Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Bartholomew Hall.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Bartholomew Hall, here are your top stories on Friday the 18th of April.
00:34Kicking the addiction, football legend says more support's needed for recovering alcohol and drug addicts in East Kent.
00:41Death in the channel, further small boats brought to Kent shores as person confirmed to have died.
00:47And can you see it? Artists says Canterbury's underwater statue should be left to weather after critics are worried over its overgrown state.
00:55But first this evening, footballing legend Tony Adams says recovery, housing and employment are all crucial to kicking an addiction after he met those on their way to sobriety in Margate.
01:07Well now three decades sober himself, he hopes this three-pronged attack will defend those relying on drugs and alcohol from relapsing.
01:15Well members at the Forward Trust, the dependence charity, say having Mr Arsenal as their new chair will help settle their score with addiction.
01:24Abby Hook has this report.
01:26Maybe this is the sweetest of all, given what he's been through.
01:32Including drug addiction, alcohol abuse and even time in prison.
01:36Tony Adams is considered one of Arsenal's greatest ever players.
01:41But off the pitch, life wasn't quite kicking in the right direction.
01:44It was nearly 30 years ago when he became one of the most high-profile recovering addicts in the country.
01:51And now he's supporting those facing that same battle here in the county.
01:56You've got people here that are no different from me.
01:59We're in the same kind of, you know, whether it's a footballer, this illness doesn't discriminate.
02:05It doesn't matter who you are, whether you're the groundskeeper at Margate or you're a postman or a doctor or a nurse or a professional footballer.
02:13It's the same illness and there's a certain way out of that illness and we need connection, we need friends.
02:19And there's a lot of people in this, that I've met today that have got that connection, that have been through the same process.
02:27Some of them's gone through quickly, some of them slowly.
02:30My journey was now 29 years of recovery, you know, a day at a time.
02:36So would the Tony in your addiction recognise the Tony now in recovery?
02:42Jesus, I was scared of that man.
02:45He was a frightened little boy.
02:48And when you're frightened and scared, they're quite dangerous.
02:51We've got this thing in recovery where you say, like, that little boy wanted a big hug, but I was putting up the face.
02:57You know, you couldn't talk to me.
02:58I wouldn't have done interviews like this, you know what I mean?
03:00I was like, go away, you know, I'm too scared, too scared.
03:04But now you can see me, you know, you can see who I am.
03:07Waltz and all.
03:09Well, he might be Mr Arsenal and have captain for England on the pitch.
03:13But the legacy that Tony wants to live on is that help and support offered to those facing addiction and now in recovery just like him, especially here in East Kent.
03:23I've struggled with addiction for years, really.
03:28I think I was born one, but I lost my mum to suicide in 2008 and sort of struggled ever since, really.
03:37I know that's not an excuse, but I just never really knew what to do.
03:43And I went into rehab in July last year and, yeah, I've been really lucky with it, really.
03:49To be honest, when I was in addiction, I didn't really know much about it, about recovery.
03:56And as a man, to ask for help is quite difficult.
04:00Now, I would ask for help for anything because I know that it's there.
04:04And while I was in prison, full trust come to me and I went to fellowship meetings and stuff like that.
04:12And then I realised that this is my opportunity.
04:16So I took it with both hands.
04:18It's been a very difficult year.
04:19It's been one of the hardest years of my life.
04:22While each journey is different, many say they've only been able to bench their addictions with guided support from charities like Forward Trust and idols like Tony, both on and off the pitch.
04:34Abbey Hook for KMTV in Margate.
04:37Now, an asylum seeker has died trying to cross the English Channel towards Kent.
04:42The RNLI confirmed it launched an all-weather lifeboat and a group of migrants were brought to Dover in a border force boat this morning.
04:50Well, it comes after more than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel and 12 boats on Tuesday, which was the highest number of arrivals on a single day this year.
04:59The government says it's vowed to crack down on people smuggling across the channel.
05:03Kent's largest LGBT plus celebration has been saved from not going ahead after a new location was granted by the City Council.
05:13Usually held in the Dane John Gardens Park, Canterbury Pride sees around 20,000 visitors to the city centre every year.
05:21But now bosses have announced the free festival will now take place at the historic Westgate Towers.
05:26It comes after the Dane John location has been closed to the public until December, following widespread levelling up works across the city.
05:35Air ambulance charity Kent, Surrey and Sussex is calling on people to take precautions this Easter weekend as it braces for a surge in call-outs.
05:44It comes as motorcycling incidents more than doubled around this time of year over the past decade.
05:49But with call-outs raging from falls in the home to burns on a bonfire, I caught up with Dr Duncan Bootland from the charity earlier this week to hear more about the seasonal strains.
06:00When spring comes, when the days get lighter, when the weather warms up, we know we're going to be busier certainly to certain types of incidents.
06:09So we have to make sure we're ready to go right from the start of the shift.
06:12And when we think about the type of accidents that you're sort of attending during the springtime when you do see this sort of increased load,
06:21I suppose sometimes it's a bit overlooked at what would require an air ambulance or the type of response that you can give to actually be needed in the first place.
06:30When we think about sort of DIY accidents, things happening, you know, just in the home.
06:35Would you say that's true?
06:36Yeah, so the air ambulance allows us to take a specialist doctor and specialist paramedic to the scene to deliver enhanced care.
06:45So care that a standard ambulance wouldn't be able to provide before the patient gets to hospital.
06:50And what we see in the springtime is an increase in certain types of incidents.
06:54So particularly we're talking about people being injured on bicycles, on motorbikes,
06:59and injured in incidents perhaps at the home through perhaps DIY, working on ladders.
07:06But also lighting fires or lighting bonfires.
07:09Yeah, I suppose because people most know the air ambulance charity for is attending sort of road traffic collisions.
07:15I suppose that's the more typical view of them.
07:18But again, at this time of year, we've seen motorcycling incidents, for example, more than double in the springs from sort of 252 to the numbers of sort of 521.
07:28Are there sort of specific challenges that your teams face at this time of the year then when you do see, you know, more people on the roads, more people spending time at home, that kind of thing?
07:38Yeah, so as people move about as the weather gets better and they're out and about, then more of these incidents do happen.
07:48And we're keen to stress we're not telling people not to go out and enjoy themselves and enjoy the good weather.
07:54But we're just we're talking about trying to take extra caution in being safe because we do see incidents related to the motorbikes, to bicycles and, like I say, working on ladders and those increase in the springtime.
08:08So I suppose what is your sort of overall message then to the public as we go into this Easter weekend?
08:13And so I'd have two messages if I was allowed.
08:17The first is, like I say, we encourage people to get out and enjoy themselves and enjoy the good weather.
08:22But just take those extra few moments just to make sure that you're safe in what you're doing.
08:26So if you're on a bicycle or you're on a motorbike, make sure you're wearing the right protective gear.
08:31If you're driving a car, just make sure you take the time to be mindful of vulnerable road users so that you're not presenting danger to them.
08:38And if you're doing work around the house, just take those extra few moments to make sure that the ladder is safe, that there's someone there to support you so that we can avoid any of these incidents that might happen.
08:48Duncan, thank you very much for joining us today. It's good to speak with you.
08:52Thank you very much.
08:54Next, a unique underwater statue in Canterbury has been criticised after becoming covered in algae and silt, leaving it barely visible from its home at Westgate Towers.
09:05However, the creator says the installation is designed to weather with the flow of the river and the seasons.
09:12Well, our reporter Finn McDermid has been down to Westgate Gardens to see what people think.
09:17Now, the Aluvia statue has been here for about six months.
09:20But over that time, as you can see, it's gained quite a lot of dirt and algae.
09:25And locals have even been saying that for them and for tourists, it can be a bit creepy, disturbing and even hard to spot.
09:31I mean, we'd come down. My brother had told us a bit about it. I was expecting a bit more.
09:35There wasn't much to it, really. I thought there might be more in that.
09:39Yeah, I thought it looked a bit creepy.
09:41And it's very dark.
09:42It's really cool, yeah.
09:43You can't really, you have to look right down to actually see the outline of the statue.
09:49I didn't see the arm behind the head at first.
09:51Well, to be honest, we didn't actually notice it was there.
09:54We had to be told by the local journalist that it was there.
09:57We didn't see it the first time we walked past.
09:59A little bit disappointed because it's a bit covered now in the algae, but just about managed to see the outline.
10:09But according to the creator, that's actually how it's supposed to look.
10:13It's supposed to change with the seasons and naturally weather with the algae.
10:16But the question remains, should it be cleaned to help Canterbury's tourism, or should it stay as it is to help Canterbury's environment?
10:24Do you know much about how it's a water sensor as well?
10:27No.
10:27No, I didn't know that.
10:28No.
10:28No.
10:29Didn't even notice it.
10:30Do you think it should be cleaned up?
10:32I personally say yes.
10:34Yeah, I say yes.
10:35Well, I guess if it's the artist, then maybe we should respect them because it's their kind of ownership, their artistry.
10:42But, yeah, I don't know.
10:45I guess I can see what they mean blending in with nature, but if they want it to be an attraction that people can see, then maybe it's got to be cleaned.
10:52So Canterbury City Council have said they won't commit to regularly cleaning the statue, but they will check on its condition.
10:57So for now, it'll stay as the artist and nature.
11:00Intended.
11:03Well, before we go this evening, let's take a look at the weather.
11:10Tonight, it's cloudy across the board.
11:12Temperature of 11 and 12 degrees wherever you are.
11:17But into tomorrow morning, some sun peaking through the clouds in the east.
11:19Temperatures staying relatively the same across the board, though.
11:23Later in the day, though, wind speeds picking up.
11:26And, yeah, as we say, those temperatures rather in the low teens.
11:31Here is the outlook.
11:32Partly cloudy weather on Sunday and Tuesday.
11:33No sun in sight on Easter Monday, unfortunately.
11:37Well, that is it from us on KMTV this evening.
11:40You can check out all our latest stories by heading over to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
11:44We'll see you on Easter Monday.
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11:46We'll see you on Easter Monday.
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