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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live on KMTV.
00:26I'm Bartholomew Hall. Here are your top stories on Wednesday the 30th of April.
00:31A prisoner in her own home.
00:34Tunbridge woman's been unable to find somewhere to live, suiting her mobility issues for more than three years.
00:42The countdown is on. Another party leader joins the campaign trail to Kent, with polls opening in less than 12 hours.
00:50And a rare pair, two mandarin ducks, have made their feathered fling official in Hive.
00:59But first, trapped in my own home.
01:02That's how a wheelchair-bound widow from Tunbridge has described her ordeal after a life-changing fall.
01:08Denise O'Toole has been waiting to be rehoused for three years, despite being told by medics that she was a high priority.
01:16Finn McDermid went down to her home to speak with her.
01:18I am trying to move. I need to move. I'm a prisoner in my own home.
01:27Denise O'Toole has lived at a current house on Trench Lane in Sevenoaks for three years.
01:32And she says it was supposed to be her forever home.
01:34But after a life-changing accident in 2022, where she fell down her stairs, it left her with limited mobility.
01:40She says she needs somewhere more accessible.
01:42I broke my back. So I had a T3 and four burst fractures to my spine.
01:52I broke my breastbone.
01:55Shattered the left-hand side of my face.
02:00And deglubbed my head.
02:02It's like, I can't cook.
02:04I can't even put washing in, because I'm not able to get the washing downstairs.
02:12After leaving rehab, she realised the house was too small for her needs.
02:16But following her husband's death from sepsis, any potential move was delayed.
02:20And she's been stuck in her home ever since.
02:22And she wants to move as soon as she can, with her lack of independence making daily life difficult.
02:28Today's a lovely day. I can't just go and sit in the garden.
02:32Have a coffee in the garden or anything, you know.
02:36I'm now having to go back into counselling because I've not come to terms.
02:42I've not had time to come to terms with how my accidents impacted me.
02:47And it's not just her mobility issues that make finding a new home difficult.
02:50It's also the system.
02:52If she wanted to find a new flat to live in, she'd first have to bid on it,
02:56then fill out an application form.
02:57And only once that form is successfully accepted, can she then go and see the property.
03:02Now, once she sees the property, she has to make a decision.
03:04Is it suitable for my needs?
03:06If it isn't, she'd obviously have to turn it down.
03:08She can only do that three times before being taken off the waiting list.
03:13A spokesperson for housing developer Clarion said,
03:16Ms O'Toole currently holds the highest level of priority on Tunbridge and Morling Borough Council's housing list.
03:21But due to the significant pressures on social housing availability,
03:24securing a suitable property has taken longer than hoped.
03:27The priority date on her housing application was October 2022.
03:31And Denise worries that with her condition worsening over the years she's been here,
03:34all of the efforts she's put into her rehabilitation will be wasted.
03:38For her, finding a new suitable home isn't just about getting her independence back.
03:42I have to rely on people to assist me, which is a lot on my children and friends.
03:52But, you know, I just, I need to get my life back. I have no life.
03:58Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tunbridge.
04:01Now, a huge emergency response was triggered in Herne Bay following a loud explosion and a garage fire.
04:10Crowds of neighbours watched on as black smoke rose above the town shortly before 10am.
04:16Crews from three fire engines worked to contain the fire in Broomfield and one person was treated by paramedics.
04:23Well, the cause is unknown, but images show what's left of a classic mini
04:26parked in what would have been the garage in Hoare Farm Way.
04:29Fire crews left the scene shortly before 2pm, four hours after the call-out.
04:37Political parties across Kent are making last-minute attempts to get votes
04:41as polls open tomorrow morning for the county council elections.
04:46The leader of the Liberal Democrats campaigned in Tunbridge Wells this afternoon,
04:51but Sir Ed Davey isn't the first politician to set foot in the county on the campaign trail.
04:56Our local democracy reporter, Gabriel Morris, has been looking back at the campaign.
05:01The temperature's heated up today and campaigners stepped up their efforts in the county council elections.
05:06On the eve of voting day, Ed Davey visited Tunbridge Wells in a bid to get last-minute votes.
05:12If you get a Liberal Democrat councillor, you'll get a local champion who will really speak out and work for the community.
05:18And you don't need to take my word for it.
05:21Camille Badenauk, the leader of the Conservatives, she said that Liberal Democrats are the sorts of people
05:25who fix your church roofs and people in the community like them.
05:29I think she meant it as an insult.
05:31We're wearing it as a badge of honour.
05:34But he hasn't been the only Westminster figure to visit the county.
05:38Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, also campaigned here, promising to bring Trump-style politics to KCC.
05:44So don't forget national issues. They are relevant.
05:48I just think when one party is in power for too long, it needs a shake-up, it needs a change.
05:53What are you going to do now?
05:54Well, we're going to come in and fix it.
05:55We're going to come in with a fresh mindset.
05:58We're going to bring our own form of doge, which you've seen in America, to Kemp.
06:02Get rid of excess. Stop wasting money.
06:05Camille Badenauk, Conservative leader, raised family farm inheritance tax fears to rally support.
06:10I'm an MP for a rural constituency myself, and I have made it very clear that I think the family farms tax is immoral.
06:18Farming is a way of life. People need to hand over to the next generation.
06:23The assets may be worth a lot, but the income is tiny.
06:26And if you're forcing people to sell off their equipment, sell off the farm that they need to grow food,
06:30then they're not going to continue in farming.
06:32The Green Co leader knocked on doors in Dartford, saying her party would bring a breath of fresh air to KCC.
06:38Voters are feeling really, really frustrated and ignored by the two old tide parties, Labour and the Conservatives,
06:46and I completely understand that. I can see why.
06:52And they're seeing the Greens as, yes, a way of sending those parties a message, but not just a protest vote.
06:59And Environment Secretary Steve Reid outlined how the Labour government is tackling sewage pollution.
07:05We've passed a law to ban the payment of the unfair, multi-million pound bonuses
07:10that the water bosses were awarding themselves for overseeing this environmental catastrophe.
07:15We've made sure that there will be accountability for lawmakers inside the water companies
07:20who will now face the full force of the law, potentially even jail time.
07:24Polls open at 7am on Thursday 1st May, and a full list of candidates can be found on KCC's website.
07:31Well, now, before polling day begins, it is, of course, the final day of the month,
07:37bringing with it an end to Stress Awareness Month.
07:40It's a campaign observed every April since 1992, with the aim of increasing public awareness
07:46about the causes and cures of stress, as well as teaching its effects on mental and physical health.
07:52And there are many ways to deal with stress, but just one possibly unconventional way could be hypnotherapy.
07:58Melanie Brooks joined Cameron Tucker on the Kent Morning Show earlier with more.
08:03Hypnosis is just a tool for relaxation, which helps you process the things you're working on
08:08and come up with great solutions to the problems you're dealing with.
08:13I think when a lot of people, myself included, when they might first hear that word hypnosis,
08:18will think of a pocket watch going back and forth like a pendulum and watching that.
08:23But, you know, bust those myths for us, or is that actually what it is like?
08:28Give us a little bit of an overview.
08:31No.
08:31So, obviously, hypnosis can be like that on stage.
08:36In hypnotherapy, it's a therapeutic process.
08:39Most of us will use a far more gradual process of going into trance.
08:45So, trance is a very natural state.
08:47We'll go into a trance about eight, ten times a day, reading a book, watching TV, out for a walk.
08:54It's when you zone out, you're focused, aware of your surroundings, but feeling very, very relaxed.
08:59And we go into that state, we guide our clients into that state, using storytelling quite often,
09:05body relaxation, just gradually talking you into that relaxed state.
09:10It sounds quite a spiritual approach.
09:13Is that something that you find with going into that trance state with some of your clients,
09:17that there is almost a spiritual effect from it?
09:23Certainly some clients find it that way.
09:25One of my clients would describe it as a bubble bath for the mind.
09:28So, however you feel relaxed, that's how you experience it.
09:33You don't have to be completely unaware.
09:37Some clients will go into hypnosis with their eyes open.
09:40They'll talk back.
09:41They might be drawing, crocheting, knitting.
09:46It's very, very individual.
09:47You can go into a hypnotic trance while walking around.
09:50When it comes to stress, you're obviously looking at this story with it being the last day of Stress Awareness Month.
09:56How can hypnotherapy help someone manage their symptoms?
10:00I think you briefly mentioned it there about sort of taking themselves out of a situation, putting themselves in, you know, a bubble bath for the mind.
10:07But just give us a bit of an overview of how, you know, someone dealing with stress, anxiety or any of those or depression, you know, how this might be the route for them.
10:17Absolutely. So, I'm a solution focused hypnotherapist, which means I'm very focused on the present and future, how you want things to be.
10:27So, we don't need to focus on the problem.
10:29And just taking yourself out of that moment where you're dealing with the stress into a more pleasant situation, pressing pause on quite often those physical symptoms of stress can be helpful.
10:42But in a long-term approach, what we do is we come up with solutions.
10:47We visualize solutions from thinking about how we want that future to be and taking small steps towards that.
10:53And then hypnosis is about helping you process that.
10:57So, it's a collaborative process.
10:58We're working together to get you in a relaxed state where you can be creative about those solutions and move you towards that in a very, very natural, gentle way.
11:09And focusing on those positives.
11:11And they're often quite small positives.
11:14But getting yourself into a place where you can start to move a more comfortable situation for you.
11:20Well, time for our break now this evening.
11:23More news from across Kent coming right up, including a row of trees cut down in Sandwich,
11:28the pairing of rare ducks making a new home in Hyde, and all the latest weather forecast as Kent has been, of course, hotting up this week.
11:37Apparently hotter than Ibiza.
11:39We'll have your full forecast where you are after this very short break.
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16:59give the orchards a new lease of life built and they had been pollarded in the past there was a
17:04knuckle where they've been pollarded and reshoot common practices to pollard poplar trees on
17:09routine but these hadn't been done for a long time and then they've come along and done it in one
17:13fell swoop they were mature trees in they were planted in i believe the 60s in a statement
17:20dover district council said it's aware of people's concerns about the trees and is looking into the
17:25matter mansfield was approached for comment but nick might not be convinced that this was the
17:31right call to make it's really hard um it can get a bit depressing the amount of destruction we're
17:37continuously seeing but i also have nature as a healer so so so i get over it but it it feels
17:43very relentless it's relentless destruction on mass quite often at the wrong time ronnie glasthal for
17:50km tv next tonight friends and family of a young woman from aylesford have come together to raise
17:57money for the air ambulance service that tried to save her life it's the third year they've taken
18:02part in a special charity bike ride in memory of amy williams who died in a crash in west sussex back
18:08in 2022 our reporter kristin hawthorne went along to meet those keeping her memory alive
18:14a sense of pride and community filled the air in rochester as friends and family of amy williams
18:20came together for the third year to raise money for the kss air ambulance amy was just 30 years old
18:26when she tragically died in a crash in west sussex in 2022 since then her family have turned their grief
18:33into something positive by raising thousands of pounds every year for the people who tried to save her
18:39amy was a friend of the family and we feel very passionately about trying to raise money for the
18:47air ambulance in memory of amy so today was very much about getting on a bike and riding from the
18:53air ambulance base in red hill to rochester to support the family in their quest to raise as much
18:58money for the air ambulance who attended amy when she had her fatal car crash with each air ambulance
19:06flight costing around four thousand pounds fundraising events like this one are crucial
19:11riders completed the journey between the red hill and rochester base celebrating amy's life and saying
19:17thank you to the air ambulance team what a lot of people don't realize kent air ambulance sussex and
19:23surrey is a charity and 88 percent of their of the money they need is from donations from people
19:31so that's why now for the rest of my life i'll do everything for kss to get as much money as possible
19:38they've got a brilliant aftercare surface that can talk you through things you know and even if you
19:44do survive but they can help you you know because people suffer in different ways you know and stress
19:49and things like that but i couldn't do enough for them you know and please anybody out there if you've
19:55got some spare money please give it to this charity by raising money every year since 2022 amy's friends
20:02and family have been able to raise more than 55 000 pounds and with just one day costing the charity
20:08nearly 56 000 the team have been able to fund the air ambulance for a full day it's like for them it's
20:14having a jigsaw puzzle with the little bits missing of understanding what happened at scene and we're able
20:20to feel those little pieces and that and and that helps them on their road to recovery the family say
20:26that they hope to keep the ride going for many years to come turning loss into hope and making
20:32sure amy's smile is never forgotten kristen hawthorne for kmtv in rochester
20:41now let's take a look at the weather
20:42just as it has been for most of the week this evening we're looking at clear skies fairly warm
20:53temperatures in the low teens as we go into tomorrow warming up slightly winds staying low
20:59at highs of 20 degrees in ashford as we go into the afternoon the same picture highs of 28 in the
21:06north of the county winds increasing ever so slightly and here as we go towards the rest of the week and
21:12the weekend it is cooling down as we go towards the start of next week and the clouds are returning
21:25now don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across kent by logging on to
21:29our website kmtv.co.uk you can check out all of our latest reports including this one for years
21:37maya has been providing vital support for the community in heron bay and today that support
21:43has grown even bigger with the help of her team of around 30 people maya was able to transform the
21:49warehouse in just six days filling it with free clothes food and furniture literally our volunteers
21:55work day and night we were here till 2 3 a.m every single night just to make sure it's back up and
22:02running because house fires floods or homelessness or escaping domestic abuse these things they happen
22:08every single day so we have to be up and running all the time our charity in last 12 months fed 219
22:16000 people we saved 9 250 tons of co2 and we've done 41 000 volunteering hours we furnished 780 houses i
22:27didn't have bed for my kids i didn't have bread i didn't have clothes now this shop has 128 people
22:33visiting an hour and they're all getting food clothes furniture or anything they like they need
22:40that that helps them to pay the bills this new food bank has brought a fantastic atmosphere to her
22:45in bay today with many coming along to celebrate its opening by this time next year maya hopes to have
22:51helped provide around half a million meals to help support those in the community we're very
22:56fortunate to be able to open a warehouse bring everything under one roof and you see from the
23:01number of people that turned out today the community really really supports this and and needs it
23:07maya's been working around the clock and maya works at incredible speed incredible pace but i've
23:12never seen anyone been able to dedicate that amount of time but to turn this around in six days
23:18working through the through the night every day whilst running the charity it's incredible but it's not
23:23just about handing out items it's about offering a sense of community and locals say it's already
23:28making a huge difference it's really good it's really packed in there they've got so much stuff
23:34my friend's been after riding me for weeks so i've now got an ironing board for her i've got some bits
23:40for the grandchildren and i'll be back looking for a buggy i came for a buggy and i'm going with an ironing
23:46board but no it's really good and they're doing so much for so many people it's packed in there with
23:51people loading their bags with stuff as the cost of living continues to affect the lives of many here in the
23:58county this kind of support is a lifeline and shows no signs of slowing down kristin hawthorne for kmtv
24:09some lovely work going on there in herne bay now finally according to the records for the first time
24:15a rare breeding pair of mandarin ducks has been spotted on a canal in hive well the breed originally
24:22comes from east asia and we reduced we introduced to the uk in the early 20th century but a mating pair
24:29especially here in kent is still considered a very rare coincidence well this could splash some
24:36unexpected color in for the wildlife in the area our reporter kerry king has been finding out more
24:42spring has brought an unexpected splash of color and wonder to the royal military canal among the
24:53quiet reflections and budding greenery a rare and beautiful pair of mandarin ducks have made a
24:59surprise appearance and their courtship has been turning heads the sighting has thrilled both seasoned
25:05bird watchers and casual walkers alike with their exotic good looks and delicate behavior these ducks
25:12seem almost too magical for the english countryside they originate from east asia and were introduced to
25:21the uk in the early 20th century but the sightings of a mating pair are still considered rare the mail is
25:29unmistakable and together they cut a regal figure a scene that looks more like
25:35a brush stroke from a chinese silk painting locals have already begun keeping a hopeful eye on the pair
25:50and watching for signs of nesting if all goes well this unexpected romance may result in a clutch of
25:56ducklings kerry king hive canal now what a lovely lovely story there that is all the time we have for
26:05today's program but a quick reminder of course polls open at 7am tomorrow until 10pm for you to vote in
26:12the kcc elections do remember you need to bring appropriate id along here's some of the accepted
26:19forms on the screen now and if you pay your council tax to medway council your bins are collected by them
26:25you do not have a vote this time this is just for kent residents for the kcc elections
26:30that is it from us this evening we'll be back with the kent morning show from 7am tomorrow see you then bye
26:38see you then bye