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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Cameron Tucker.

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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV. I'm Cameron Tucker and here are your top stories
00:28on Wednesday the 18th of December. Christmas comes early. Dartford Football Club donate
00:33toys and money to Darent Valley's Children's Ward. Being back here is a very scary thing.
00:40Honestly, this is wonderful. It's really made her day. You've seen how excited that she's been
00:47and as mum, thank you. A year to remember. We review 2024's political earthquakes which shook
00:55Kent. It was really surprising. It's not been the best year, let's all be honest. Well,
01:00you've just used the word unpredictable. I think it is unpredictable. Rocking around
01:04Laybourne Lakes, Larkfield residents race to raise money for veterans.
01:09So it will enable us to carry on supporting veterans how we do at our village in Elsford.
01:12First tonight, Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford says the festive season is one of the busiest
01:27times of the year for its Children's Ward. Well, today in the spirit of Christmas,
01:31Dartford FC Supporters Club have visited the ward to hand out presents to young patients
01:35and give a special donation to its premature baby ward after one of its members spent two
01:40weeks there following the early birth of his twins. Bartholomew Hall has this report.
01:56From footballers to Santa's helpers, these players from Dartford Football Club have
02:01traded their boot bags for bags of toys this Christmas as they hand out gifts and chocolates
02:06to the children here at Darent Valley's Willow Ward. This is Ariana, and she was born at 33
02:12weeks. So because her body wasn't fully developed when she was born, she doesn't cope very well with
02:20certain coughs and colds and everything. So she's very vulnerable to things.
02:25Being back here is a very scary thing. Honestly, this is wonderful. It's really made her day.
02:33You've seen how excited that she's been. And as mum, thank you.
02:38Bit emotional, but we all know that it's for a good cause and for something that's going to just
02:43put a little smile and cheer people up. It's nice to see some of them might not even go home. So
02:50to give them something to do over Christmas and keep them occupied whilst they're
02:54poorly is quite nice. Some of the children are just too poorly for us to take our cameras in.
02:58But from what I've seen, it's clear that every donation, every toy handed out
03:02has led to a smile on the faces of the families who are having to spend their Christmas here.
03:07Much like for the patients, those in charge here at the hospital say this time of year can be very
03:12difficult with vast numbers of patients being admitted.
03:15Over the past few years, Christmas has been so busy on the ward. We get so many children coming
03:20in and out. If it weren't for the likes of Dartford Football Club that have supported us
03:24over the years, the kids wouldn't hardly get any presents. It's hard for a child being in hospital
03:30any time of the year, but especially Christmas. So we do try and make it a bit more fun and
03:36uplifting for them. As well as toys, the Dartford Supporters Group gave a cash donation of £250
03:43to Down Valley's premature baby unit after one of its members, Gary, spent two weeks there with
03:48his wife when their twins were born early. They were seven weeks early. So we had obviously
03:54a lot going on with that. And we spent two and a half weeks in the special care baby unit.
04:00So it's played a very important part in their lives with that. And yeah, it was difficult
04:04because you don't know how things are going to go at that point. You don't know. I mean,
04:09we were assured that everything was going to be fine. It just took a bit of time.
04:12But they are both absolutely fine and they've got a chance at the world now.
04:16Six months on and Audrey and Spencer are well and healthy in time for their first Christmases at
04:21home. But whilst the children admitted here may be forced to spend their Christmas surrounded by
04:26the walls of a hospital, at least it's a festive season that can now be kicked off with a smile.
04:31Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Dartford.
04:37A 75-year-old woman's fled her bungalow in Whitstable after a fire engulfed her property
04:42this morning. It's believed to have been sparked by a heat lamp in the porch and spread into the
04:47kitchen and roof. Five fire engines were on the scene and had it under control in a matter of
04:52hours. The woman's granddaughter told us at the scene that her grandmother will now be staying
04:57with relatives and are grateful to neighbours for raising the alarm. Here's the station manager,
05:02Nick Gammon. So approximately 7.30 this morning we were called to report to a fire in the warren
05:08in Whitstable. At the height of the incident we had five fire engines and a height vehicle attend.
05:14So we believe the fire started in the porch on to the side accidentally by a heat lamp.
05:20This spread into the roof and into the kitchen of the property.
05:24Straight after the break we're taking a look over the last year in Kent politics as 2025 is
05:29shaping up to be the biggest yet. In the last few days alone government devolution plans are set to
05:35wipe out almost all of our local authorities as we know them, with the senior politicians entering
05:40crunch talks over the new political landscape. Oliver Leader de Sacks has been breaking down
05:45the big moments from the last 12 months. A week is a long time in British politics,
05:51let alone a whole year. It was really surprising. It's not been the best year,
05:57let's all be honest. Well you've just used the word unpredictable, I think it is unpredictable.
06:01But while the last 12 months may have been filled with political earthquakes,
06:05the biggest shake-up of them all was announced this week, with almost all of Kent's local councils
06:13effectively being wiped out as the government pushes ahead with wide-reaching devolution.
06:19Well I think there is a lot in the white paper that accords with what I've always wanted to see
06:24in terms of devolution. You'll recall that last year I argued the case for devolution and a mayoral
06:31authority under the previous government. So I've always been keen to ensure that some of these
06:38really big strategic decisions, things that affect infrastructure, economic development,
06:44environment, skills, that those decisions are actually taken not by national government,
06:50but by people who are ultimately accountable to residents in Kent and Medway. Having an authority
06:56in place that gives us the ability to not only pick up the bins and do the day-to-day,
07:03but empowers us to look after social care, policing and everything on a more localised basis,
07:09but under the auspices of a mayor who has to be elected on his mandate. It's not a party thing,
07:16so consequently there is accountability and instead of having a party-led leader
07:22that is simply put in place by a small cabinet, this empowers the entire community.
07:28One of the things I've shared with colleagues at the moment is that we've got
07:31four healthcare partnerships. They're not exactly equal when it comes to numbers,
07:36but I think that could be a potential building block. There'll be different views from different
07:40colleagues across the whole of the area, and I think for me, as much as possible,
07:45with the limited time we've got, let's say we've got to get some initial thoughts into government
07:50by the middle of January, and bearing in mind all individuals involved in this need to take
07:55a breath over the Christmas period as well, that will mean I think some potentially quite
07:59intense conversations. All of the county's council leaders have come together today
08:05to start drawing Kent's new political map, but with submissions to government due by the 10th
08:12of January, the next couple of weeks will be far from festive for our local politicians.
08:20Oliver, Leader of the Sacks, for KMTV. And I'll be on straight after the break. Now TV
08:25presenter and Binnington resident Greg Wallace will be replaced by restaurant critic Grace Dent
08:30in the next series of Celebrity MasterChef. She will join regular presenter John Tarode as a
08:35judge. It comes after allegations by 13 people that Wallace made inappropriate social comments
08:40when they worked with him on various shows spanning a 17-year period. Last month,
08:45we found out he would step away from his presenting role on MasterChef as allegations
08:49are investigated. His lawyers have said it's entirely false that he engages in behaviour
08:54of a sexually harassing nature. It's not been confirmed whether he'll be replaced
08:58on the other series in the MasterChef franchise. Now it's time for the weather.
09:08This evening, it'll be warm and windy with an average of 12 in Tunbridge Wells, 13 everywhere
09:13else across the county. Going into the morning, it'll cool down to six degrees with some sun
09:17peeking through the clouds, wind dropping down to 13 miles per hour. And into the afternoon,
09:22much of the same temperatures with the exact same weather to be expected,
09:25wind picking up by two miles per hour. Now for the outlook, cloudy weather on Friday,
09:30coming rain on Saturday and on Sunday, it'll drop to eight degrees ending the week with partly
09:36cloudy weather. And finally, there's Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. But what about Rudolph
09:48the racing reindeer? Hundreds have been rocking around Larkfield Lakes to fundraise for Royal
09:53British Legion Industries. The money goes towards housing and employment opportunities for veterans
09:58in Aylesford. This year, they collected nearly £20,000 as our reporter Henry Luck has been
10:04finding out. And they're off. More than 300 participants turned up at this year's Royal
10:14British Legion Industries Rudolph Run at Larkfield's Leybourne Lakes. From RBLI residents
10:22to families to Kent Army cadets, everyone came together for one purpose. With the backdrop of
10:29Leybourne Lakes and some festive music, participants of the RBLI's Rudolph Run are raising money for
10:38veterans and their families. So we had our RBLI's Rudolph Fun Run at Leybourne Lakes,
10:45so there was a £2,000 route for families and a £5,000 route for runners. We had over 300 people
10:52that took part. It will enable us to keep on housing veterans on our village. We give employment
10:59opportunities, emergency accommodation, so it will enable us to carry on supporting veterans
11:04how we do at our village in Aylesford. The much-loved Rudolph Run is looking to help veterans
11:10end their emotionally powerful year on a high note and some festive cheer as it's managed to raise
11:16£19,800. Henry Luck for KMTV in Larkfield. You'll be watching Kent tonight live on KMTV. A reminder
11:32to stick around for Olly Leader de Saxe's Kent A Year in Politics, looking at all the big major
11:38political headlines in 2024. We'll be back tomorrow with more news from across the county,
11:42but for now, goodbye.
12:02you

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