Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader de Saxe
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite, live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Oliver, leader of the sacks and here are your top stories on Monday the 31st of March.
00:34Farage at large. Reformer UK leader says Kent County Council needs cuts.
00:41Dodging the bill, Staplehurst restaurant caught in alleged dine and dash.
00:48And all aboard as green signal given to Eurostar rival.
00:53Well, first tonight, Nigel Farage has exclusively told KMTV that Kent needs a Trump-style department
01:03of efficiency to sort out the financial woes it faces as he launches the party's local election
01:09campaign. Speaking on a visit to Hythe this morning, he says there's been mismanagement
01:14with finances at a county level for decades. Polling predicts that Reform UK could win a
01:20majority this May, but the political campaign has consistently been focused nationally rather
01:26than on local policies. Local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has more and a warning, this report
01:32contains flashing images. Many say he's one of the most controversial figures in British politics.
01:41Others say he says what he thinks. Regardless, Nigel Farage and Hythe launching Reform UK's
01:48Kent County Council election campaign this morning, starting by greeting different business
01:54owners on the high street. Hello, we're here bob-handed. Hello, how are you? Very well indeed.
02:01His supporters dominating the town. I'm not mud-handling you, mate. You are mud-handling me.
02:06I'm just wanting to say hello to our lovely politicians. But his critics weren't far either.
02:12Kent County Council has almost always been conservative, but come the 1st of May,
02:16polling suggests that Nigel Farage's Reform party could take control.
02:21Speaking to voters here in the high street, they're seeming very optimistic.
02:26He's a well-spoken man, isn't he? I think he'd do well.
02:31We just think that what we've got is rubbish at this moment in time. We think we've been,
02:36you know, as old people, we've been taken for a ride.
02:40I think he does care about giving the people here their local autonomy and hopefully that
02:46will be for the best. But not everyone was blown away.
02:50Not him though. Why not him?
02:52Nah, I don't like him. I don't think it's a real benefit for Kent.
03:00It's difficult to tell. You hear a story and then there's nothing.
03:05And then there's a big story and then nothing. Reform UK's policies have traditionally been
03:11extremely national. If they were to take control of KCC,
03:15they'd have very little to do with these campaign slogans.
03:19But rather, Mr Farage's party would be facing spiralling adult social care bills
03:25and increasing numbers of parents trying to get high needs funding for their children
03:29with special educational needs.
03:31We've stood in front of your battle bus, three slogans there.
03:35None of those really link to local councils. So what are you standing for on a local council level?
03:40There are two things here. Never forget, even with a county election,
03:45the national issues still count.
03:46I mean, here we are, 2,000 young men arrived through Dover in eight days just recently.
03:53So OK, not directly a Kent County Council issue, although of course the knock-on
03:57for child services etc is very real.
04:01So don't forget national issues, they are relevant.
04:04I just think when one party is in power for too long,
04:07it needs a shake-up, it needs a change.
04:09What are you going to do, Dan?
04:10We're going to come in and fix it.
04:11We're going to come in with a fresh mindset.
04:13We're going to bring our own form of doge, which you've seen in America,
04:17to Kent, get rid of excess, stop wasting money.
04:20Tonight, the party will be holding a rally in Maidstone.
04:23Details on their local issues still slim, but perhaps more will be heard this evening.
04:30Gabriel Morris in Hive.
04:34And don't forget we'll be highlighting the other political parties standing
04:37in the local election in the lead-up to May 1st.
04:41Now the daughter of a woman who was dying from cancer
04:43when painkillers were stolen from her by a carer in Maidstone
04:47has spoken out about her anger.
04:49Lisa Cook's mum, Marion, passed away before the sentencing
04:52of Lauren Browning, who pleaded guilty to theft.
04:55She was handed a 12-month community order,
04:57and Lisa joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier to run us through the ordeal.
05:03We first went to the care agency when there was,
05:06I definitely had found that a bottle of some oral drugs had gone missing,
05:11and I flagged it up with the care agency to start with,
05:14just to say that this has happened.
05:16I mean, obviously, I didn't have proof, you know,
05:18I didn't have sort of photographic evidence or anything,
05:20but I realised that something was definitely wrong.
05:24How shocked are you at the outcome, that she's actually avoided a prison sentence?
05:29To be fair, I think at the very outset,
05:32I don't think myself or my mum thought that she would get a prison sentence.
05:36And actually, I think there's been quite a lot of studies saying
05:38that women don't necessarily benefit as such from it.
05:42And I also think that actually, it wouldn't have done anything.
05:47Just to be put in prison probably wouldn't have done anything.
05:49I think that the judge has gone down the right avenue
05:51to try and help rehabilitate this person,
05:54to try and give them a chance to turn their life around.
05:57So, yes, I suppose there's an element inside everybody
06:00that go, you want them to pay for what they've done.
06:03But I think with what she's been asked to achieve over the next 12 months,
06:08that's quite a lot of soul searching
06:10and quite a lot of thinking that she has to do
06:12in order to pass all the sort of levels that they've put in place.
06:18And, of course, all of this has been quite a lengthy process
06:21for you and your family.
06:23And, of course, your mum did pass away during that time,
06:27before the sentencing.
06:28We're, of course, very sorry to hear that.
06:30Tell us what this whole situation has been like.
06:34I mean, it was very stressful.
06:35I think the problem is that at a time that was already very stressful,
06:39it became more stressful because of this.
06:42There was lots of doubt on my side whether,
06:45and this is, I think, the worst part of it,
06:46you kind of go, oh, did I order that?
06:48Did I write that down?
06:49Did I give the right dose to my mum?
06:51You know, none of us are trained pharmacists.
06:54So you're dealing with very heavy duty drugs
06:57that need to be given at certain times of the day.
07:00And so there's always that element of doubt in your head,
07:02thinking that you've done it wrong.
07:04So there was a sense of relief, I suppose, weirdly,
07:08that actually it wasn't us,
07:10that we had actually,
07:11we were doing what we were meant to be doing
07:12and giving mum the best care that we could give her.
07:15But yes, it was very stressful,
07:17a time where you don't really need that sort of stress.
07:20What would you like to see changed to avoid families
07:23and to avoid people like yourself
07:25going through a similar sort of thing as well?
07:27What sort of safeguards could be put in place?
07:30I mean, as far as I'm aware at the moment,
07:32there are safeguards in place
07:33that anybody who works with children or vulnerable adults
07:37in a sort of care situation should have a DBS check,
07:42which is a disclosure check
07:43to make sure that they've got no criminal records, et cetera.
07:46But I think the problem being that what I think can happen
07:50is that people can actually be maybe suspected of this,
07:54but if they leave that employer
07:56without any checks being made or convictions being made,
07:59then they can still apply elsewhere.
08:01I mean, obviously in this country,
08:03you can't give a bad reference.
08:05So I think that we need to maybe look at things like that.
08:08But I also think that we need to look at
08:10just the way in which we have eroded
08:13all of our services in this country at the moment.
08:16And if people have got mental health issues
08:18or they've got addiction issues,
08:20where do they actually go to get help?
08:22It can take three weeks to get a doctor's appointment.
08:24There are no youth services anymore.
08:26There's very little mental health services.
08:28You go to an A&E, it can take you 12 hours to see somebody.
08:32And that's literally just putting a Band-Aid on the problem.
08:34So I think it has to be twofold.
08:36I think maybe we need to look at care
08:38and also give carers the due that they actually should get.
08:42You know, these guys are so important
08:44to help people out in the community
08:46look after their parents,
08:47look after their loved ones.
08:49You know, not everybody wants to go to a hospice
08:51or a care home.
08:52Not everybody can afford to do that.
08:54So we need to look at ways in which you protect the people.
08:57We, you know, we desperately need good carers in this country
09:00and we need to respect those people as well.
09:02But we also need to look at what we're doing out
09:05in the community and how we can help everybody
09:07who needs help, not just the vulnerable like my mum.
09:11I mean, as far as I'm aware,
09:12or I feel there's more than one victim
09:15in this case, definitely.
09:18Now, a Staplehurst curry house says
09:20dine-and-dash incidents are becoming more common
09:24after a group of eight allegedly dipped out
09:26on a nearly £300 bill.
09:29I've been finding out all about it.
09:31Every restaurant owner's biggest fear,
09:34customers walking away before settling the bill.
09:38CCTV footage taken from Jumeirah in Staplehurst
09:43allegedly shows a group of eight
09:46ducking a £287 bill, leaving just £30 behind.
09:55Literally, as soon as they received it,
09:58something switched in them where it turned around and said,
10:00look, we're not going to be paying the bill.
10:04And it's literally just, it was just that.
10:07They just weren't having it.
10:08They weren't paying for the bill.
10:09Apparently, throughout the night,
10:11the service wasn't as great.
10:14The food wasn't good.
10:15So it literally just contradicted with anything
10:18that happened throughout the night.
10:20The incident was reported to Kent Police,
10:24who later said officers reviewed the case
10:27and deemed it a civil matter
10:30between the restaurant and the customer.
10:34Cold comfort for those on the receiving end
10:36of abuse that evening.
10:39You can't come into an establishment
10:42with the intention of, you know,
10:43receiving food or whatever it is,
10:45receiving a service and not paying for it.
10:48Jumeirah is not the only restaurant
10:50struggling with Dine and Dash incidents.
10:53According to UK Hospitality,
10:55one in three restaurants have experienced similar problems,
10:59often costing them hundreds of pounds.
11:03Hospitality in general is brutal at the moment.
11:06Margins are getting squeezed with cost rises,
11:09food costs, utilities.
11:12And now with the wage increases,
11:15national insurance increases,
11:16it's tough.
11:17It's tough to turn a profit.
11:19And then if we're having to factor in
11:22customers not paying,
11:23I don't know how hospitality industries
11:26would deal with that, really.
11:27The response from the community in Staplehurst
11:30has been positive,
11:32with many taking to social media
11:35to support the Indian restaurant
11:37over the alleged Dine and Dash.
11:40But with the hospitality trade
11:42under so much pressure,
11:44customers skipping the bill
11:46is the last thing they need.
11:48Oliver Leader, The Sacks for KMTV.
11:52We'll break.
15:10Hello and welcome back to Kentonite,
15:12live here on KMTV.
15:14Now shocking footage shows fire crews
15:17battling to keep control of a fire
15:18at a historic building in Folkestone.
15:21Kent Fire and Rescue were called
15:23to the derelict Rhodesia Hotel
15:25just after 2.30am this morning,
15:28with seven firefighters on the scene
15:30on Clifton Crescent at the height of the fire.
15:32The fire in the Victorian hotel
15:34is now believed to be out,
15:35with crews ensuring there were no hot spots
15:38in the grey two-litre building
15:39earlier this afternoon.
15:42Now today marks the beginning
15:43of 12 weeks of delays for motorists
15:45on a busy A Road in Mirworth.
15:48Kent Highways have started
15:49a major construction project
15:50to improve road safety
15:52along the A228 at the junction of Kent Street,
15:56where a teenage girl was injured
15:58nearly four years ago.
15:59Traffic lights are set to be installed
16:01on either side and the road
16:02will also be widened,
16:04with work scheduled until June 22nd,
16:06with the road being reduced
16:07to just one lane.
16:09To get one step ahead,
16:10you can always listen
16:11to our sister station, KMFM,
16:13for all the latest traffic updates.
16:17Now in other transport news,
16:18a green signal for a Eurostar competitor.
16:21That's what a ruling by the rail regulator
16:23has been described as by the Virgin Group.
16:26But despite optimising
16:27there could be more services
16:28running through the Channel Tunnel,
16:30there's been no commitment
16:31for services new or old
16:33to stop in Ashford or Epsfleet.
16:37Full steam ahead.
16:39That's the message
16:40from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group,
16:43who are looking to establish a service
16:46to run through the Channel Tunnel
16:49and compete with Eurostar.
16:52The green signal comes after a ruling
16:54from the Office of Rail and Road,
16:57who say some capacity
16:59at Eurostar's Temple Mills
17:01maintenance depot in London
17:03could be made available
17:05to other operators.
17:07A depot for storing
17:09and maintaining trains
17:11is considered a necessity
17:13for running services on the line.
17:16Though there's still no confirmation
17:18whether cross-continent travel
17:21will return to the county.
17:23We want to see more, really.
17:26It's great that there has been
17:27this commitment to allowing the trains
17:30to utilise the maintenance yard,
17:33which is obviously a major hurdle
17:35for the train operators to overcome.
17:38But as it currently stands,
17:40you know, there's still that
17:41we're missing that commitment to say
17:44trains will be stopping at Ashford,
17:45trains will be stopping at Epsfleet.
17:47Eurostar trains have not stopped
17:49in Kent since 2020,
17:52despite tens of thousands
17:54signing a petition
17:56calling for the return of services.
17:58Even the county's politicians
18:01have tried getting rail links
18:03back on track,
18:04speaking to both Eurostar and Virgin.
18:07The work will be completed
18:09on the day it stops in Ashford.
18:12But it is good news
18:14that more and more operators,
18:17you probably heard about another operator,
18:20Germany recently came out
18:21and they want to operate as well.
18:23So there is a huge market.
18:26This is the future travel method,
18:29the train travelling to Europe.
18:32So I'm very positive,
18:35especially after meeting
18:36with Virgin a few weeks ago,
18:39I'm very positive that
18:40they are considering Ashford
18:41as one of their stops.
18:43Eurostar says the depot
18:45is effectively full
18:46for major maintenance work
18:48and would need investment
18:50to meet the demand
18:51for international rail.
18:54But while there are no guarantees yet,
18:57a return ticket
18:58for continental travel
19:01is more realistic now
19:03than it has been for a long time.
19:06Oliver, leader of the SACs for KMTV.
19:10Without Eurostar,
19:11it's harder to get away
19:13with weather like we've had today.
19:14Who would want to anyway?
19:16But will it hold for the rest of the week?
19:18Let's find out, shall we?
19:25Tonight, the weather is looking
19:26mostly the same across the county.
19:28Temperature 13 degrees
19:30as well as some light rain across Kent.
19:32Into tomorrow morning,
19:33lots of sunshine,
19:35highs of nine degrees
19:36over in Ashford,
19:37lows of seven in Royal Tunbridge Wells.
19:39Rising to 13 degrees
19:41in the afternoon, though,
19:42that sun holding firm.
19:45And for the rest of the week,
19:46sunshine, lots of it,
19:48rising to 18 degrees by Thursday.
19:50Buy some sunscreen with you.
20:01And with such lovely weather
20:03set for the Garden of England this week,
20:06I can imagine many in the county
20:07are probably thinking
20:09where they are right now
20:10can't get much better.
20:12Well, except the Sunday Times
20:14might disagree,
20:15as one place in the county
20:16has come out on top.
20:18With this piece,
20:19it can be found on our website,
20:20KMTV.co.uk,
20:22revealing the best place
20:24to live in Kent.
20:25It might surprise you.
20:27You are in the most beautiful part
20:29of the country
20:31and you're within striking distance
20:32of London.
20:34What is your favourite thing
20:35about Sevenoaks, sir?
20:37The independent shops,
20:40the people that live here.
20:42We feel very comfortable
20:44and lived in Sevenoaks
20:45for a very long time.
20:46Oh, I'd have to say Le Manica,
20:48wouldn't I,
20:48where the shop I work in.
20:52We are the champions of the county.
20:54That's what Sevenoaks locals can say
20:56after the Sunday Times
20:57ranked where in the UK
20:58was the best to live
21:00and Sevenoaks was the only one
21:02on the list from Kent.
21:03The paper's guide says
21:04that excellent schools,
21:05a buzzing community
21:07and its medieval deer park,
21:08Noel Park,
21:09are all rewarding reasons
21:11to live in the area.
21:12People have been telling us
21:13all the things they like
21:14about their local town,
21:15but it can't be all sunshine
21:17and rainbows.
21:18So let's find out
21:19what they maybe don't like
21:20so much about Sevenoaks.
21:21And who would know better
21:22than Catherine and Prilla,
21:23who have worked in the town
21:25for most of their lives?
21:26I think it's a lovely place,
21:29you know, but it's sad
21:33that some of the places
21:35that were individual places
21:37are sort of dying out really now.
21:40And what else could make
21:41Sevenoaks even better?
21:43I would reduce the parking fees.
21:46It rather lacks a sort of dynamic
21:49compared to, say,
21:52even not so larger towns
21:54like Tunbridge.
21:55It's an endless stream of traffic
21:57and it's very narrow,
22:00sometimes a little dangerous
22:02when you get to the other end
22:03of the high street.
22:04So, yeah, the traffic
22:06needs to be sorted out.
22:08But with concerns
22:09about local businesses,
22:10one of the best rated
22:11restaurants in the town
22:13say that Sevenoaks
22:14will only improve
22:15as the weather gets better.
22:16I mean, obviously,
22:17we were going through
22:17the Christmas period and things,
22:19so there was a lot of,
22:20you know, pressure to deal with.
22:22But, you know,
22:22since we're coming
22:23into the warmer weather,
22:24it seems to be smoothing out.
22:26I think because where we're
22:28a less of a busy area,
22:29I think people might be
22:30quite attracted to that
22:31rather than going to London,
22:32where it's a bit over,
22:33you know, a bit overpowering
22:36with all the people
22:37and things like that.
22:38So I think it's, yeah,
22:39no, it's a nice little
22:40nice little spot, actually.
22:42On Sevenoaks, locals say
22:43they like its quiet nature,
22:45scenic sights
22:46and how close it is to London,
22:47but admit it does
22:48still have its issues
22:49from high house prices
22:51to expensive parking.
22:52Now, despite all that
22:53and the fact it no longer
22:54has all of its Sevenoaks,
22:56it still managed to earn a spot
22:57in the Sunday Times
22:58Best Places to Live in the UK.
23:00Finn McDermid for CAME TV
23:02in Sevenoaks.
23:07And finally,
23:08a first of its kind
23:09edible soap's been launched
23:11in a bid to highlight
23:12hygiene poverty
23:13across the UK.
23:14Developed by the beauty company,
23:16The Good Wash,
23:17in partnership with the Hygiene Bank,
23:19the soap isn't available for sale,
23:21but those behind it
23:22say it represents
23:23the millions of people in poverty
23:24who are forced to choose between
23:25eating and maintaining
23:26basic hygiene.
23:28So what did it taste like?
23:30Spoilers, it wasn't very nice.
23:34It is about pushing
23:34that message forward.
23:36You know, there's currently
23:365.3 million people
23:38in hygiene poverty,
23:39and we need to get
23:40that message across.
23:41This is the backbone
23:42of a campaign
23:43that is going to be bringing
23:44a petition to government.
23:45Hopefully we're looking
23:46for 10,000 signatures
23:48to basically get
23:50that removed from soap.
23:51We want to take that 20%
23:53off the soap.
23:54It's not a huge amount of money
23:56for the government to fund.
23:58We want to get the petition signed.
23:59We want to get that response
24:01from the government
24:02about the vat coming off of the soap.
24:03And then what would be amazing
24:04would be to get that to 100,000
24:06to raise that debate in Parliament.
24:08Well, we've got this soap here
24:10that The Good Wash company
24:11have put together
24:12that they say is fully edible.
24:14So whilst Abby's opening it
24:15and getting it ready,
24:16and we'll test it out,
24:17I was just wondering,
24:18you're based at the Hygiene Bank
24:20in Tunbridge Wells.
24:21Just tell us about some of the issues
24:22that you're seeing locally.
24:25Yeah, so we work really closely
24:27with a number of food banks,
24:30community ladders,
24:31and the number of people
24:32that are coming through these spaces
24:34is just increasing.
24:36You know, as I said before,
24:37there's 5.3 million people
24:39across the country
24:40that are in hygiene poverty.
24:41What we're seeing locally
24:42is ever increasing numbers.
24:44I've been doing this
24:45in Tunbridge Wells
24:46for about five years.
24:47And when I first started,
24:48it was about trying to find ways
24:50to get that help to people.
24:53Whereas now,
24:53we're just inundated with requests.
24:55We don't have to do the work
24:56to find the people.
24:57The people are going
24:59through these ladders,
25:00they're going through these food banks.
25:02And our challenge
25:04is getting the products
25:05to them that they need.
25:07Okay, well, as we've got it here,
25:08and I've unwrapped it as well,
25:09I think if we,
25:10can we see if we cut onto the,
25:13there we go.
25:14So you can see,
25:14wash on one side of the packaging,
25:15eat on the other.
25:16I'm just going to read you
25:17some of the ingredients.
25:18So in this is organic cacao butter,
25:21organic oat flour, avocado,
25:22tomato sauce,
25:24toast flavouring,
25:26bean flavouring, paprika,
25:28Celtic sea salt and celery.
25:31Should I just take a bite?
25:31Sounds like a good mixture.
25:33Go for it.
25:33You can straight off.
25:36And just,
25:36That is very strange.
25:38Strange, strange taste.
25:39And yeah,
25:40just remind us a little bit
25:41about the product as well,
25:42because it's not,
25:43as you say, it's not a product.
25:44It's not for sale,
25:45but it's been made to show,
25:47obviously that choice
25:49that some people are facing
25:50of eating or washing themselves.
25:56I don't know what you think of that.
25:58It's an interesting.
26:00Well, maybe it's a good job.
26:01It's not on sale.
26:02Yeah.
26:02It's just as a protest
26:03because it isn't,
26:04it isn't that nice.
26:06It's very strange.
26:07Is it an acquired taste?
26:09I think it's an acquired taste.
26:10It tastes like soap.
26:17Trust me,
26:17I've tried some of it
26:18in the newsroom earlier on
26:20and it isn't very pleasant,
26:22but that's everything from Kent
26:23tonight, tonight live here on KMTV.
26:26There's more news made just for Kent
26:27throughout the evening.
26:28And of course, at 7am tomorrow morning
26:30on the Kent Morning Show.
26:31And don't forget,
26:32you always keep up to date
26:33with the latest news across the county
26:35by logging onto our website,
26:36KMTV.co.uk.
26:39I'll be back at the same time tomorrow.
26:41I'll see you very, very soon.