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.
00:29I'm Oliver Leader-the-Sax and here are your top stories on Friday the 4th of April.
00:35Battling against blacklisting, MP hits back against Dim Church swim ban.
00:45It's rubbish, we reveal the worst place in Kent for bin collections.
00:51And growing for a good cause, specialist barber cuts autistic boys hair for the first time
00:56in two years, all for charity.
00:59Now folks in Hythe, MP Tony Vaughan has called out the blacklisting of a year-long no-swim
01:05zone.
01:06A test carried out today found the water quality at Dim Church safe to swim in.
01:11But despite this, the Environment Agency has rated the area poor following investigations
01:16last year.
01:17There are now calls for more frequent testing so beachgoers have up-to-date understandings
01:22of the water quality.
01:24Our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has the story.
01:29Warmer weather will soon bring more tourists to Dim Church but they'll be greeted by signs
01:34advising against swimming.
01:36The Environment Agency downgrading the water quality to poor after investigations last
01:42year.
01:43But what about today?
01:45The local MP has taken a test himself and is now calling for this to happen regularly.
01:50The Environment Agency only tests the water for half of the year and then in the half
01:55of the year in the bathing season when they do test it, it's at these weekly or more periodic
02:00points.
02:01Now, you know, that's fine but actually we need to have more data from more places to
02:06show us whether the sea on a particular day is safe.
02:11Tony's test delivered results in just 15 minutes using this new piece of technology.
02:16The company behind it says it's easy to use and could be rolled out within the community.
02:22People are advised not to swim but on our results what we are seeing is the risk is
02:27very low to go into the water and swim.
02:29How reliable are your tests?
02:31So our tests have been tested by different people across them.
02:34Among them the EAC, FAS, NRW and we have also other agencies that have done third part validation.
02:41But with each of these devices costing hundreds of pounds and 25 quid a test, not everyone
02:48could afford them.
02:49Tony Vaughan and Southern Water say they're in active discussions to set up citizen testing
02:54in the area, similar to what's already happening in Whitstable and Hastings.
03:00This is a river outlet on Dimchurches Beach.
03:03It flows right into the English Channel and it could be this water here which is responsible
03:09for some of those bad tests from last year.
03:13Upstream it could have picked up sewage from spills or manure or such from farmers' fields.
03:21It means that on any given day pollution levels in the sea will vary.
03:26So if citizen testing potentially coming, would beach goers follow that advice?
03:31I mean I suppose if it had been tested on that day then why not?
03:36There's someone here outside just here with a sign to say today it's been tested, this is how it's looking.
03:44If you've got a blanket ban that doesn't get revised for months on end, that seems unreasonable.
03:51As discussions continue, businesses say a solution can't come soon enough, especially
03:55with the Easter holidays expected to start off hotter than usual.
04:00Gabriel Morris in Dimchurch.
04:03Now, Swell has been named Kent's worst area for missed bin collections,
04:08with over 11,000 uncollected rubbish incidents last year, according to new research.
04:15The borough has faced ongoing waste management struggles since private contractor Suez took over in March 2024,
04:23leading to weeks of delays and resident frustration.
04:27Meanwhile, 7-0 stood out for its waste collection, with just over 1,000 missed collections in 2024,
04:33thanks to its in-house service.
04:35Abhiyana Bhoja reports.
04:37Ever wondered just how clean your streets are?
04:39Well, a Freedom of Information request by KMTV has revealed the best and worst councils
04:46for missed bin collections across Kent and Medway.
04:48Topping the list with the most missed collections is Swale Borough Council,
04:53with over 11,000 bins missed in the last year alone.
04:57Problems first began in March 2024, when private contractor Suez took over waste management services.
05:04But rubbish slowly started piling up, as bins were left unemptied for weeks at a time,
05:10leading to what residents described as a catastrophe.
05:13It just has been a nightmare to get them collected because they only take the actual bin,
05:20and if that's full up, they won't take it.
05:22And so we've got loads of black bags and it's just been really difficult to get it gone
05:28because they just won't take it.
05:31And it's only once every two weeks, so you can imagine like a household family,
05:37and then you have to wait two weeks for your bins to be collected,
05:42and by the next day you've already got a full black bag.
05:44So, yeah, it's been quite annoying.
05:48We're really busy, like we've got a little baby,
05:50and we've said that we have to go out of our own way,
05:53which is inconvenient enough, to get rid of them because they won't do their job properly.
05:58What is a real shame, I'll be completely real with you about this country,
06:01having been abroad so many times and seen different environments, different ways of living and stuff,
06:05is how dirty this country can get, and it's so frustrating because,
06:09you know, you've got to think when people come in and visit on holiday and stuff like that from other countries,
06:13they must look around and think, where am I? Do you know what I mean?
06:15It'd be so nice to have a much fresher, cleaner country.
06:18And sometimes they don't pick them up if they've got stuff in there that shouldn't be in there,
06:21which is a bit frustrating. It could be the smallest thing sometimes, you know what I mean?
06:24Sewers later apologised, and in January of this year,
06:28Swale Borough Council launched a full review to get services back on track.
06:32A spokesperson for Swale Borough Council said,
06:35whilst delays were frustrating, lessons have been learned,
06:39and services were now close to pre-changeover levels.
06:43Meanwhile, in Sevenoaks, residents appear to live on the cleanest streets,
06:47with just over 1,000 missed bin collections in 2024.
06:51The difference? They don't use private contractors.
06:55Sevenoaks District Council said their in-house teams take pride in delivering a top-tier service,
07:00with over 90% of residents reporting that they were happy with their collections.
07:05Only time will tell if Swale's improvements will hold,
07:08but for now, residents are hoping for a cleaner, more reliable service.
07:13Abiona Boyer for KMTV.
07:17Now, you may have been sneezing more than often.
07:21Watery eyes, maybe even a runny nose.
07:23But it may not be a spring cold, we're in the height of pollen season.
07:28High tree and grass pollen levels have been forecasted for the next few days,
07:33but today, the worst of them is in the south-east.
07:36When the advice is to shut windows and doors,
07:39how can we enjoy the warmer weather and stay sniffle-free?
07:43Pollen expert Max Wise has both joined us on the morning show earlier.
07:47I was interested in if it changes, kind of region by region,
07:51because I've previously had some experiences with hay fever here in Kent.
07:56I used to work in the countryside over near Canterbury,
07:59and I found it was really bad over there.
08:00Is it something that changes region by region?
08:02Is it perhaps worse here in Kent because we are known as the Garden of England?
08:07Absolutely, absolutely.
08:09So if you look at the pollen forecast and you look at the regions,
08:14it shows it in regions, and Kent and the south-west and the south-east,
08:20the southern counties are almost always worse.
08:24So, yeah, it is.
08:26I mean, if you want to get relief from pollen,
08:29go and live in the Hebrides or somewhere up north,
08:32because it's much better in Scotland.
08:35Yeah, around 25% of hay fever sufferers are allergic to tree pollen.
08:40You are the pollen expert. I have no idea about pollen.
08:43I didn't even know there was really tree pollen.
08:46And I suppose it's obvious that there is.
08:48But how does it differ and how does it affect people differently?
08:51Why is tree pollen worse than, say, pollen from a flower?
08:58OK, easy to answer.
08:59Actually, it's tree pollen.
09:01Grass pollen will come in mid-May onwards.
09:05And then it's weed pollen that really hurts us hay fever sufferers.
09:10And the reason is because it's light.
09:12It's light pollen, so it gets airborne and it goes into the air.
09:18Tree and flower pollen is
09:22is that they're pollinated by bees and things.
09:25So the bees will collect the flower pollen and transfer it from flower to flower.
09:29So that's why the tree pollen and the grass pollen are worse for us,
09:33because they're lighter and they get in the air.
09:37And as you say, tree pollen that we got at the moment,
09:3925% of hay fever sufferers are allergic to tree pollen
09:43and 95% are allergic to grass pollen, which, as I say,
09:47will be coming up in from from mid-May onwards till the end of July or August.
09:53And that's not always necessarily
09:57directly proportional to the pollen forecast.
09:59Sometimes it's just because something weird goes on with my body.
10:03It's really difficult to predict.
10:04So if we just diagnosed Bartholomew with weirdness from the expert.
10:09Yeah, absolutely.
10:11OK, so fingers crossed that I'm not affected too badly this year then.
10:15But what are the lessons you can teach us about how we can
10:19mitigate some of the effects of pollen and hay fever?
10:22OK, well, the standard stuff is and everyone tells you about it.
10:27It's antihistamines.
10:29Take some antihistamines.
10:31Do be careful with antihistamines, because if they make you drowsy,
10:34you mustn't drive or operate machinery.
10:37Steroid nasal sprays, they're good as well.
10:42But prevention is the key.
10:43So if you get something like an allergen barrier balm
10:48and you wipe that around the bottom of your nose around your eyes,
10:51if your eyes get itchy, then that stops over a third of the pollen
10:55getting in to your body.
10:58So if you're avoiding the allergen, that's really good.
11:01As you said at the beginning, people tell you to stay in
11:05and keep the windows closed and the doors closed.
11:07And nobody really wants to do that.
11:09So so you want to find some ways of avoiding it.
11:12Obviously, it is worth keeping.
11:14You know, if you if you when you go out the house, keep your windows closed
11:18so the pollen doesn't get in when you come back in the house.
11:21Other things you can wear a cap or a hat if you've got long hair.
11:25Tie your hair up.
11:27Pollen gets in on your body.
11:29You can eat for your for your hay fever.
11:33So you can eat things that are rich in quercetin.
11:36Quercetin is a natural antihistamine.
11:38So things like red onions.
11:40Look it up on Wikipedia, things with the highest
11:44quercetin content and eat a load of those.
11:48Time for a break now. See you in a minute.
15:03So good evening and welcome back to Ken tonight.
15:16Now, a mother and her three year old daughter
15:18have been left traumatized by a mouse infestation.
15:21Lucy Day also said she had an allergic reaction
15:25as a result of fleas in their council flats.
15:28Pest control has been out there three times.
15:30The Thanet District Council has said
15:33they will be funding further treatment despite the issue persisting.
15:37Local Demoxy reporter Gabriel Morris has the story.
15:44Vermin in the home is something nobody wants.
15:50You can see where they're actually coming from.
15:52Moving into this council flat in Margate two months ago,
15:55Lucy Day told a local authority she had issues with vermin.
15:59Pest control sent out three times,
16:02but now the council says it's her responsibility to pay,
16:05even though they were told the issues persist.
16:09And as you can see, they haven't been able to fully move in.
16:13The mice have also been spotted in the daughter's room.
16:17As soon as I leave her on her bed just to walk out the room, she screams.
16:22I can't literally just leave her in a room in here because she's petrified.
16:26My worry is this, that once it's been treated again,
16:30they're just going to keep coming back.
16:31And this is next week's going to be two months.
16:34In another four months, I'm still going to be battling the same thing in my property.
16:39A management move took them here, a fresh start.
16:42But upon arrival, the mother claims it was riddled with fleas.
16:46Her body now left with bites all over.
16:48Getting so bad, she suffered an allergic reaction and had to go to A&E.
16:54And just this morning, before our cameras arrived,
16:57Lucy woke up with baby fleas on her, so is asking for further treatment.
17:03If you had to pay for treatment yourself, is that something you could actually do?
17:06No, I can't afford it, to be honest with you.
17:08Realistically, I can't.
17:09I've literally invested £800 on two bedrooms to be carpeted
17:13and they haven't even come out to lay the carpet.
17:15That's because of the pest problems?
17:16Yeah. I refuse point blank to put any furniture or carpet
17:20in a property that's got mice burrowing out of the walls.
17:25They're going to end up chewing up the carpet
17:27and fleas that are just going to lay larvae and rehatch again.
17:30Now, if you're renting a property, whether that be for a council or privately,
17:35experts say you all have rights.
17:39Housing charity Shelter says it's unlikely to be the tenants'
17:43responsibility for pest treatment unless they've done something
17:47to encourage the issue, such as leaving bins uncovered.
17:51In a statement, the council says they understand that dealing with pests
17:54in the home is an unpleasant experience for anyone and go on to say
17:58people are advised to check that their second hand furniture
18:01doesn't have bedbugs or fleas before bringing it into the home.
18:06And in the tenant handbook, it states that the authority
18:09isn't responsible for pest problems.
18:12For Lucy, not the answer that was hoped, with mice coming through the skirting
18:16board, the tenant believes it's down to the authority to address.
18:22Gabriel Morris in Margate.
18:25Now, a Kent man who was denied a blue badge
18:28while receiving dialysis three times a week is calling for a fairer system
18:32alongside the Kent messenger, Adrian Pitts from Paddock Wood.
18:37It's a serious but temporary conditions like this are being ignored.
18:41It's left many people without the support they need when they need it most.
18:46So I made the application.
18:47I think it was up to three months it took to reply,
18:51and then it was declined because it was seen that because I'm on
18:54I was on the transplant list, therefore I was going to get a transplant
18:59and I wouldn't need the badge.
19:00So therefore they deemed it as temporary and therefore didn't award the badge.
19:03That's in essence.
19:05So basically, in dialysis, it was essentially
19:10there were people who are very sick but couldn't get couldn't get the badge
19:13because, again, their particular Kent County Council saw it like that,
19:17that it was a temporary thing.
19:19You're going to get your transplant.
19:20Whereas as a kidney patient, you don't know when your transplant is coming.
19:24You don't know how much worse you're going to be.
19:26Some people on the transplant list for, you know, a year,
19:30some people on it for nine years.
19:32So it's one of those where there's quite a campaign
19:36amongst kidney organizations to try and get it recognized
19:39that it should be blue badge status sort of almost.
19:43By default, because it's a serious thing, but it's judging
19:47that level of mobility, judging your need and because it fluctuates,
19:51that doesn't fit into a nice easy box to say, oh, yes, that's that.
20:01Well, this evening, it's said to be a clear night,
20:03temperatures staying around nine and ten degrees, 50 mile per hour winds
20:07along the coast.
20:08Tomorrow, it's going to be sunny 11 degrees down in Ashford,
20:12nine over in Dartford.
20:14By the afternoon, it's going to be a warm one, 16 over in Dartford.
20:18There are some high winds on the other side of the county
20:22going into the beginning of next week.
20:24Still sunny, but a bit cool as well.
20:2730 degrees by Tuesday.
20:36Now, for many with additional needs, going to the barbers can be challenging,
20:40whether it's the noise being touched or having to sit still
20:42for a long period of time.
20:44So when seven-year-old Rue Jackman grew his hair out after not visiting
20:48the barbers for two years, he decided to donate his hair
20:52to the Little Princess Trust.
20:54Finn McDermott went down to find out why it's so important.
20:58Can you tell me the story of why you started to grow your hair out?
21:03Because I want to raise it to charity.
21:07Now, it might be hard to believe, but two years ago,
21:09Ruben, or as he likes to be called Rue, became afraid of getting his hair cut.
21:14He has ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.
21:16So the sensory overstimulation of being touched, hair falling across his face
21:20and the sounds of scissors in his ears was too much for him.
21:23Since then, he's grown his hair out and with the help of his mum, Amy,
21:26decided to fundraise and donate his hair towards the Little Princess Trust.
21:30He became fearful of having his hair cut and it started to grow out.
21:34And then it's very long now and it makes him hot
21:39and it's tangly.
21:40And we said, you know, maybe it's time to think about having it cut off.
21:44It's very long.
21:45And at the beginning, he didn't really like the idea.
21:47But, you know, we talked to him more and then we showed him suggestions of,
21:52you know, instead of just throwing his beautiful hair away,
21:56actually, that it could be donated to somebody and treasured by somebody.
22:01The fundraised money currently stands at £800
22:04and will go towards the Little Princess Trust as well.
22:07While Roo's hair will be used to make wigs for those who've lost theirs
22:10due to cancer treatment or other conditions.
22:12But Roo's former dislike of going to the barbers isn't rare,
22:15with many who have additional needs struggling to get their hair cut.
22:19In fact, it's such a big problem that families with neurodivergent children
22:22from London, Essex and all over the country have come down here to Maidstone
22:26simply because it's that difficult to find an accommodating barber.
22:30The hairy bear does things slightly differently, though,
22:32whether that's giving a child goggles so they don't have to feel hair
22:35going across their face or even giving haircuts at the tops of slides.
22:39I asked Martin, one of the barbers at Hairy Bear,
22:41why they started offering longer slots to accommodate those with neurodivergencies.
22:46It's things like pictures on the wall
22:48they give me from that young kid who's been with me for a year.
22:52Very awkward to start off with, but now enjoys, loves to come and get his hair cut.
22:55So now one year of anniversary, come to see me, drew me a little note.
22:59It means immense to them.
23:00They find satisfaction in the child's actually getting a haircut
23:03rather than skinhead, to be honest with you.
23:05And the gratitude is seeing the kids come back, not scared anymore
23:08and smiling all the time.
23:10Parents have said that haircuts can be especially difficult
23:13both for their children and for them.
23:15So hopefully Roo will be one of many children who feel they can get their haircut
23:19and raise money for charity all at the same time.
23:21Finn McDermid for KMTV in Maidstone.
23:25We were joined by Sarah and Wesley Manson, who run the Hairy Bear Barbers
23:29on The Morning Show earlier about the importance of providing haircuts
23:33to children on the autism spectrum.
23:38Yes, well, originally we opened our shop in Bearstead
23:41and then we opened the second in Maidstone due to the success of the first one.
23:47And then what we noticed was that there was a gap in the market
23:50for children who had additional needs.
23:53And we were being told that a lot of the barbershops around Kent
23:57were actually refusing children who couldn't sit still.
24:00And when we employed Martin, he was aware of this and decided to,
24:06that just wasn't what we wanted to do.
24:09We didn't want to turn anyone away.
24:10We wanted to be totally inclusive.
24:12I decided to focus and specialise in additional needs haircuts.
24:16Just what is the demand like?
24:18I know you mentioned that you've got a booking system there.
24:20Do you find yourself sort of overwhelmed at times?
24:22What's it like?
24:23Because I would imagine that from a business perspective as well,
24:26you found quite a niche here, but something that is so vital
24:29for these families.
24:31Yes, there is a high demand for it.
24:33We didn't quite understand how big the need would actually be.
24:36Because at first we started advertising it and,
24:40you know, we're getting quite a good response.
24:42And then because of the positive reviews, we started noticing
24:46more and more and more additional needs haircuts were coming in.
24:50Then when some of the reviews were coming in,
24:51we've got people coming from London, from Brighton,
24:55from the far reaches of Kent.
24:57And people are travelling for hours or more just to come to our shop,
25:03which told us that there is a massive demand for this.
25:07And we appear to be the only people offering the service,
25:10which was quite a shock.
25:12I imagine that something goes into it as well, which is massively crucial,
25:15is the training that you give your staff as well.
25:18I know, Sarah, you mentioned to me that a lot of your staff
25:20are neurodivergent themselves.
25:22So does that help them translate that into their work
25:25and knowing what they'd feel comfortable with and helping sort of
25:28sympathise with someone getting their hair cut?
25:32Definitely, and I would say 90% of the staff,
25:36including us, have neurodivergent children.
25:39So it's something that we're all dealing with on a regular basis.
25:46In terms of the training, of course, we've had to,
25:48Martin, luckily, when we employed Martin, he had quite a lot of experience
25:52and worked with additional needs.
25:54So the process we put in place was for him to train the staff
25:58that were working in the Maidstone shop as well.
26:00And we developed that.
26:01So little tips that he brought to the shop was so important,
26:05such as low vibration clippers.
26:08And he knew how to set it up in terms of the noise
26:10and how to build working outside the shop.
26:12We knew it wasn't going to go down too well.
26:14So there are lots of little things,
26:15lots of tips that he brought that allowed us to do the in-house training,
26:18which has worked really, really well for us.
26:20Yeah, I suppose that's crucial, is gaining the experience.
26:24Yeah. So what are you saying, Sarah, about the learning process?
26:26I think it's still an ongoing learning process
26:28because there's so many different needs for the children.
26:34Really important story there.
26:36You find more like that on The Kent Morning Show every weekday at 7am.
26:41I'll be back next week.
26:43I'll be back in a few weeks time with more news across Kent.
26:45I'll see you soon.
26:54The Kent Morning Show.
26:55The Kent Morning Show.
26:56The Kent Morning Show.