given the green signal to operate trains
05:15through the Channel Tunnel which could see an end to Eurostar's monopoly.
05:19Despite no commitment at this stage, Ashford MP Sojan Joseph has told us the company is
05:24interested in bringing services back to Kent.
05:27Well, it's been five years since trains to Europe stopped at Kent's two international
05:31stations.
05:32Oliver Leader de Sacks has been finding out if this could mean a return to normal service.
05:37Full steam ahead.
05:40That's the message from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group who are looking to establish
05:46a service to run through the Channel Tunnel and compete with Eurostar.
05:52The green signal comes after a ruling from the Office of Rail and Road who say some capacity
05:59at Eurostar's Temple Mills maintenance depot in London could be made available to other
06:07operators.
06:08A depot for storing and maintaining trains is considered a necessity for running services
06:15on the line, though there's still no confirmation whether cross-continent travel will return
06:23to the county.
06:24We want to see more really.
06:26It's great that there has been this commitment to allowing the trains to utilise the maintenance
06:33yard, which is obviously a major hurdle for the train operators to overcome.
06:39But as it currently stands, you know, there's still that we're missing that commitment to
06:44say trains will be stopping at Ashford, trains will be stopping at Ebbsfleet.
06:49Eurostar trains have not stopped in Kent since 2020, despite tens of thousands signing a
06:55petition calling for the return of services.
06:59Even the county's politicians have tried getting rail links back on track, speaking
07:05to both Eurostar and Virgin.
07:08The work will be completed on the day it stops in Ashford, but it is good news that more
07:15and more operators, you've probably heard about another operator, Gemini, recently came
07:21out and they want to operate as well.
07:24So there is a huge market.
07:27This is the future travel method, the train travelling to Europe.
07:32So I'm very positive, especially after meeting with Virgin a few weeks ago, I'm very positive
07:41that they are considering Ashford as one of their stops.
07:44Eurostar says the depot is effectively full for major maintenance work and would need
07:50investment to meet the demand for international rail.
07:54But while there are no guarantees yet, a return ticket for continental travel is more
08:02realistic now than it has been for a long time.
08:07Oliver Leader, The Sacks, for KMTV.
08:12Now Nigel Farage has told KMTV that Kent needs a Trump-style Department of Efficiency to
08:18sort out the financial woes it faces as he launches the party's local election campaign.
08:24Speaking on a visit to Hive yesterday, he says there's been mismanagement with finances
08:29at a county council level for decades.
08:32While polling predicts that Reform UK could win a majority this May, but their political
08:37campaigning has been consistently focused nationally rather than on local policies.
08:42Local Democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has been speaking with Nigel Farage and a warning
08:46his report contains some flashing images.
08:50Many say he's one of the most controversial figures in British politics.
08:55Others say he says what he thinks.
08:58Regardless, Nigel Farage and Hive launching Reform UK's Kent County Council election campaign.
09:05His supporters dominating the town.
09:07I'm not manhandling you mate.
09:08You are manhandling me.
09:09I'm just wanting to say hello to our lovely politicians.
09:12But his critics weren't far either.
09:15Kent County Council has almost always been conservative, but come the 1st of May, polling
09:20suggests that Nigel Farage's Reform party could take control.
09:24He's a well-spoken man, isn't he?
09:27I think he'd do well.
09:29We just think that what we've got is rubbish at this moment in time.
09:33We think we've been, you know, as old people, we've been taken for a ride.
09:39I think he does care about giving the people here their local autonomy and hopefully that
09:44will be for the best.
09:46But not everyone was blown away.
09:48Not him though.
09:49Why not him?
09:50Nah, I don't like him.
09:52I don't think it's a real benefit for Kent.
09:58It's difficult to tell.
09:59You hear a story and then there's nothing, and then there's a big story and then nothing.
10:07Reform UK's policies have traditionally been extremely national.
10:11If they were to take control of KCC, they'd have very little to do with these campaign
10:16slogans.
10:17But rather, Mr Farage's party would be facing spiralling adult social care bills.
10:23We're stood in front of your battle bus, three slogans there.
10:27None of those really link to local councils.
10:30So what are you standing for on a local council level?
10:32There are two things here.
10:33Never forget, with even a county election, the national issues still count.
10:39Here we are, 2,000 young men arrived through Dover in eight days just recently.
10:46So OK, not directly a Kent County Council issue, although of course the knock-on for
10:49child services etc. is very real.
10:53So don't forget national issues, they are relevant.
10:56I just think when one party is in power for too long, it needs a shake-up, it needs a
11:00change.
11:01What are you going to do then?
11:02Well, we're going to come in and fix it.
11:03We're going to come in with a fresh mindset, we're going to bring our own form of doge,
11:07which you've seen in America, to Kent.
11:10Get rid of excess, stop wasting money.
11:12At the Maidstone rally last night, he used much of his speech to talk about one of his
11:20party's key policies, immigration.
11:23But sprinkled in that some details about what a reform UK Kent County Council could look
11:30like.
11:31In some highly highlighted ways, he believes money hasn't been spent efficiently in the
11:37past.
11:38They might have put pyros on for members tonight and they hope to cause fireworks on May 1st.
11:44But can reform UK, a party which stands to such national issues, defeat voters at the
11:51election?
11:52David Morris in Maidstone.