Catch up on all your latest news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening, and welcome to Kentonite live from Kent, where I'm joined by my co-host
00:30on KMTV. I'm Abbey Hook. Here are your top stories on Friday the 3rd of January.
00:36Iced out as Kent braces for a yellow weather warning, charities are ramping up winter supplies.
00:42The weather we're experiencing is going to be sub-zero temperatures at night and close
00:48to zero during the day up until Wednesday and then the risk of snow.
00:52For those in need, Sittingbourne Community Hub opens new site to tackle rising domestic
00:58violence.
00:59If everyone's essential needs are met, there's still a need for community and community is
01:05something that's really missing in this day and age.
01:07And make your mark. Live mannequins take over Bluewater Shopfront in a campaign to save
01:14lives.
01:15There's six people a week on average dying because of a lack of kidneys. We need to raise
01:21awareness amongst the public that we need more kidneys.
01:29First this evening, Kent charities are offering free clothes, hot water bottles and somewhere
01:41safe to shelter as a yellow weather alert is set for the county this weekend.
01:45The Director of Public Health says the cold snap could put those most vulnerable at risk
01:50and is urging people to head to one of the around 5,000 warm spaces set up across Kent.
01:56Kristen Hawthorne has been speaking with the charities offering help this weekend.
02:00The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Kent this weekend, cautioning
02:04residents about snow and ice.
02:06The Director of Public Health has highlighted that this cold snap poses a serious health
02:11risk, particularly to vulnerable groups such as young children, the elderly, pregnant individuals
02:17and those with pre-existing health conditions.
02:20For many, the added pressures like winter fuel cuts and financial struggles after Christmas
02:25make staying warm even more challenging.
02:28Layering your clothes is also helpful, makes you feel much warmer than if you wore a single
02:33layer.
02:34Similarly, appropriate footwear, blocking if there's any drafts in your house or using
02:40draft blockers and blocking that draft.
02:43Use of curtains and things like blinds, etc. when they're down, especially when it's dark.
02:52It does help insulate as well.
02:55And in addition to that, you know, moving around, so being able to not stay in one place
03:00for more than an hour.
03:02If you're concerned, there are around 5,000 warm welcome spaces across the county offering
03:08a refuge from the cold.
03:09These spaces see an average of 120,000 visitors weekly.
03:14And over the past two years, half of those using them said they would have otherwise
03:18stayed at home without heating.
03:20Libraries, for example, are open year round anyway.
03:23And so warm welcome is a kind of label that they can put on what they're doing through
03:28the whole year, but particularly at winter time when they really want to show people
03:32that if you are struggling with the cold or if you are feeling isolated and lonely during
03:36the winter, that there is a place for you.
03:38The best thing to do is to go onto the warm welcome website and have a look at the map
03:41and see what's available in your local community this weekend.
03:45In Gillingham, additional support is available through the Street Angels, helping those in
03:49need during this severe weather.
03:51We have a hot water boiler running all the time at our food bank.
03:54When people come along, it's OK giving someone a hot water bottle.
03:57The homeless, how are they going to fill it up?
03:59Some people can't afford to turn the kettle on, so we're happy to fill your water bottles,
04:02your flasks up to give you hot water.
04:04We make hot meals for people every day.
04:06There's lots of groups out there.
04:08You'll have Medway Council at the moment.
04:10They'll activate something called SWEPT, which is a severe weather emergency protocol.
04:14So there is things out there for people to do.
04:16There is things that will keep you warm, will help you get fed.
04:19I think Medway, we're lucky.
04:21Recommendations from public health officials include being well prepared,
04:25checking on vulnerable neighbours and wearing layered clothing to conserve heat.
04:30The Met Office also warns that weather conditions can change quickly,
04:34so it's important to stay informed and prepared for any updates.
04:38Kristen Hawthorne, KMTV, in Gillingham.
04:43As Neil from Gillingham Street Angels was saying in Kristen's piece,
04:46following that weather alert, local authorities across Kent
04:49have activated severe weather emergency protocols.
04:52That's to provide shelter for rough sleepers in particular.
04:55Usually, councils action emergency accommodation
04:58when temperatures reach below zero degrees Celsius.
05:00Anyone concerned for someone sleeping rough
05:02can notify their local outreach service online on Streetlink,
05:06and then a team will be sent to check on that person's welfare.
05:09Medway councils will be in place until Sunday.
05:13The owner of a Herne Bay Cat Cafe says she won't let her animals go without a fight
05:18as the business battles falling customer numbers and rising costs.
05:22Christine Norfolk has looked after countless rescue animals since opening in 2018,
05:27but says she may have to close the doors for good if they can't raise more money.
05:31Since the pandemic, customer numbers have only declined,
05:33leaving the cafe with the same bills to look after the cats.
05:36For example, the litter is classed as an offensive waste,
05:39and that alone costs them more than £300 to have it collected.
05:43The 20 volunteers working there are hoping to turn part of the cafe
05:46into a charity shop to try and find some of that extra income.
05:52A new community space in Sittingbourne has brought vital services together
05:57under one roof in the hopes of providing wider ranging support.
06:03Domestic abuse charities Satida and Age UK have set up shop in Heather House,
06:07but say finding spaces like this one is becoming more and more difficult,
06:11as Oliver Leder de Saxe has been finding out.
06:14It gives me enormous pleasure to open Heather House community shop.
06:27Heather House is not just a food bank,
06:30or an affordable pay-what-you-like cafe,
06:32or a support centre for Swales most vulnerable.
06:36It's in fact all three.
06:38Bringing various charities under one roof,
06:41such as domestic abuse support service Satida and Age UK,
06:46the hope is to make it easier for those in the community to get the help they need,
06:51specialist or otherwise.
06:54Be it counselling for domestic violence,
06:57warm clothes, or even just good company.
07:00If everyone's essential needs are met,
07:03there's still a need for community,
07:05and community is something that's really missing in this day and age.
07:08So yes, in an ideal world we wouldn't be providing support for survivors of domestic abuse,
07:16we wouldn't be providing food banks,
07:18but we still need community, we're social beings,
07:21so we still need a place where we can come together.
07:24So I think we'll carry on working to remove them dependencies,
07:29but having a community is still really important.
07:31Somebody might be going to Age UK,
07:33and then disclose that they're experiencing abuse,
07:36or know somebody who is.
07:37We're here to take on those women and children,
07:40to support them going forward.
07:42And likewise, we work in domestic abuse,
07:45but we don't work in community outreach services,
07:47we don't work in foot care for example,
07:50where we can get somebody some help for their other personal care.
07:54So it's about working together, recognising individuals as a whole,
07:58and not saying that one person can fix everything,
08:01because we can't, we all need to cooperate.
08:03With affordable spaces in Kent's towns becoming more and more uncommon,
08:07those at Heather House believe it will fill a vital gap in the community.
08:12It's really hard for agencies like ours to find community spaces.
08:16Family centres are closing earlier,
08:19and children's centres have obviously been given a change of focus into family hubs.
08:24And there's lots of organisations needing the same space,
08:28so this means that we don't have to get into that debate,
08:31and it opens opportunities for other people too.
08:34It may be a day of celebration,
08:36but with demand for support growing,
08:38everyone here will have their work cut out for them in 2025.
08:43Oliver Leader-the-Sacks for KMTV in Sittingbourne.
08:48Engineers are carrying out final checks on a newly repaired pipe,
08:51which meant many in Shrewd were without water over Christmas.
08:54Over the past 12 days, teams at Southern Water have been busy fixing the leak.
08:58Supply is now back to the 1,000 homes affected,
09:01and the water company have thanked residents for their patience.
09:04You can find our full coverage on the issue on our website, kmtv.co.uk,
09:08alongside all our latest stories.
09:10But let's take a look back at Finn's report and how this impacted those in the area.
09:14Across the county, before the big day, many were making Christmas wishes.
09:18But in Shrewd, some people's only Christmas wish was to have running water.
09:22Now, the majority of the 1,000 properties in Shrewd do have their water back
09:26after up to four days of disruption.
09:29But there are a few remaining without water,
09:31around the area of the Gunn Lane and A2 intersection.
09:35Since 5am on December 23rd, there were 1,000 properties
09:38that weren't able to use their hosepipes, taps or even toilets,
09:42and now it's been whittled down to just 11 homes.
09:45But for them, they've had five days of disruption
09:48during what should be a time of celebration.
09:51And it wasn't just homes.
09:53Some businesses, like this independent pharmacy, were also affected,
09:56meaning they couldn't give out prescriptions or have normal hygienic practices.
10:00Thankfully, Southern Water and their team were able to find the source of the leak
10:03after working through the night and using workers from other sites,
10:06right outside Shrewd's Quick Fit,
10:08one of the remaining properties now on their fifth day without water.
10:12I actually came in on my day off.
10:14I'd come down with my girlfriend and I had one of my colleagues shouting,
10:16we've got no water!
10:18And that's when I found out.
10:20We've had to turn away a few customers just because of the busyness.
10:22We have to run everything kind of manually.
10:24Not everything's done properly now.
10:26Normal bits run in the background, all done.
10:28So we've had to turn around because we've got a bit more on our plate recently.
10:31Because of the potentially dangerous effects of motor fluids
10:34and the lack of water to clean or sanitise them,
10:37it's impacted the business's ability to serve their customers.
10:40But it's not just the people who still lack water that suffered over the past five days.
10:45Over nearly a three-day period, it was excruciating.
10:50Because my central heating had packed up,
10:55because of the loss of water pressure,
10:57I had no heating, obviously no water.
11:02Even to just go to the loo, it meant going up to my son's,
11:08which fortunately is just up the road.
11:10Yeah, it's horrible.
11:13Michael's lived in Strood for 39 years
11:16and says he's never experienced disruption like this,
11:19but he was thankful that his water was restored on Christmas morning.
11:22A Southern Water spokesperson said,
11:24we're very sorry that a small number of customers in Strood
11:27are experiencing ongoing disruption to their water supply.
11:30We've arranged further bottled water deliveries,
11:32are redirecting water around our network where possible,
11:35and are working to fix this complex underground leak as quickly as possible.
11:39While many in Strood were able to celebrate their holidays
11:41in heated homes with running water,
11:43those still without the utility
11:45will undoubtedly have been disappointed over the Christmas period.
11:48Finn McDermid for CAME TV in Strood.
11:51And that water supply back to normal now.
11:53See you after the short break.
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15:12Welcome back to Kent tonight, live on CAME TV.
15:15Every week, an average of six people die
15:18Every week, an average of six people die while waiting for a kidney transplant in the UK.
15:23But one charity is trying to change that, starting at a well-known shopping centre in
15:27North Kent.
15:28The Make Your Mark installation aims to raise awareness and explain exactly what living
15:33kidney donors are to the public in Bluewater.
15:36Daisy Page has been speaking to those who have saved a life by donating their organs.
15:43In the UK, six lives are lost per week while on the waiting list for a kidney donation.
15:48The mannequins represent each life lost, and amongst the display, a living kidney donor
15:53to tell his story.
15:54This is about changing that statistic from six people die every week for one kidney to
16:00zero people die every week for one kidney.
16:03At the moment, donating a kidney is seen as a form of extreme altruism.
16:08I want to be part of a movement that changes where it stands on the continuum from extreme
16:15altruism to something that is a perfectly normal thing to do that's not worth commenting
16:20on.
16:22Mannequins have filled a storefront in a campaign called Make Your Mark.
16:26This is to spread awareness about living kidney donations.
16:29In the UK, more than 6,000 people are on the waiting list for a kidney.
16:33With the mission to shorten the list and improve the lives of many, Kidney Research UK and
16:38Give A Kidney joined forces.
16:40The two charities become a part of the Robert Dangoor Partnership, which led the campaign.
16:44Flyers were being handed out to shoppers and QR codes provided access to information by
16:49your phone.
16:50The public also had a chance to speak with charities and living donors to find out more
16:54on the importance of donating.
16:56The message is, you have it within yourself to donate a kidney to save a life.
17:03We don't expect everybody to do that, but we only need enough people to do that.
17:08There's six people a week on average dying because of a lack of kidneys.
17:13And we need to raise awareness amongst the public that we need more kidneys.
17:20The importance of donating kidneys is in order to reduce that waiting list for kidneys.
17:27People waiting too long, they become too ill eventually to have a transplant.
17:33By increasing the number of kidneys available, we can bring down that wait list, we can save
17:38lives.
17:39But for shoppers passing by, what did they make of this display?
17:43Yeah, I hadn't seen it until you pointed it out, but yeah, it's quite an effective way
17:49of promoting your statistic about six people every week.
17:55I think it's excellent.
17:56I really do.
17:57I think it's the first time I've seen something like this to promote, to let people know that
18:02this can be done.
18:03I think it caught my eye looking past it.
18:05I think it's really meaningful and I like that there were live people showing themselves
18:11as part of mannequins and just to show that it is real and they're just showing themselves
18:18and how they really feel about it.
18:19I think it's really good representation.
18:22Not only did this campaign provide information to the public, but it also gave some a chance
18:27to share their own stories.
18:28My dad was on dialysis for four years.
18:31It came to the end, they said that he had to have a transplant straight away or he was
18:38going to pass away.
18:40So we rushed in at Christmas Day 2021 and had it done.
18:47And six weeks later, we are all back to normal health.
18:51With the growing rate of kidney disease across the world, more lives are being lost.
18:55However, the campaigners hope that one day everyone lives free from kidney disease.
19:00And with these installations, that everyone learns a bit more about giving a kidney.
19:04Daisy Page for KMTV.
19:08Now don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging
19:11onto our website, it's kmtv.co.uk, there you'll find all our reports, including this one from
19:16local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris.
19:18His investigation into hygiene ratings in Maidstone has received interest all the way
19:23in Westminster, as he found more than 90% of places many of you may go to eat were lying
19:29right on their front doors.
19:31It's the investigation that shocked the public, highlighting Maidstone businesses displaying
19:36false hygiene ratings.
19:39Our findings have sparked a Labour MP to call on the government to introduce mandatory display.
19:45They now tell us they're considering it.
19:47Yeah, I was surprised and a bit shocked actually, as a user of takeaways in Medway, and many
19:52of my friends and residents around here do as well.
19:55They come to trust these FSA ratings out of five.
19:58Following the story we put out last week on food hygiene ratings, you've now asked some
20:02questions to the government.
20:04What are they and what do they look like?
20:06Yeah, so I've asked two part questions to the Department for Health.
20:10So first of all, I've said that they can comment on whether they think that there should be
20:13equity across the country, and the FSA standards that are displayed in all restaurants, first
20:19of all, as standard, so that people can see when they come in or they order online.
20:23And second of all, that that is mandatory, and it is something which is, which is accurate.
20:28But I also intend to perhaps have an adjournment debate on this as well, just to keep on raising
20:33this up the agenda, so that there's actual public awareness.
20:38The investigation looked at outlets in Kent's county town that had a score of three or below.
20:43We found 12 displaying no ratings, seven displaying incorrect scores, and two with
20:48signs saying they're awaiting inspection when they weren't.
20:52That's more than nine out of 10 businesses either displaying an incorrect rating or none at all.
20:58In Wales and Northern Ireland, mandatory display is law, and our report has added to the growing
21:03cause for that to be the case in England.
21:06It's a zero cost.
21:08This is just about making people display a sticker on their window.
21:12There's no massive cost.
21:14It is an additional burden to industry because industry has to go through the process anyway.
21:19And all it is doing, it is supporting the good guys, those people who are taking the effort
21:25to make sure that the food they serve is hygienically safe and good for consumers.
21:30So again, it's just that win-win.
21:32Businesses are regularly inspected by local authorities.
21:36A low rating can be indicative of bad food handling, safety and cleanliness of the premises.
21:42To know the actual rating of a business, you can visit the Food Standards Agency website.
21:47These will be accurate.
21:49The organisation is also calling on the government to introduce mandatory display.
21:54Gabriel Morris in Maidstone.
21:58Now time for the full weather forecast.
22:00It's looking like a cold night.
22:07Temperatures dropping to minus one in Ashford and Maidstone with partly cloudy weather across
22:10the county.
22:11Tomorrow there's that yellow weather warning in place for snow and ice, sticking to temperatures
22:15of about zero and one degrees two down in Dover there.
22:19Slightly warming up in the afternoon though, it's going to reach four degrees through in
22:22Ashford and Tunbridge Wells, wind speeds of six miles per hour.
22:25Now the outlook for the next few days.
22:27Weather alert continues into Sunday with temperatures reaching highs of twelve, Monday dropping
22:32to six.
22:33Some light rain.
22:41And finally, just a few days into the year and history's already being made.
22:45Darts icon Luke Littler is back throwing 180s into his second consecutive world final.
22:50The BBC game show The Traitors is back, testing all our trust, and it may not have been a
22:54white Christmas, but the UK is braced for that snow and ice for the first week of twenty
22:59twenty five.
23:00But here at KMTV, we've been looking at what's been trending in Kent.
23:03Kai Wei joined me earlier and started by telling me all about our county's furry but ferocious
23:09new friends.
23:11So a story broke out recently that Howlett's Wild Animal Park allowed the public to see
23:16their new lion cubs, which they recently rescued.
23:19The founder's daughter, Freya Aspinall, has been very active on social media and she's
23:24actually been posting about the cubs since about June of last year.
23:28She's got nearly one and a half million followers and regularly posts videos of her taking care
23:33of the various animals at the park.
23:36And I've actually got a clip of her, the first post she made with these lion cubs, which
23:40got 50 million views on Instagram.
24:05That is amazing.
24:06I complain when my cat gets too close while I'm sleeping as well.
24:08Imagine sleeping with those lions.
24:11It's incredible.
24:12She's done a lot of videos like this.
24:14Actually before this video, she rehabilitated another lion and there's a video of her on
24:20her Instagram where she's sitting in the back of the truck in Africa with the lions, just
24:25keeping the company.
24:26So it's really interesting stuff.
24:28And taking them all the way home back to the wild.
24:31Really, really sweet story and lovely to see those cubs and hopefully see them back in
24:34the wild soon as well.
24:36Can you tell us about a TV series that had scenes filmed right here in Kent?
24:40That's your next story for us.
24:42Yes.
24:43So the series is called SAS Rogue Heroes.
24:47And to be completely honest, I hadn't heard of it before today, but I'm very interested
24:53to give it a watch now because it was actually filmed at the historic dockyard in Chatham,
24:58which is not too far from the studio here.
25:01And the dockyard itself seems to be a very popular place to film.
25:06They've done a couple of Marvel series filmings there, like Loki, which is an amazing series.
25:12And Secret Invasion had some shots filmed there.
25:18The first episode actually just aired a couple of days ago.
25:22It's amazing to see some big names in some really local areas as well.
25:26So we can all be spotting the dockyard there.
25:28And finally, we're looking to 2025.
25:32What's coming up?
25:33What should we be looking out for?
25:34Lots of festivals, events happening this year.
25:38So it'll also be Chinese New Year this year on the 29th of January, it falls on.
25:43So it's whatever day that the full moon is.
25:45So it changes every year.
25:47And I'll be celebrating that.
25:49And it's the Year of the Serpent this year.
25:51So if it's anyone's year, they should have a lot of good luck if they were born in the
25:57Year of the Serpent.
25:58That's amazing.
25:59And how will you be celebrating?
26:00I personally will not be doing much.
26:03I'll be at home making some food, making some dumplings, which is actually tradition.
26:09It's always tradition to eat dumplings on New Year.
26:12And I've got to clean my room, clean my flat to bring good luck for the New Year, sweep
26:19away all the bad luck.
26:21So some more events that are happening this year are the Maidstone Run, a roadrun in March.
26:28The Easter Food Festival in Broadstairs, which is happening in the middle of April.
26:32And there's a ton of events happening in the Dreamland in Margate over the summer.
26:36So that's something to look forward to.
26:38Lots to look forward to for 2025.
26:39Kai, thank you very much.
26:42That's all we've got time for this evening.
26:44You've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
26:47I'll see you again soon.
26:48Bye bye.