Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Cameron Tucker.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:27I'm Cameron Tucker and here are your top stories on Wednesday the 29th of January.
00:32What's the cost as the chance the green lights the lower Thames crossing?
00:36Which will improve connectivity at Dover, Felixstowe and Harwich.
00:41Campaigners worry about its environmental impact.
00:44This will undoubtedly defy all commitments to reach our net zero targets.
00:49Medway's last chance.
00:50Rochester divided as council leader makes last ditch bid for city status.
00:55I do believe that Rochester should return to being a city by itself.
00:59Encounters of a wild kind.
01:01We speak to celebrated nature filmmaker Gordon Buchanan ahead of live events in Folkestone
01:06and Tunbridge Wells.
01:07I could talk about bears or I could just talk about big cats but I thought obviously the
01:11ring of lions and tigers and bears it just was too good to dismiss that.
01:26After years of speculation the Chancellor has officially announced a proposed multi-billion
01:32pound tunnel between Kent and Essex will go ahead.
01:35The lower Thames crossing is expected to be one of the most ambitious and expensive projects
01:40British infrastructure has ever seen but Rachel Reeves says the government is exploring the
01:45option to fund the project privately and what she says will deliver value for money for
01:49taxpayers while there are also fears from campaigners about the crossings impact on
01:54the local environment.
01:55Barsolome Hall has more.
01:58We will work with the private sector to deliver the infrastructure that our country desperately
02:03needs.
02:05This includes the lower Thames crossing which will improve connectivity at Dover, Felixstowe
02:11and Harwich.
02:12This is the moment years of indecision over the building of a new tunnel between Kent
02:16and Essex were seemingly brought to an end alongside a number of other infrastructure
02:20announcements including backing a new runway at Heathrow airport.
02:24The Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the government is backing the proposed lower Thames crossing
02:28and is looking for private investors to foot the bill.
02:31It's great news for Dartford and now that we've got treasury approval and hopefully
02:36private sector funding following shortly afterwards that we can see work start later in 2025 with
02:43a view to the lower Thames crossing being available to be opened early in the next decade.
02:50It's a clear victory for those who hope a new crossing on the Thames would lessen congestion
02:54elsewhere in Kent.
02:55It will also add much needed resilience into the transport network as well.
03:00We know that when things go wrong at Dartford as they regularly do there's very few alternatives
03:04particularly for freight traffic.
03:06What it means is that lorries have to divert around the M25 via Heathrow adding up to two
03:12hours to journey times.
03:13Sitting at around £9 billion the lower Thames crossing could be one of the most expensive
03:19infrastructure projects on Britain's roads ever.
03:22But this isn't the first time private funding has been put forward as a solution.
03:26We already know that the private investors that are sniffing around on this already are
03:31looking at the model that's taking place through tolls and revenue from the Dartford crossing
03:36so we're absolutely confident that investors will be there and as long as the government
03:40gets a green light and push through the planning this is really really good news for Kent.
03:44However, environment campaigners have long argued building of a new tunnel would be a
03:48danger to wildlife.
03:50The Kent Wildlife Trust argues the crossing would not only destroy habitats but add to
03:54Britain's carbon footprint when it's built.
03:56Instead of safeguarding biodiversity the Lower Thames project will destroy irreplaceable
04:02habitats, increase carbon emissions and continue to long term environmental degradation and
04:08this is not the future that we should be building.
04:112025 is the 16th year which has seen discussion over how a new crossing could be built on
04:17the Thames but with the Chancellor's backing today perhaps it's also the year where the
04:22wheels are finally put in motion.
04:24Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
04:28Swanley resident and Love Island winner Jack Fincham has been sentenced to six weeks in
04:33prison after his dog bit a runner.
04:36The TV personality pled guilty to two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out of
04:40control dog.
04:42Back in 2022 his black cane Corso Elvis attacked Robert Suttle who was jogging at the time.
04:48Fincham was cautioned and told to take a responsible dog ownership course and his pet must be muzzled
04:53in public and kept away from under 16s.
04:56But in June last year there was a second incident in Essex when his dog was out of control and
05:02he was later charged.
05:03Fincham was ordered to pay nearly £4,000 in total.
05:08Kent police may have missed opportunities to find Leah Daly while she was still alive
05:13according to her family.
05:14Thousands joined in the search effort in Folkestone last summer but Leah was found by two walkers
05:20just 700 yards from where she was last seen 12 days before she went missing.
05:25The family are calling for a jury inquest into her death after police admitted they
05:29lost drone footage from the investigation by mistake.
05:32Abbey Hook joins me with the details.
05:35Abbey what's the footage that the police lost and how crucial could it have been to their
05:39investigation?
05:40Well Cameron it's an incredibly complex and complicated situation for the police but even
05:45more difficult and challenging for Leah's family who already feel as though Leah could
05:49have been found much earlier being just 700 yards from where she was last seen.
05:54Now a reminder of Leah's disappearance.
05:56She was last seen at 7pm on the 5th of May at the Warren in Folkestone.
06:00She was listed as a high risk missing person.
06:02It sparked huge search efforts from not only the police but local residents too.
06:068,700 member Facebook page, many of those sharing details, information, sharing the
06:11missing persons photos that would later go on to lay flowers for her and intend her vigil
06:16as well.
06:17Now her body was discovered on the 17th of May as you said 12 days later.
06:21You can see the police cordon up on the screen now.
06:25That was the day that her body was found and some of those missing posters too.
06:29Her cause of death was recorded as cocaine toxicity.
06:32It occurs within minutes to hours of excessive cocaine use.
06:36Now to this week.
06:37At a pre-inquest review in Maidstone on Monday Kent Police revealed they had lost drone footage
06:42when her body was discovered.
06:44At the hearing an officer said there was footage of the recovery of Leah's body but in an admin
06:49error it wasn't kept.
06:51They've lost the footage from above they said.
06:53The family have previously told Kent Online that they would never get over how long it
06:56took Kent Police to find her body in the first place.
07:00Now it's quite unorthodox but the family are pushing for a jury inquest to be held.
07:04Why are they taking that route of action?
07:06Well the family argued that the drone footage would have shown how she was discovered including
07:11how visible she would have been from the sky that entire time, that entire nearly two weeks
07:16it took to find her body.
07:18Now it's unusual for a jury to be at an inquest.
07:21Most are held without a jury but it sometimes happens in particular circumstances.
07:25For instance if there's an accident at work sometimes a jury will be brought in.
07:28The coroner's court support service says the jury cannot blame someone for the death.
07:32They can only be established in other legal proceedings in civil or criminal courts for
07:36example.
07:37However in this instance the jury can record facts that make it clear the death was caused
07:41by a specific failure of some sort or by neglect.
07:45That's why the family are calling for a jury inquest.
07:47We don't yet have a date for the full inquest but another pre-inquest review will be held
07:51later this year.
07:52Abbey Hook thank you very much.
07:54Now should Medway be a city?
07:56It's a sore subject for many people in the towns after Rochester lost its status more
08:02than 20 years ago.
08:03But with the leader of Medway council rising to government last week to get the local authority
08:08recognised Oliver Leader de Sacks has been to find out if people in the former city really
08:13care.
08:14When does a city cease to be a city?
08:18Well in Rochester's case when those in charge didn't do the paperwork.
08:24Back in 1998 when Medway council was being created Rochester upon Medway city council
08:32didn't appoint the trustees needed making it the only place in UK history to lose its
08:39city status.
08:41The question remains more than two decades on do people here actually care?
08:49Very much so.
08:50I think that Rochester should return to Rochester upon Medway a city and if the rest of the
08:56towns want to become Medway city that's fine.
08:59But I do believe that Rochester should return to being a city by itself.
09:03I'd like to see Rochester at least.
09:05Definitely bring more tourism in.
09:07Even local people would come back to come to see the local events and things.
09:13I'd say I'm worried about the state not necessarily the status.
09:18I mean because I do a lot of work in the local community and we obviously refer to it as
09:21the Medway towns.
09:22But yeah I think because I know Rochester was a city but I don't know it depends whether
09:28or not it's a benefit to the area it being a city or not.
09:31So what makes a city a city?
09:34Well it's not actually one of these.
09:37Cathedrals are a common misconception about what grants a place city status.
09:43It's less to do with God and more to do with the government who themselves are embarking
09:48on a major shake up of Kent's local authorities.
09:53Raising the question of whether this is the last chance Medway has of getting its city
09:59status back on track.
10:02It is about that inward investment.
10:04It is about saying actually Medway is proud of its history but proud of its future as
10:08well.
10:09But from a practical perspective it's highly unlikely that Medway as we know it, the 285,000
10:16residents are going to be in a position to be able to move that forward because if the
10:20rules remain the same of course it will just be those larger unitary authorities which
10:25of course will be part of but won't be Medway by itself.
10:28The leader of Medway council has already written to government in a last ditch bid
10:34to regain city status but not everyone is happy with the letter.
10:40Anything sensitive like this to do with identity has to be put out to consultation.
10:46You have to have the people with you.
10:47You have to win hearts and minds to do something like this but unfortunately what's happened
10:52over the years with these multiple bids for city status, it's just been done to us.
10:59It's been done to the community.
11:02The decision now rests with government but for some Rochester, not Medway, will always
11:09be a city.
11:10There's no one size fits all when it comes to cities and Rochester has been acknowledged
11:15as a city for well over a thousand years.
11:19It's this thing, the city of Rochester society describe it as a city by ancient prescriptive
11:25rights.
11:26In other words, if people recognise it as a city, it's a city, it doesn't matter what
11:29anyone else says.
11:31But whatever happens next in this tale of two cities, it certainly won't be a fairy
11:37tale ending for everyone here in Medway.
11:40Oliver Leader, The Sacks, for KMTV in Rochester.
11:45See you after this short break.
14:49Thanks for joining us live on KMTV.
15:15Now for a surprise discovery.
15:17On her way to make a Sunday roast, Karen Beckett from Sittingbourne didn't realise she had
15:21another mouth to feed after finding a toad in her bag of parsnips.
15:26She said the vegetables had been in the fridge for a few days before she made the shocking
15:29discovery.
15:30Take a look.
15:31So the other day I bought some Taste of Difference baby parsnips from Sainsbury's and I put them
15:38in my fridge about four days ago and this morning I was about to make a roast dinner.
15:44So I got the parsnips out and I went to cut the bag but something moved and inside I found,
15:55oh my god it's moving, a toad and it's very much alive.
16:00There is an air hole in the bag so he's managed to stay alive, he must have been very cold
16:06in the fridge.
16:08Can you please let us know what we should do next?
16:13So nicknamed Nippy is safe and well and now under the care of Columbine's Wildlife Care
16:17in Tenham.
16:18And they even managed to get rid of the parsnips too, making a nice snack for Nippy's goat
16:23neighbours at the sanctuary.
16:25Well in other news, villagers in Mepham have been protesting after their local council
16:30decided to shut down the public toilets in the village.
16:33The toilets were shut ahead of a planned demolition and the parish council stated that the site
16:38had poor stability.
16:39The plan is to install a single unisex toilet but many villagers are annoyed by the temporary
16:44closure.
16:45Joe Crossley has more.
16:48Villagers are at war with Mepham Parish Council after its decision to demolish a public toilet.
16:54It wants to replace it with a single unit unisex loo but people living in the village
16:59are in uproar.
17:00Those toilets were built in 1959, they are solid, there is nothing wrong with those,
17:07we don't need a unisex toilet, a lot of the older population around here just wouldn't
17:11want that anyway.
17:13The council just shut them without any consideration and any conversation with the local population
17:19but unfortunately the council are now rather unwilling to reconsider opening them and properly
17:28talk about what can be done.
17:31It's an iconic building within Mepham, two, it serves our parish and probably more importantly
17:38it serves visitors to our parish such as walkers, day-of-ears, van drivers, bus drivers, postmen,
17:46delivery men, everybody that serves our village needs to use these facilities.
17:51We're quite upset really about the fact that the toilets are closed because sometimes we
17:57need to go and it is vital for not just us but everyone in the community.
18:03Mepham Parish Council says it has structural concerns about the facility and that it is
18:08unfit for purpose.
18:10It's time to catch up on the latest health headlines with KMTV's health expert Dr Julian
18:16Spinks.
18:17Julian, thanks for coming in.
18:23A story that we cover quite a lot here in Medway about gambling, new guidance to GPs
18:31saying that it should be treated in the same way as alcohol and smoking addiction.
18:35As a GP in Medway, what's the sort of advice, what's your kind of experience in this area?
18:41Well I've seen people who've been devastated, who've lost jobs, lost houses, lost their
18:46family because of gambling addiction and this guidance which is from NICE, the National
18:51Institute of Health and Care Excellence, is all about identifying it and then helping
18:55people to find it.
18:56And as a GP we're going to be looking at people who are at high risk, people with mental
19:00health problems, people with a family history.
19:03Also there are some medications, dopamine agonists which are used for Parkinson's disease
19:07and restless leg syndrome, can actually trigger compulsive behaviour including gambling.
19:12Now last week we were obviously talking about the smoking ban and how in the 20 years that
19:16you've been in medicine and media you've seen how that conversation has changed.
19:21Have you seen the conversation change around gambling and the medical profession as well?
19:25Is it now properly seen as an addiction, as a disease?
19:30I think firstly yes we've learnt it's an addiction.
19:32The other thing is of course there's much more access to gambling than there was.
19:36It used to be that you had bookies and maybe going to gambling environments but now you've
19:43got all these online opportunities and so the difficulty is even though they have things
19:48which limit how much you do with them, you can move on to the next site and carry on gambling.
19:53Now a story that we're often seeing about breakthroughs in the field of dementia and
19:58Alzheimer's, a new trial at NHS clinics is looking at a simple blood test that will hopefully
20:03detect dementia at an early stage. How does this test work?
20:09Well at the moment they're actually working on what is going to be the best test.
20:12They're looking at things called biomarkers. These tend to be things like proteins and
20:16an example is amyloid or tau protein which is produced in Alzheimer's disease.
20:22And so if you can find these markers and maybe have a combination of them then you can develop
20:26this simple test. It's really important because it's actually not that easy at the moment
20:31to get the diagnosis made. You have to have things like brain scans and access to that
20:36is limited. For me to be able to do a simple blood test and say this looks like you need
20:40to be looked at more closely would be fantastic.
20:43And just a final one, Coca-Cola has recalled its drinks in some countries because they
20:47contain high levels of chlorate. What is this and should we be worried here in the UK?
20:54The likelihood is it's from a disinfectant that's actually managed to get into the system.
20:59The amounts are going to be pretty low but above the recommended limit. Long-term use
21:04could cause problems such as absorption of iodine giving you thyroid problems but the
21:08dose is not going to be high enough to give you the short-term damage people have for
21:11example by drinking large amounts of it.
21:13Julian as always thank you so much for coming in. Now don't forget you can keep up to date
21:17with all your latest stories across Kent by logging on to kntv.co.uk. There you'll find
21:25all our reports including this one about these men who scammed drivers out of millions of
21:29miles on their car clocks.
21:32It's a scam that saw more than two million miles wound back on at least 22 used vehicles
21:37known as giving vehicles a haircut. This CCTV footage shows Thomas Hamilton, 34, of Huguen
21:44Avenue in broadstairs plugging in his laptop and tampering with the dashboard. Two other
21:48key players were involved, 34-year-old Ryan Reagan of Wallace Way Broadstairs and Darren
21:53Craddock, 59, of Beach Avenue Chatham. Based in Sandwich they bought high mileage cars
21:59at auction before selling them online across the country, profiting by some £80,000. They
22:05all pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Justice Fowler sentenced Mr Reagan and Hamilton
22:11to a two-year suspended sentence and Mr Craddock to a 20-month suspended sentence with them
22:16expected to pay compensation and 200 hours of unpaid work each.
22:21It's good. It's a good sentence. We're pleased we've got to where we are. The only thing
22:27that is disappointing is because of the significant court delays and the process, we've had to
22:33wait. It's caused complications with taking the case through the courts and of course
22:39it's also delayed justice for the victim.
22:42Trading Standards has cross-referenced information on more than 200 vehicles handled by the group.
22:47The legal case delayed because of the pandemic, but today justice served.
22:52Gabriel Morris at Canterbury Crown Court.
22:55Now let's take a look at the weather.
22:57We're in across the board tonight with highs of seven, lows of six in Ashford and Tunbridge
23:07Wells, but it's promising start tomorrow with clouds starting to clear, but it will be a
23:12little chillier. Lows of four degrees and expect clear skies for all of Kent tomorrow
23:18afternoon. Temperatures of six degrees and seven in Dartford, Medway and Maidstone. Take
23:23a look at the rest of the week. Overcast on Friday, partly cloudy for the weekend. Highs
23:28of seven on Saturday.
23:39And finally, capturing elusive tigers on film to close shaves with polar bears. Nature presenter
23:46and cameraman Gordon Buchanan has seen it all and will soon be sharing his stories and
23:51folks in Antonbridge Wells as he embarks on a national tour. Gordon Buchanan, lions, tigers
23:56and bears will be coming to the towns in March and the wildlife filmmaker wants to inform
24:01and educate people about some of the world's most beloved animals. I caught up with Gordon
24:05earlier and he started off by telling me how he settled on the show's theme. You know,
24:10they are majestic, they're iconic, they're kind of recognisable and I've been lucky enough
24:16to spend a huge amount of time over the years. So it was a bit of a, it was a kind of bit
24:21of a no brainer. I thought I could talk about bears or I could just talk about big cats,
24:26but I thought obviously the ring of lions and tigers and bears, it just was too good
24:30to dismiss that. Why do you think us Brits have such a fascination with these animals?
24:36It's a good question. I think, you know, there will be few houses, homes around the country
24:41that do not have one bear living in them. So bears particularly have kind of worked
24:47their way sort of into our lives like, like no others. You think, yeah, Paddington bear,
24:52Winnie the Pooh, Yogi bear, there's just, bears are everywhere and probably as a wild
24:59animal, bears are probably the best represented species on the planet. And I think that's
25:05because we've always had this fascination with, with those animals going way back, you know,
25:11in time when we first sort of, you know, we're living a hunter gatherer existence and living
25:16alongside bears in, you know, even in the United Kingdom when we had bears, you know,
25:22human beings are very kind of quite a self-centred species. We kind of like to see animals sort of
25:29reflecting back at us. And I think the simple fact that bears can stand on two legs
25:33is a big kind of appeal for us and probably always, always has been because we see them
25:39like us in some way. And we've got all of those animals here in Kent at various
25:44sanctuaries. Is the wildlife of the air, of this area, something you're familiar with,
25:48something that you've had the pleasure to witness and observe? No, I haven't. I mean,
25:53I sort of, I've travelled extensively around the UK, but it's always kind of been
26:00towns, cities, road systems. I seldom get the opportunity to, to go off off piste and
26:08hopefully on the tour, if I can kind of get my schedule right, I'll be able to actually,
26:12because I really want to explore the different, the countryside and sort of, you know, some of
26:16the wildlife. Well, plenty here in the county for him to enjoy when he visits. Gordon Buchanan,
26:22Lions, Tigers and Bears in Tunbridge Wells and Folkestone in March. And speaking of animals,
26:27a very happy Chinese New Year and Year of the Snake to all of you celebrating it out there.
26:32You've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV. There's more news made just for Kent throughout
26:37the evening. Don't forget, you can always catch up, be up to date with all our stories from across
26:41the county by going on our website. But for now, that's all from me. Goodbye.
26:57Transcribed by https://otter.ai