Catch up with all the latest news across your county with Mahima Abedin.
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00:00and welcome to Kemptonite live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Mahima Abedin and here are your top stories on Wednesday the 18th of September.
00:34A home in ruins, strew pensioners life uprooted by water leak.
00:39Well I think they just think we're nothing and that's how I feel, we're nothing.
00:44Costs for cubicles, Thanet Council considers £600,000 renovation for poor public toilets.
00:52We want to refurbish our toilets because toilets are a very very important part of the infrastructure.
00:57We meet again, Chatham Historic Dockyard hosts annual Forties Festival.
01:02So salute to the forties, we are celebrating the forties here at the Historic Dockyard
01:07Chatham, we make a brilliant backdrop.
01:20First tonight, a pensioner from Strood says her life's been turned upside down after a
01:24water leak flooded her flat. 71-year-old Jean Armour is sometimes ankle deep in water
01:30in her own home, leaving her carpets and nearly all her possessions soaked through. Housing
01:35provider Orbit say they paid for a hotel while repairs were underway and have been providing
01:40support since. Oliver Leeder de Sacks reports.
01:44Just thinking about it, it's just, oh I don't know, I thought I was alright. But yeah, everything's
01:54just, my home's just ruined I think. How can you make a house a home when it keeps
02:00on flooding? That is the question that 71-year-old Jean Armour has been forced to confront after
02:08continued water leaks in her Strood apartment at Everlyn House. It's been two weeks since
02:15the worst one so far left the pensioner wading an ankle deep in water before housing provider
02:22Orbit put her up in a hotel. Well I think they just think we're nothing, and that's
02:29how I feel, we're nothing. Like get on with it, pay out, you know, it's your responsibility,
02:36you've got home insurance, it's nothing to do with us. But it's their workman that's
02:41done it, it's their workman that hasn't done their job properly. The first thing you notice
02:47when you walk into Jean's flat is the smell of damp coming from the carpets, followed
02:53by the din of the dehumidifier, and the clothes piled up on every surface imaginable. Just
03:00over my shoulder on her bed you can still see damp clothes from two weeks ago, some
03:05of them still needing to be thrown out. Having lived here for 13 years and seeing this happen
03:11several times this year, this might be the last straw. Orbit say they did offer Jean
03:19temporary accommodation while they undertook repairs, but that she initially declined their
03:24offer. The housing group have apologised for any inconvenience caused, saying that the
03:30safety and wellbeing of their customers is a priority. Highlighting they helped to move
03:37her belongings and arranged to have her carpets professionally cleaned. But having happened
03:43three times already, Jean worries this won't be the last time a water leak will uproot
03:50her life. Oliver Leader, The Sacks, for KMTV in Strood.
03:56Well joining me now is our KMTV's health expert, Dr Julian Spinks. Dr Spinks, we just saw in
04:01Ollie's piece there the concern for mould and constant water leak. What impact can that
04:06have on someone's health? Well firstly starting with water, if you actually have water it
04:12tends to make you feel colder, damp surfaces feel colder, it's more difficult to maintain
04:18your body temperature. Mould is a really big problem because the spores from the mould
04:23actually get inhaled, they can cause problems with your ear, nose and throat, but most importantly
04:30get down into your lungs and worsen things like asthma and chronic lung disease. And
04:35Dr Spinks, separately there are also some other health concerns at the moment about
04:39a variant of Covid in Europe. How worried should we be about that? Well interestingly
04:43I was over in Germany in August and two of the four people I was staying with went down
04:48with Covid after I left in Germany and Denmark have been big areas. So far it appears to
04:54be that you're more likely to catch it because it's a new variant, however the severity is
04:58similar and the symptoms are similar, but it does make the point that maybe we should
05:03be thinking about those people who need to have their Covid boosters, people over 65,
05:08people with chronic illness, people who work in the health service and people who have
05:11got things like immune deficiency. And what about doctors, how worried are they? Well
05:16we are always nervous that we're going to have another major outbreak because it puts
05:19a big pressure on us, but I think we have to be balanced over this. People who've been
05:24vaccinated still seem to be protected against getting severe disease. Well Dr Spinks we
05:29also asked people in Stroud how worried they are, so let's take a look now. Is Covid still
05:34a big concern for you when you go out and about? Actually it should be, but it doesn't
05:39seem to matter much. If you're near someone who's coughing, sneezing, then yes. We have
05:46our, you know, we've had our vaccinations on a regular basis. We have them on a regular
05:53basis so hopefully we're a bit more protected, but because we're older, but maybe it should
05:58be for everyone. No, I notice there's a new variety come out, HEC or something like that,
06:05doesn't worry me. Not at the moment, no, no, because we've just got to get on with the
06:11Covid haven't we? And Dr Spinks, moving on now to cervical cancer screenings, the number
06:17of women taking up cervical cancer screening test invitations has been declining for 20
06:22years. Can you tell us why? It's a really big worry because we really need that to be
06:28maintained to protect them. The decline, some of it is explainable. There is a degree
06:34of, for example, younger people who've had the HPV vaccine, the one that can protect,
06:40think that they don't need to have cervical cytology done anymore. They do because the
06:44vaccine isn't 100% even though it's caused a dramatic decline. Also, I think it's being
06:49caught up with a general reticence over preventative healthcare, including things like vaccinations,
06:55but the message really has to be you can prevent yourself getting cancer of the cervix
07:00by having your cervical cytology and on top of that you could save your life. And where
07:05can women go to get a screening if they do want to take one and how does it work? Well,
07:11your GP will normally actually recall you to have it and you'll be getting it every
07:16three years until you're 50 and then every five years, providing you haven't had any
07:20other abnormalities. And we now do a two stage process looking for HPV virus and then
07:25investigating further if you need to. But really, if you're concerned, contact your
07:29practice and they'll tell you whether you qualify. Well, thank you, Dr Spinks, for coming
07:33on and speaking to us about those issues. Now, a shoplifter has been caught on video
07:39abusing staff members at a co-op in Faversham. Kent Police confirmed Lucille Willett was
07:44charged with theft from a shop, assault by beating and criminal damage after a number
07:49of offences in the past two years. This clip has now been viewed by thousands of people
07:55online. But this isn't the first time she's been caught abusing staff members as it's
08:00actually one of seven that took place in different shops. The 34-year-old was arrested by police
08:06and charged but has avoided going to prison with an 18-week suspended sentence.
08:14Next tonight, Thanet District Council could be spending £600,000 to refurbish several
08:20public toilets across the district. Locals say investment into Margate and Stone Bay
08:25facilities are desperately needed, with some vandalised and others completely destroyed.
08:31If all goes to plan, these refurbishments could be part of a project worth more than
08:36£1 million. Finn McDermid has more. Public toilets aren't the most popular of places,
08:42often having an unhygienic reputation, but they are essential for both locals and tourists.
08:48With this in mind, Thanet District Council are currently discussing a proposal to refurbish
08:52a pair of public toilets in Margate and Broadstairs.
08:55Now no-one expects public loos to be clean, but they do at least expect them to be open.
09:00The Clock Tower toilets behind me are just one of two public toilets listed by Thanet
09:05District Council as being earmarked for potential refurbishment. But it might cost up to £600,000
09:13The Clock Tower toilets in Margate and Stone Bay toilets in Broadstairs would be part of
09:17a £1 million project for toilets across Thanet, which has already seen nine public facilities
09:22refurbished. I spoke to the Managing Director of the British Toilet Association about why
09:28having public toilets is such a necessary expense.
09:31We have been suffering from years and years of under-investment where there was no money,
09:35councils had very, very little money, no funding from government, so therefore it's great
09:40when a local authority like Thanet have come out now and said we want to refurbish our
09:45toilets because toilets are a very, very important part of the infrastructure. They're there
09:50for residents, for tourists, for visitors, for families with young children.
09:55In a statement, Councillor Steve Alban, Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Coastal Services,
09:59said,
10:00We recognise the importance that the provision of public toilets has for both local people
10:04and visitors. The opportunity for councillors to consider how we might continue to improve
10:09them and make them accessible for all the people that might need them is welcomed.
10:13Cabinet looks forward to receiving the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel so
10:17we can make a timely decision.
10:19Further out from Margate's beachfront, a local councillor for the Cliftonville East
10:23Ward doesn't think the council are doing enough for toilets in other parts of the district.
10:28I'm not convinced that the toilets at Stone Bay are the priority there. They're not particularly
10:34accessible, they're up some very steep stairs. Botany Bay has serious problems with toilet
10:41provision. The toilet facilities here could be massively expanded.
10:46Well the people who would know best about the state of the facilities are those who
10:50might actually be using them.
10:51Margate Public Toilets are inadequate, they're not very well run and there's not enough of
10:57them.
10:58It could be cleaner though and it could open up, open it up.
11:02But the beach isn't too bad. There's not loads of litter but the toilets are astronomical,
11:06they're just awful.
11:08Well if the schemes are able to get planning permission, work would start in 2025.
11:12Finn McDermid for KMTV in Thanet.
11:16Now it's time for a short break but coming up we'll hear from Olympic champion Adam
11:21Peaty about the closure of Folkestone Sports Centre. We'll find out about a water leak
11:26in Tunbridge Wells that's been disrupting journeys and we'll take a look at a weekend
11:31of nostalgia as Henry Luck headed down to the 40s festival in Chatham.
11:36All that and more after the break. We'll see you soon, make sure you come back to hear
11:39about that.
15:02Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live on KMTV. An Olympic champion has joined calls
15:17for Folkestone Sports Centre to be reopened after its sudden closure left 144 people without
15:24jobs. It shut down in July because it was too expensive to run. Now Adam Peaty has taken
15:30to social media to say how important local swimming facilities are. The leisure centre
15:35is now on the market and replacing it with housing has not been ruled out. Here's the
15:40message from the gold medalist.
15:43I was saddened to hear the closure of the Folkestone Sports Centre and the loss of the
15:47swimming pool to the hundreds of swimmers throughout the area. As the Olympics this
15:51summer demonstrated, swimming is a sport that can inspire millions. If it wasn't for the
15:56local swimming pools across the country, none of us in Team GB would have been able to fulfil
16:00our dream. It is the opportunities at the beginning that produces the results at the
16:05end. Swimming is a sport that provides for your mental and physical wellbeing as well
16:10as being a vital skill in keeping people of all ages safe in the water. It is a sport
16:15that is enjoyed by every generation and to see a pool close in a coastal town is especially
16:21saddening. I hope that you can join me in supporting the fight to reopen Folkestone
16:26Sports Centre and ensuring that future generations gain the opportunities they deserve.
16:33Adam Peaty joins hundreds fighting for its reopening. Meanwhile, Specialist Leisure Property
16:38Advisor Kristian Coe has been instructed to put the sports centre on the market and it's
16:43not clear how much it could be sold for.
16:47Next tonight, a huge water leak near Tunbridge Wells has closed a key route. South East Water
16:53shut North Farm Road after a pipe burst during the night and flooded parts of the lane. The
16:59damage means nearby High Brooms Industrial Estate is only accessible from one way, making
17:04it difficult for large lorries to get through. One MOT company in the area say they've already
17:10lost two thirds of customers compared to a normal day. The water company has apologised
17:15and say the road will be closed until works are complete. Elsewhere, a garage in Sheppey
17:22say they could lose customers too over safety concerns they've had for more than 18 months.
17:27It's because of a water leak on the road outside A2 Tyres. The owner says the pothole on the
17:33pavement has only gotten worse and turns to black ice in the colder months. Southern Water
17:39say the issue is not a pipe but water draining down from a reservoir and teams are investigating.
17:45Kristen Hawthorne joins me with more. So Kristen, tell me more about what's happening.
17:50Yes, so a garage boss says that his firm's reputation has been damaged due to a water
17:55leak that's been going on for 19 months. Luke Stevens, who runs the A2 Tyre supplies,
18:02says he's unfairly getting the blame for the issue and is receiving customer complaints.
18:06On one occasion a customer complained that they had slipped on a build-up of algae while the
18:11pram carrying their newborn son rolled into the road. The leak started outside the garage in
18:17February 2023 and in the 19 months since he says the pavement has only gotten worse
18:23and we can hear from him now. In the winter months the water sprays up onto the forecourt here
18:30but the biggest problem last winter was the water freezing. Obviously that's hazardous for people
18:39on the footpath. It creates potholes in the path so for people pushing prams, pushchairs,
18:46wheelchairs, anything like that it makes it almost impassable. I've now got customers of
18:53ours contacting us to say that you know it's a disgrace that we're not doing anything about it.
18:59Unfortunately we've tried to do lots about it but we're just getting nowhere so don't really know
19:05where to turn now. And Kristen, what about the response? What do Kent County Council and
19:10Southern Water have to say about this? Yes, so Stevens has made numerous complaints to Southern
19:15Water which has sent workers down four times to test the water and they say that it's ground water
19:21so the engineers could do nothing about it. He says that the tests of the water that were carried
19:26out by Southern Water and Kent County Council confirmed the presence of chlorine which suggested
19:31that the water was coming from a fresh water source. Southern Water said that the issue is
19:36not from a pipe but from water draining from the South Down Reservoir which is leaking but
19:41apologised and say that they're working on it. Kent County Council say that the leak is the
19:45responsibility of the utility company to fix and in the meantime they have carried out a temporary
19:51repair and the footpath will be repatched within the coming month. Well thank you for those details
19:56Kristen. And now what would you expect to see in Kent's rivers? Well probably not this. This is the
20:03Uluva, a brand new underwater sculpture that's emerged or rather submerged in the River Stour
20:09this month. The sculpture, made of recycled glass, replaces two figures created 15 years ago that
20:15were damaged beyond repair over the summer. Inspired by Shakespeare's Ophelia from Hamlet,
20:21sculptor Jason hopes the replacement will encourage people to learn more about the city's
20:25waterways. But some on social media have criticised the statue as offensive and disturbing and they
20:31say it looks like someone's drowning. But what do you think? Let us know on social media.
20:37And of course you can find us on Instagram, X and Facebook by searching kmtvkent.co.uk.
20:43But you can also keep up to date with all your latest stories from across the county by logging
20:47onto our website. There you'll find all our reports including this one about a schoolboy
20:52from Raynham who needs a new walker that will give him vital independence.
20:58It's a rare developmental disease affecting one in 50,000 boys. Thomas, who lives in Raynham,
21:05has plasmas bacus disease, meaning he's non-verbal and has limited mobility. But when he uses this
21:11walker it gives him his independence. He loves taking it to local rec and it also allows him
21:17to play with other children at school. But there's an issue, it's getting too small.
21:22Now his arms are longer, he gets his arms stuck in the spokes of the wheels. His headrest now
21:27isn't in the right position so he'll fall from side to side. So now when he's walking you have
21:33to hold his head in place because he's not getting the full support from the walker.
21:37Although Medway council paid for his last one, they're refusing to fund any new equipment.
21:43The authority has an issue with where it would be kept. The school bus that takes Thomas to
21:48his specialist school can't accommodate the walker. His parents suggested dropping it off
21:53at school at the start and end of the week. The family says they were told they wouldn't
21:57be trusted to do that. In not so many ways they didn't believe that's what we would do
22:02so then they wouldn't fund it again. So no matter what options we was coming up with we was
22:07told no. It's frustrating, I understand money is king but when it's the joy and he's restricted
22:15to a chair if he doesn't have a walker that fully supports him he can't walk and he absolutely loves
22:20it. School use it all the time, school say how much it makes a difference to his day and without
22:26that it's not it's not nice. At four thousand pounds the family can't afford a new one they've
22:32now turned to fundraising instead. And yeah within 24 hours we had well over what we had hoped for
22:39because we were only looking for half and we'd fund the other half ourselves and so we don't
22:43have to do that now so people of Raynham, friends and family have made sure he can have his new
22:48walker. In a statement the council says they'll continue to work with the family, prescriber and
22:53school to ensure the child's needs are met including when changes occur where they are able
22:59to. His parents say they don't understand why the authority has been so difficult about it.
23:05They've now been invited to a meeting with the council to discuss the issue. Gabriel Morris in
23:10Raynham. And finally the historic dockyard in Chatham has taken us back in time for the annual
23:18salute to the 40s festival. The yearly celebration hosts a variety of live entertainment and education
23:24with military parades and tours and with such strong ties to wartime heroics what did the
23:30dockyard have on display? Henry Luck was there, well not in the 40s of course, but at the festival
23:36this weekend. Taking place in the historic dockyard in Chatham salute to the 40s gives Kent residents
23:48a chance to go back in time to the days of swing, jazz and army parades. So salute to the 40s we are
23:56celebrating um the 40s here at the historic dockyard Chatham. We make a brilliant backdrop
24:01um because of our our site and our period buildings um and so yeah we're just celebrating
24:07celebrating the 40s. Every autumn the event draws in thousands of people who love to get into the
24:14spirit of the time period by going retro with their wardrobe. It was great you know what it's
24:20um nice and warm and it's sunny so that's always nice because we've had a couple of weekends it's
24:25been horrible rain we've been so lucky it's such a lovely day uh but the audience were amazing
24:30obviously our dancers that come and dance with us it's just a brilliant atmosphere and we enjoy it
24:34flies by it's 45 minutes feels like five but it's been great. It's been so much fun the atmosphere
24:41is amazing seeing everybody dressed up sun's shining there's so much going on and so much to
24:47see it's a really really good event. It's just the joyous place to be you get to meet everybody that
24:52you've known for a long time either online or in person and it's just it's always a lovely day out
24:58to go to any event anyway so yeah it's been really enjoyable so far really enjoying it.
25:03Subject to the weather we've had a few different weather conditions. There's always something
25:07different here as well as something new each time we come it's not
25:11always exactly the same event which is you know quite good for us really.
25:15Whilst celebrations are taking place the Vintage Festival also serves to educate visitors
25:21about a time that faced one of the most terrible wars the world had ever seen.
25:27I'm standing behind the HMS Cavalier launched in 1947 the battleship has seen action from Norway
25:36all the way to the west. Today it serves as a powerful memorial to the 142 Royal Navy ships
25:45that were sunk during World War II. There are hopes that the public and salute to the 40s
25:51will meet again someday as money from the event will be going back into preserving the dockyard.
25:58Henry Luck for KMTV in Chatham.
26:02And just before we go here's the weather.
26:10Tonight it's clear skies and cool temperatures across the county with a high with highs of 18
26:15and lows of 16. Tomorrow morning sunshine all around 20 degrees and some clouds in Canterbury
26:21and in Margate and by the afternoon that sun continues into into the day temperatures raising
26:27into the day temperatures raising to 21 in Dartford and Chatham
26:32and for the rest of the day sun and clouds on Friday and Saturday.
26:36That's it from us good night have a good evening.
26:57you