Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:29I'm Finn McDermid and here are your top stories on Thursday 10th April.
00:3560 miles to school and back. Parents in Sheppey say they may take Kent County Council to court
00:40over school allocations. Two years since disaster. Swanscombe marks the anniversary of the Galley
00:48Hill landslip that hurt roads and damaged homes. And are you a film egghead? Watch as
00:54Kent Film Club presenter Chris Deasy is quizzed on his knowledge of Easter films.
00:59But first tonight frustrated Sheppey families are facing a 60 mile round trip to get their
01:03children to secondary school and are saying they'd take Kent County Council to court.
01:08Last night parents gathered at a public meeting on the island expressing their concerns over
01:11what they're calling unrealistic allocations. It's thought that around 25 families are impacted,
01:17but KCC claims they're following statutory guidelines and additional offers will be made. Local
01:22democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has the story. How do you feel about it all?
01:26Pretty upset. And why is that? Because I'm just going to be away from all my friends and that.
01:36Right, what homework have we got today? Finding a secondary school is meant to be a joyous occasion,
01:46but for this family on the Isle of Sheppey it's turning into a nightmare. The council has offered
01:52their son a place at a school in Faversham, more than 20 miles away and off the island.
01:59It's just not suitable. I mean there's safeguarding concerns straight away there, you know, not only that early in the morning,
02:06but him doing that amount of travelling on his own, letting him be in an unfamiliar town that he's not even familiar with.
02:12It's just a whole shambles to be fair.
02:15The council will have to take us to court for not sending him and then we'll ask the judge if they feel that it's the right place for him to be.
02:23Because at the end of the day, they have to be accountable for doing it and we can't send an 11 year old on journeys like that every day for the next five years.
02:33Now due to Carl's parents' work commitments, he wouldn't be able to get a private car to Abbey School in Faversham.
02:40KCC have sent parents this journey planner. Now if I take it from this bus stop here, it says it would take Carl 7 hours and 42 minutes by walking,
02:50cycling 2 hours, public transport 1 hour and 37 minutes and that would involve both trains and buses.
03:00Two new schools replaced the failing Oasis Academy after Ofsted rated it inadequate in 2022.
03:07Since then, more families have chosen to stay on the island rather than send their children to Sittingbourne,
03:13which could be behind the shortage of places.
03:16Last night, some of those affected gathered at a public meeting. Their frustration was clear.
03:22I will not be sent to her then. She bought the bread on this island, she couldn't go to school on this island.
03:28I can walk to the beer family from my house. They take the air down, go to school, they're literally walking distance.
03:34And they're telling me I'm too far away.
03:36For many of us, what I can find is a pair of them.
03:39Kent County Council says 56 Sheppey families were offered places off the island.
03:44Since 60 more years, seven places have been found. But around 25 families are still waiting for a place on the island. And now they want answers.
03:55Yes, I would like to know why those numbers don't quite add up. And what's really frustrating this evening for a lot of the parents, they haven't been able to get that information out from Kent County Council.
04:06In a statement, KCC says it will make its next full round of offers on 24 April. Then, the school-based appeals process will begin in line with national statutory requirements.
04:17And when it comes to school transport, they say deciding who is eligible is also a statutory process and they will apply the legislation in line with every other local authority.
04:27At a meeting, parents signed an open letter demanding answers and accountability. Many said they may have to quit their jobs to home school if no solution is found.
04:38Gabriel Morris in Warden.
04:41We spoke to local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris about this earlier.
04:45I've been to many public meetings in the past and I don't think I've ever seen so much emotion come out from the people who are contributing to it.
04:54Now this was, as you saw in my pictures there, a round table, a round circular, lots of different families there sharing their views, a range of emotion and opinions coming out.
05:06We think around 25 families were involved and many of those were there last year.
05:11I was in Warden, that's where the meeting was last night, that's almost as far away as you can get on the Isle of Sheppey, right at the other end.
05:18Now as the crow flies, as you heard in my report, not that far away at all from Faversham at the Abbey School where many of those parents have got a place for their child.
05:26The issue is, there's a big body of water in the way.
05:30So the only way to get there is to go over the Sheppey crossing on the Kings Ferry Bridge, which is right at the other side of the island, by car on a good day, 40 minutes.
05:38But I think if you talk to any parents, they'll say traffic is horrendous on a school run, so it could almost be double that, quite likely.
05:44And public transport, well you're looking at 90 minutes and leaving before 6am in the morning.
05:50So absolutely huge anger there from parents, they've all come together now collectively, and I think this is going to be the approach we're going to see now.
05:58Before there have been meetings where they've come together, but before it's been he said that, she said this, I think now we're going to possibly see more of a collective approach.
06:08Now, as you saw in my report, the two parents there of Kyle, they say they're prepared to take their child to court.
06:15Other parents say they might homeschool.
06:17Now I've been talking to Barney McCoy, he lives in Minster, and his child is just a stone's throw away from the Lee Academy where he wanted them to go.
06:26However, he was telling me that he's been given a place in Faversham.
06:31I go to work, so my partner doesn't drive, so it means she would be travelling on her own at 11 years old, which is impossible for an 11-year-old girl to travel 23 miles to school on her own.
06:44And what was your preferred school, and how far away was it?
06:47Lee Academy is literally a 10-minute walk from my house. It's on the same road as our house, and they're telling him we don't meet the criteria, we live too far away.
06:56A terminally ill father from Hempstead in Medway's raised more than £80,000 for charity after taking on a challenge to walk 25 million steps.
07:05Paul Dennington was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021, and was recently named the overall winner at the Pride in Medway Awards.
07:12After walking marathons, hosting charity football matches, and completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on a cross-changer,
07:19Paul's using his story to encourage others to get checked for prostate cancer as soon as possible.
07:24We spoke to him on the Kent Morning Show earlier.
07:27Paul, thank you very much for joining us on the Kent Morning Show. It's great to speak with you.
07:31I think your story is absolutely inspiring, and it's clearly touched so many people that you've now been given this Medway Pride Award.
07:39Take us back, though, to that moment in 2021 when you did get your diagnosis.
07:44What went through your mind, and at what point did you think you're going to turn that energy into something so great?
07:49Well, obviously, it's a tough thing to hear, but I think I've been quite lucky in my reaction because I think everybody reacts differently.
08:01Some people go to very dark places. I didn't fully understand that, but I didn't really.
08:05So my main negative feeling actually at the time was guilt, and it was guilt because I was going to have to put my wonderful family through this terrible journey.
08:15And it was because of me and my body. So that was, I guess, the most negative thing.
08:20But then pretty well immediately I wanted to focus on what I could influence as opposed to what I couldn't change so I could influence how I reacted and what I did with my prognosis and my time.
08:34So pretty well straight away, as soon as I told the kids, I started my first challenge, which was a 25 million step challenge and started it from there, really.
08:46And talk to me a bit more about this 25 million step challenge. How did that come about and where are you at with it all now?
08:53So I decided I want to do something big, something that would probably try and grab people's attention.
09:00And I had no idea how well it would work. So it was getting that kind of number that would attract people.
09:09So it worked out at about 14,000 steps a day and I had to do that for five years.
09:15So that would get me from Medway right through to New Zealand virtually.
09:22And it would take five years. Five years was important because my prognosis was five to eight years.
09:28So I thought, well, as well as doing a great thing to raise awareness and for the charity, it meant that, you know, when the five years came up,
09:35if I was still able to walk 14,000 steps a day, then I was doing pretty well versus my prognosis.
09:41Now it's in a really good, healthy position. So it's kind of a combination of the two.
09:44And of course, you've raised more than £80,000 for such a great cause.
09:51And what's been your sort of favourite moment of it all?
09:54I know you've got a fair few stories. Is there even an Elvis moment in there, if I'm not mistaken?
10:00There was an Elvis moment. Yes.
10:04We did a kind of mini street party. That was one of the fundraisers we did.
10:09And the guy's actually, he's gay Elvis. And he came and performed at the street party.
10:16So that was pretty impressive. Bless him. He did it free of charge for us.
10:20So that was a great fundraiser in terms of the physical challenges.
10:25I think the hardest one or the hardest two I've done were the Yorkshire Three Peaks, which is 25 miles with 5,000 feet of sand.
10:39And you've got to do it inside 12 hours. But I did it with two guys who were both also prostate cancer sufferers.
10:46One of whom was thankfully cured because when it's caught early, it's very treatable.
10:50But the other one, like me, had been given a terminal diagnosis.
10:54So it was a very poignant walk for the three of us to do the peaks.
10:58And we kind of named one of the peaks each for us.
11:01And, you know, if it gets to the point where one of us sadly loses our fight, then the other two have to go back and climb that peak again and toast the other person.
11:11So it sounds a little bit, I don't know, morbid, I guess, but it wasn't actually.
11:16It's really, really positive and part of that kind of camaraderie that we did it.
11:20And then locally, probably the toughest one I've did was a sunrise to sunset around the kind of Hempstead, Parkwood, Rainham area.
11:29And I did 43 miles in one day, which was pretty tough and left my feet in quite a mess.
11:38Coming up after the break, we'll take a look at a landslide on a major road near Dartford that sent an area in Swanscombe into chaos.
11:45We'll be looking at a petrol tank driver who delivered a baby.
11:48And our morning show presenters take a crack at our Easter themed quiz.
11:51All that and more after the break.
15:12Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
15:18Now, first, a fuel tank driver delivered more than just petrol recently.
15:2250-year-old Ed Donoghue helped deliver a baby.
15:25Donoghue from Maidstone was unloading fuel at a petrol station near the Kent Sussex border when couple Amy Holmes and her partner Adam Davies pulled in on their way to the hospital.
15:35He'd formerly served in the 1st Battalion of the King's Regiment, so was up to date with the latest medical training, first aid training.
15:41The couple described him as a beacon of calm. Baby Solomon was born safely in the front seat of the couple's Citroen at 8 in the morning.
15:49Staff at the service station also stepped in to support the couple.
15:52Now, a driver stopped at the Eurotunnel reportedly had no idea he had £23 million worth of cocaine in his vehicle.
16:01The driver was oblivious to the fact that his load of dry ice contained the narcotic when he was stopped by authorities at the Coquelles border control in France.
16:09Though he was initially arrested, the driver was released. After it became clear he had been used as a mule without his knowledge.
16:15Dutch drug dealer Bart Verschuen has been imprisoned for 18 years for the offence after the National Crime Agency determined he was behind the drugs run.
16:25Now, it was once a quiet community, but two years ago life in Swanscombe was turned upside down.
16:30A landslide on a major road near Dartford collapsed into an industrial estate, sending the area into chaos.
16:37Bus routes cut, lorries causing damage to homes and a solution years away.
16:40Local democracy reporter Gabor Morris has taken a look back as Swanscombe marks the second anniversary of the Galley Hill landslip.
16:47The very day when it happened and we were coming up this road, and as we were coming up, I said to my wife,
16:54look, that looks like it's cracked there, that road.
16:57Lo and behold, a few hours later, the road actually collapsed, so we were very fortunate that it could have happened, you know, as we were passing it.
17:04Once, a busy A-road, now blocked, left in disrepair, though not forgotten.
17:12This chalk spine collapsed onto this local business two years ago today.
17:17So my first thought was just, like, this minimised the damage, so I pulled all the vehicles out that I could that were in the proximity.
17:24We set up an exclusion zone and I could just watch from a distance as sort of a family business was being destroyed.
17:30Now, thankfully, this happened on a bank holiday.
17:35However, if this was a normal working day, a mechanic would have been working right at the back of this warehouse here.
17:41It could have been a different story.
17:44Do you think it will ever be fixed?
17:46Ah, let's hope so.
17:48I mean, it's not just us.
17:49Obviously, the residents, they need to get back to some normality and stuff.
17:52And obviously, it's such a major road, it's just disruptions everywhere, so, yeah.
17:57And they're not alone.
18:00On Galley Hill Road, this motorcycle shop used to rely on passing trade.
18:05That lifeline has now been cut off.
18:09Owner Mick says business rate relief from the borough council has helped him keep the wheels turning,
18:14although staying afloat is still a daily battle.
18:18I pay rates on the main road, and I'm not on the main road.
18:24You know, so, basically, that's what the problem is.
18:27For me, with that road being shut, I'm not going to get no passing traffic.
18:32You can't call traffic through Swanscombe passing traffic, because it's not.
18:36It's not on the main road.
18:37You don't have a motorcycle shop not on the main road.
18:40And it's not just businesses.
18:44People across Swanscombe say they've suffered too, holding a protest just last weekend,
18:49calling for action for a return to normality.
18:52With Galley Hill Road still closed, access to Swanscombe is limited,
18:57and narrow streets become easily gridlocked.
19:01If there's anything, major accidents on any of them roads or the Dartford Tunnel,
19:05this section gets gridlocked.
19:07You cannot move.
19:09If anybody needed an ambulance, they wouldn't be able to get here quick enough.
19:13They would die.
19:14And take a look at this.
19:16Last June, a lost lorry ended up in a children's park.
19:20There is an official diversion, and locals say it is regularly flouted.
19:26Everything comes through Swanscombe now, don't matter what it is.
19:28They just can't find no alternative routes.
19:32What needs to happen?
19:33Well, this has got to be fixed.
19:34This has got to be fixed to get a lot of the heavy stuff off it.
19:39These protesters say they feel cut off.
19:42The chalk spine has long been the main route in and out of the community.
19:48It's an ancient right of way, ancient road that goes through the Kingdom of Kent,
19:52linking London with Dover.
19:54As long as there's been human beings, there's been some sort of a trackway, stroke road on
20:00this site.
20:01Now, a solution may be in sight.
20:04Kent County Council revealed two preferred repair options at a public meeting a few weeks
20:09ago.
20:10So what we had to do was really bring it down to a realistic approach, because we had a
20:14deadline that we needed to get into government to be able to actually put pressure on to
20:21get that funding.
20:22One is to bridge the area, so it would be a similar bridge to what crosses HS1 at the
20:27moment further down the road.
20:29Secondly, it would be a reinforced earth embankment.
20:32But after two long years, residents are asking how much longer they'll be left waiting.
20:38I think what shocked people was that they weren't even full detailed proposals.
20:43It was the fact that even if the government approved funding today, it would take them
20:49six months to work up a full business case, come up with some detailed plans, another six
20:54months to actually put the contracts out to tender, and then 18 months to two years to
20:59build. So, you know, yeah, we've got a sketch on the back of an envelope, basically.
21:06KCC has admitted it doesn't have the funds to pay for the repairs. The local MP is due
21:12to meet the roads minister later this month to push for government support.
21:17She has knowledge of the situation here on the ground. Go in and talk to her about finding
21:22a funding solution. It would almost certainly have to be a loan from government to Kent County
21:27Council to be paid back over a period of time into the future because it's Kent's responsibility
21:32to fix this. But if we can get a loan from the government, we can actually start work,
21:37hopefully, in a reasonably compressed timetable and give people in Swansom hope that this is
21:44going to be solved soon.
21:45It's an unhappy anniversary for these protesters. But for the first time in two years, a fix
21:51finally on the table. Until now, pressure has been on local authorities. But now, all eyes
21:59on London, hoping Westminster stumps up for cash. Gabriel Morris in Swansom.
22:07Now it's time to take a quick look at the weather.
22:10Tonight is looking calm with clear night skies and temperatures of around 6 degrees. Into
22:21tomorrow morning, the sun's going to greet us with temperatures of around 10 degrees, 8
22:25down in Ashford and a lot of sun all around the county. And in the afternoon, highs of 20
22:31degrees, a bit cooler by the coast, 15 there in Margate and 16 down in Dover. Now here's the
22:36rest of your outlook. A very warm weekend coming up. Highs of 20 on Saturday, some clouds to follow
22:42on Sunday, and Monday dropping to highs of 16 at the start of next week.
22:51And finally, ahead of another episode of the Kent Film Club, the show's presenter, Chris Deesey,
22:56joined Abby and Bartholomew on The Morning Show to take a crack at our Easter-themed quiz.
23:01We're getting close to Easter time, so we've got a sort of Easter-themed quiz with some of our films.
23:06So I'm going to play some clips, audio clips from some films, if either of you can guess
23:10them, and then bonus points for anything else that you can tell me about the film, year,
23:15actors, etc. Okay, so first clip, if we can have it now.
23:18You are going to be the Easter Bunny. You need to get it together, get rid of these drums,
23:23and get your priorities straight.
23:25Okay, what do we think?
23:27Do you know, I'll tell you what, I'm sure it isn't the answer, but I know in the Santa Claus
23:323, the Easter Bunny appears. That's probably way too lateral.
23:36It's a, I can't remember the name of it, but it's the modern film with the Easter Bunny
23:41that's like an animated film.
23:43Yeah, it's kind of the one that people will think of nowadays. It's called Hop.
23:47Oh yeah.
23:48Yes, of course. So this is the kind of, you know, if you think of an Easter film,
23:51this is the most recent. We've got a picture of it here. Hop. Don't know if we know the year,
23:55if anybody knows it. I haven't got it written down.
23:56I won't have a clip.
23:57No? Okay, no worries. In the last 10 years, I'm sure. Right. Let's go to our next clip now.
24:02You've got to hide your paper.
24:03I do. Yeah, I don't want you to see it.
24:06Next one.
24:07Total? I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
24:12Wizard of Oz. 1939, Victor Fleming.
24:14There we go.
24:15How many bonus points do I get for that?
24:16Maybe we'll give you three points for that. Wizard of Oz, of course.
24:20Yeah, very good. Kind of a New Beginnings type link to it. I'm sure it'll be a lovely one
24:24to watch over the Easter break. Next one for us.
24:28But you go in all the time.
24:30That's my character flaw. You get your own character flaw. Come on, Benjamin.
24:34Why does he get to go?
24:35Yeah. Why do I have to go in? Because that's his character flaw.
24:39That's James Corden, but I can't imagine.
24:40It is James Corden.
24:41I don't think that's Gavin and Stacey.
24:43Nope.
24:44Not Gavin and Stacey.
24:44And it couldn't be Nativity. And it's not the film for Cats, is it?
24:50No, not Cats.
24:50This is a very distinct Easter theme.
24:53Is it Benjamin Button?
24:55No.
24:56The one with James Corden.
24:59We should reveal this is a very distinct Easter time.
25:01It's Peter Abbott.
25:02Oh, of course.
25:03Yes, James Corden plays Peter Abbott.
25:06Yes, he does.
25:08Oh, have you seen that?
25:09Yeah, I have seen it.
25:10Next one. This one's got more of a spring theme to it.
25:12Let's see if we know number four.
25:14Let's start at the very beginning.
25:20Judy Andrews.
25:22A very good place to start.
25:25Sound of Music.
25:26Sound of Music.
25:27Do we know the year?
25:281965.
25:30I'll tell you what, I don't have it written down, so I'll just take one.
25:31Yeah, no.
25:33So, okay.
25:34Oh, what a lovely song.
25:36Yes.
25:36Oh, another film.
25:38This is an interesting one.
25:39Let's go for the next one.
25:40Oh, that's a beauty.
25:47Now, all we're going to do is get him and his little mates through the tunnels to the top
25:51and we'll have ourselves Easter.
25:55Well, I recognise the Australian voice there.
25:58I'm not sure.
25:59I have no idea.
26:00I love how we both lean in to listen to it as well.
26:02It's funny, isn't it?
26:03Yeah, I know.
26:03I'm not sure about that one.
26:04Okay, so let's reveal.
26:05This is number five.
26:06This is Rise of the Guardians.
26:08Oh, I don't know.
26:09This is another Easter, sort of family-friendly film.
26:12As of recent, has Easter Bunny in it.
26:14And Father Christmas, by the look of it, yeah.
26:17Brilliant.
26:18Well, you've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV, but don't forget, there's more
26:22news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:25Don't forget, you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging
26:29on to kmtv.co.uk.
26:32You can keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on TikTok.
26:36And if you have a story that you think we should be covering, then please don't hesitate to
26:41get in touch.
26:42Well, that's all from me for tonight.
26:44Have a very good evening.
26:45See you soon.
26:57You