Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Gabriel Morris.
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00:00Good evening, hope you had a lovely day, whatever you've been up to today.
00:29Welcome to Kentonite Live here on KMTV, I'm Gabriel Morris and here are your top stories on Monday the 19th of May.
00:38Splashing the cash, millionaire Roger DeHaan steps in to save Folkestone Sports Centre after sudden closure last year.
00:47From Wembley to Whitstable, footy fans celebrate town's historic win with an Oysterman bus parade.
00:53And a surprise arrival, picture perfect pretty porcupine baby unexpectedly born at Port Lim Safari Park.
01:06Now as the UK and EU agree on a fresh post-Brexit deal aimed at easing red tape, it raises a big question.
01:13Is Kent ready to rekindle a closer bond with the continent?
01:17Back in 2016, 13 of Kent's 14 local authorities voted to leave the EU.
01:23But with the cost of living soaring and food prices climbing since the official departure in 2020, could public opinion be shifting?
01:31Our local democracy reporter, Olly Lieder, took to the streets of Gravesham to hear what people are thinking today.
01:36A brand new deal with the European Union, worth £9 billion.
01:43That might be welcome economic news in some parts of the country.
01:50But whether that can be said for Kent and Medway is a different story.
01:56Gravesham, like many other parts of Kent, overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU back in 2016.
02:04With 65.4% of voters choosing leave at the ballot box.
02:13Now after our departure in 2020, do voters here feel better off?
02:21And do they support the new deal between the EU and the UK?
02:26I've had a referendum on Brexit and it's decided that people wanted to leave.
02:33But the way I see it now, I see Labour trying to go in the back door and reunite us with Europe.
02:43You know, when they were with the EUC, things have not gone up like this.
02:46But now, everything is too costly.
02:49People are struggling.
02:49When we used to get a lot of cheap potatoes and strawberries in the summer and lots of stuff like that.
02:56And they're still bringing it over from Europe and paying more for it.
03:02You know, you've got so much money coming in, but you've got to spend more to get what you want.
03:06Even simple things like cooking oils are more expensive.
03:10Everything, really, is more expensive.
03:12To get back to a better trading environment with our closest neighbours, really.
03:18So that, yeah, everything just works better.
03:21Yeah, anything that helps.
03:22And the way things are at the moment, nothing's helping.
03:24So if it helps, fine.
03:26Part of the reason for this deal with the EU is to make these groceries here much cheaper.
03:32These are the everyday essentials.
03:35And they're more expensive since Brexit, according to the Office of National Statistics.
03:41Take tomatoes.
03:43These used to cost around £2 per kilogram.
03:47Now they cost more, like three quid.
03:51Fixing this may put more money back in people's pockets here in Kent.
03:57Reducing red tape could potentially mean the end for lorry queues at the port of Dover
04:04and other border crossings as well.
04:07But whether it will alleviate some of the Brexit remorse on the streets of North Kent is another matter entirely.
04:16Olly Lieder in Gravesend.
04:18A millionaire has stepped in to save Folkestone Sports Centre, offering a glimmer of hope for the much-loved leisure facility.
04:26The complex suddenly closed last summer after the operator claimed it was too expensive to run.
04:31But Sir Roger Dahan of Saga fame has now helped the Sports Trust acquire the site.
04:36Although no reopening date has been confirmed, the local swimming club says it's still holding its breath.
04:41Our family hall spoke to them earlier today.
04:44Ian, thank you very much for joining us today.
04:47It's good to have you on.
04:48The Sports Trust has announced it's exchanged its contracts.
04:51It's secured Folkestone Sports Centre, saving the future of the centre.
04:55Is this welcome news for yourselves?
04:59Obviously.
05:00You know, it's our home.
05:01So, having not been in there for coming up a year now, it is something we desperately need to do.
05:09And it's something that I'm getting parents asking me all the time, when are we going to be back?
05:13When are we going to be back?
05:14And obviously, we've not had any opportunity to turn around to anyone and say, we've had positive news.
05:20But this is the first positive news we've had.
05:23So, we can now go to our members and say, yay, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
05:28The concern is obviously, the press release said they're going to be doing the refurbs over the next year or so.
05:34We have no idea how long it's going to take for the pool to reopen and whether they're going to do it in stages.
05:39They can open the pool before the refurb is started.
05:42Until we have a meeting with them, we won't actually know.
05:45Yeah, I mean, there's lots of responsibility at stake here, isn't there?
05:49We know that there was such an outpouring from the community when the closure was announced initially.
05:54So many people relying on this leisure centre.
05:57I mean, even you yourselves, you have 300 people on your books, members at your club.
06:02What's that sort of looked like over the past year?
06:05Has that number decreased at all?
06:07Significantly.
06:08Learn to swim, we're actually teaching in a smaller pool than the sports centre, Learn to swim pool.
06:16So, that obviously impacts on numbers we can bring through.
06:19We've adapted our teaching to allow us to hopefully get people through quicker so that we can extend them into the competitive side if they so wish.
06:29But not everyone who learns to swim goes on to be competitive swimmers.
06:34We are a competitive swimming club, but at the end of the day, most people join the swimming club intending to get their kids to swim so they're safe on holiday.
06:42If they then find a love for the sport, they stay with us and become competitors.
06:45Well, Ian, thank you very much for joining us today.
06:47I suppose it is the sports trust that has come in financially to save the Folkestone Sports Centre.
06:53But for yourselves, those who are campaigning, this must feel like a huge win for you, for the work that you've done.
07:02The win will be when it actually reopens.
07:05I mean, the petition that actually was opened to keep the focus on the sports centre closed and to try and get it reopened was actually done by my youngest daughter.
07:17Within five minutes of hearing what happens, she said, I've got to do something, we need to get a petition out there to get it reopened.
07:25Petitions do very little of them to keep it in the public domain as much as anything.
07:30But it showed the responses we got in that position, how important the sports centre is to people.
07:36Now, I just hope that people then follow through on that support and actually use the centre.
07:41Because at the end of the day, it's one of those facilities that if you don't use it, you will lose it.
07:45And this has happened now, hasn't it?
07:48Well, Ian Howes from Folkestone Swimming Club, thank you very much for joining us.
07:52And all the best with everything that's to come for you.
07:55Thank you for having me.
07:58News and brief now.
07:59Operation Brock will be returning to the M20 this weekend for the bank holiday.
08:03The system will give Europe-bound HGVs a separate lane on the opposite side of London-bound Carriageway.
08:10It's designed to alleviate traffic pressures, but the system has still faced heavy criticism,
08:15with many residents pointing out the inconvenience it could cause to local roads.
08:21Residents near Cheriton have raised concerns about the growing number of areas where pets are banned from running free.
08:28Two further locations near the Shawncliffe Heights development may become mandatory area for dogs to be on leads.
08:33You could get £100 if you don't comply to those rules.
08:36Folkestone and Hive District Council already enforces these restrictions in 15 areas.
08:42And the ever-popular Strand Lido in Gillingham is reopening this Saturday for the summer season.
08:47The historic facility first opened in 1896, and it's now the only remaining Riverside Tidal Saltwater Pool in the country.
08:55But this year, a new splash pad with 30 sensor-activated jets replaces a paddling pool.
09:00Hundreds of fans lined the streets to celebrate Whitstable Town's historic Wembley win with an open-top bus parade this weekend.
09:11Players, staff and a trophy travelled through the high street with cheers from the crowd.
09:15Buffumley Hall spoke to them all.
09:17These are the non-league heroes that have brought a wave of glory to the Whitstable coast.
09:28And to the fans that have lined the streets to see their open-top bus parade, this is what it means to them.
09:34We're very excited and we're very proud.
09:37We were hoping there were going to be a parade.
09:39Didn't know whether they were going to be on fishing boats in the harbour or on an open-top bus, but we'll take anything.
09:43So this is great. Great to celebrate.
09:45I mean, it shows that anything could happen when you're playing football.
09:49Winning the FA Vars a week earlier in front of 7,000 fans at Wembley Stadium was the biggest day in the 140-year history of this club,
09:58which became the first in Kent to lift the trophy in 25 years.
10:06It might be coming slowly, but you can hear the cheers here, the celebrations up and down the high street.
10:10Thousands of people moving along with the bus.
10:13Players, managers, backroom staff, all celebrating this massive achievement, the win at Wembley.
10:21Making its way from the iconic harbour through the high street and ending up at the club's ground,
10:26the celebrations then moved from the bus to the pitch where the trophy run all started.
10:32For the players now cornered with requests for selfies and signatures, this is the stuff of boyhood fantasy.
10:38I think it's really good, to be fair. I mean, I was like that as well.
10:41Getting my shirt signed, getting everything signed. So, yeah, it's amazing. It's really amazing.
10:45It's so surreal. I mean, even since Sunday, it still hasn't really sunk in what we've done.
10:52It's just like you're talking with a fan, you know.
10:53It's not like we've won the league or we've won a cup in the league.
10:56This is the pinnacle of what it means to be non-league.
10:59From Wembley to Whitstable, here is the silverware that's brought all of these celebrations to Whitstable today.
11:05And with it, £13,000 to this non-league club, which I'm told will go very far.
11:10We'll invest that money wisely into the club as we always do.
11:13Every penny we make here goes back into the club.
11:16We're totally run by volunteers.
11:18So that's one of the joys of doing the club, that we continue to build and improve and improve the facilities.
11:24You want to retain the people that were there at Wembley, the people that are there today.
11:27And that will help build the football club for the future.
11:30So that's the biggest aim for us.
11:32And you just want to get more people through the gates week in, week out next year and help us win the league.
11:36It's often said non-league football is the heartbeat of communities.
11:41And well, from these scenes today, it's clear Whitstable's oystermen have cast a victory that's anchored this town as one.
11:48Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Whitstable.
11:53And we'll be back after this very quick break.
11:55See you soon.
16:12off in Tunbridge Wells by his son to attend an alcohol and drug support group. Two hours
16:17later, as the grandfather was on his way to leave, 59-year-old Stephen Castle had also
16:22entered the town centre to visit a phone repair shop. The pair can be seen crossing paths
16:28at 3.24pm. Seconds later, Mr Castle returns to the scene looking for the man he'd later
16:34kill. He told the jury he'd been told he walked past Mr Woodgate by his work colleague Derek
16:39Chantler, who was waiting in a nearby van, which Mr Castle returns to. The next sighting
16:45of Mr Woodgate is five minutes later when the work colleagues were waiting in the van at
16:49traffic lights and Mr Woodgate was walking nearby. The court heard Mr Castle left the van to follow
16:55on foot. A witness then reported having seen the pair come face to face in a nearby residential
17:00street before calling 999, describing a man effing and blinding at another, calling him a junkie
17:07and blaming him for getting nine years. Later footage shows the van heading out of town with
17:13all three men squished inside. This is the final camera sighting of Mr Woodgate alive before
17:18his body was found in East Sussex. The prosecution told Maidstone Crown Court that Mr Woodgate had
17:24been strangled to death in an act of anger, that Mr Castle had blamed him for a police raid
17:28on his home that resulted in him being sent to prison years earlier. Mr Castle has admitted
17:33to manslaughter but denies a charge of murder. The trial continues. I'll follow me all for KMTV
17:39in Maidstone. Next, Kent's route for the Baton of Hope suicide prevention tour has been unveiled
17:47as the nationwide countdown begins. More than 130 Kent residents applied to carry the Olympic torch
17:54style baton, which will visit landmarks like Canterbury Cathedral and Margate Streamland this September.
17:59Rob Brady from Canterbury, one of those chosen of the baton bearers, spoke to us earlier on the Kent
18:05Morning Show and just fewer discretion here, is advised due to sensitive content around suicide.
18:112016, I lost my best friend to suicide. At the time I was going through my own mental health problems
18:18and so was he, but we didn't talk together as best friends. So there was almost like a,
18:23there was something that I now look back on, there was like an unspoken set of language that we
18:27didn't discuss. Um, so in, in the, in the sort of passing of his, uh, death, uh, I set on a new
18:35journey of going for, to sort out my own mental health. So in effect, like losing him saved me
18:41effectively. It's an incredibly touching story, Rob. Um, good morning to you. It's Abby here. Thank
18:47you so much for joining us today. It's such an important message because it, it mirrors a lot of
18:52what other people share when they've lost somebody so close to them that if only they had perhaps
18:56opened up more, if only they had talked and it, it sadly seems to only be when we lose somebody that
19:02we realized that, that we can sort of open up and talk. Has it changed the way you've, you've lived
19:08since in the way you've talked to other people? Uh, yeah, I think a lot of actually people have said,
19:13um, Rob 2016 to Rob today is two separate people. I'm very much more open about my mental health.
19:21I'm, I don't, I'm not scared about even crying. Um, it's got me into a new state
19:26of fitness. I've literally got away from having, being unfit, unhealthy, uh, heavily drinking,
19:34heavily smoking, sleeping three, four hours a night to now, you know, yesterday I was running
19:38a 15 mile race. I'm about to run a 50 K race for mental health charity locally. Um, so an evolution
19:45of just opening up, opens up that new person. You have new layers to unfold and unpack. And then
19:51obviously that leads you to discover new things about yourself. And, uh, Rob, we know that you
19:55are a big, uh, advocate for mental health awareness as well as sporting activities. We can see those
20:01medals behind you there. So it seemed to marry up quite naturally that you would go for the,
20:06the baton of hope. Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, um, the baton of hope is a massive,
20:12so what I loved about the battle of hope is actually, it's a proper symbolic thing that's
20:16happening. It's actually visual. People can turn out for it. Um, it opens up conversations around
20:23it as well. Just, you know, someone walking down a high street in Canterbury, uh, what's that?
20:27And then they obviously, the discussions happen and they talk about it. And then you always find
20:31that that second layer of conversation always opens up talking about either someone talking about
20:36actually, I've been struggling recently, or I lost someone and that then opens up another
20:40conversation around what was that meaning for it. So, um, very much so, um, it, it,
20:46you know, their, their view is to try and their vision is to try and net suicide. Um,
20:50we've got 6,000 average in the UK happening, you know, under 35 is, um, the biggest killer
20:57under 35 at the moment, biggest killer under men of 50. So it's, uh, it's, you know, if you
21:04think about it as a, as a, it's almost like a disease in that, in aspects, we need to try
21:08and work out how we treat this and prevent it. 130 other people who are all kind of joining
21:12part of this conversation that there is, there is that, you know, community there who are
21:17willing to talk about mental health and suicide prevention, or, or do you still think that
21:22there is, um, you know, waves more that can be done?
21:24Um, I think there's, there's, so I'm, I'm, um, I'm, I'm a, I won a Kent mental wellbeing
21:32awards a few years back and I've actually become a, um, uh, an, like an awards judge and
21:38behind the scenes, you see a lot of the amount of hard work that goes into the Kent area, all
21:43the unspoken heroes that actually at those awards ceremony, we can actually, you know,
21:46put on a stage and say, thank you very much for your services. Um, and some of those people
21:51are actually, I know that are bat and berries and I know that they are equally walking with
21:55a passion towards mental health.
21:59Inspirational that, but if this story has affected you or you need support, you can contact the
22:03Samaritans anytime by calling 116 123. That's 116 123.
22:13Now a YouTube prankster who invaded the pitch before an England football match claims Kent police
22:17hold a grudge against him after trying to ban him from future games. Daniel Jarvis known
22:22online as Jarvo is famous for similar stunts, including sneaking into the Paris Olympics closing
22:28ceremony to take a selfie with the French president. The Graves and base creator could be forced
22:34to surrender his passport if a football banning order is imposed later this year, as Finn Badermid
22:39reports.
22:40You might remember an extra player lining up for last year's Nations League clash against Ireland,
22:47and that same man interrupting an England vs India cricket match and playing some inappropriate
22:52noises on BBC's match of the day.
22:54I don't know who's making that noise, but so I'll ensure it's on the commentary gantry.
22:58But did you know, the pitch invading prankster is actually from Kent. Daniel Jarvis or Jarvo
23:03from Graves End has become infamous for his sports stopping antics where he sneaks into and
23:08disrupts events. But has recently come into a legal battle after police have put in a bid to
23:13give him a football banning order, which he's protesting.
23:15They're trying to put me in a football banning order, but I've not been arrested. I've just
23:20got a letter through so I've got to turn up today. It's supposed to be a civil matter,
23:24but it's in a criminal call. The judge was actually really nice in there, and that's really
23:29a change. But I get a bit paranoid because I've had a nice judge last time and then he threw
23:34the book at me. And I'm not really doing nothing wrong, I'm just making people laugh. You get
23:38a few people, oh, you need to grow up and stuff like that, but I'm making most people happy.
23:44If the banning order does get issued, Jarvo could be stopped from attending regulated football
23:49matches, both here in the UK and internationally. He's said he gets a buzz from what he does, but
23:55found the fact he was being punished for an international match unfair.
23:58But it's not just national events, he's disrupted. He's also taken credit for interrupting coverage
24:19of the BBC's Liverpool v Wolves FA Cup match back in 2023, again with more inappropriate noises.
24:25He even managed to grab a selfie with French President Emmanuel Macron while sneaking into
24:30the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics. While his protest for the potential banning
24:36order awaits a full hearing, he was given bail until then, with the conditions he shouldn't
24:40disrupt any sporting event and is banned from attending any senior men's national England
24:45football match until a final decision is made.
24:48Finn McDermott for KMTV.
24:51It shows the strength of the law when it comes to incidents like that.
24:55Now it's time to take a quick look at a weather forecast for the coming days.
25:00Tonight, looking rather mild. Some clouds scattered across the sky with temperatures around 10 to
25:0911 degrees. Going into tomorrow morning, the sun greets us with temperatures from 14 to
25:1416 degrees with some light to mild winds. And into the afternoon, highs of 21 degrees across
25:20the board. Some clouds along the west, but mostly sunshine to be expected. And your outlook,
25:25some light rain in the middle of the week. Cloudy on Wednesday. Highs of 17 drop into 16 on
25:31Thursday and back up by the end of the week.
25:42And just before we go, let's take a quick look at this. Some rather cute new footage has
25:48just been released, capturing the delightful arrival of a newborn baby porcupine affectionately
25:54known as a porcupine, born right here in Kent. Well, this heartwarming video shows the tiny,
26:00spiky bundle of joy playfully scampering around alongside its family in its cosy den.
26:07Port Limb Safari Park near Hythe is thrilled to welcome this precious baby boy, the second
26:12porcupine born to a pair of porcupines this year. And this first being a baby girl. Keepers say the arrival
26:19was a lovely surprise as porcupines typically have just one litter a year. Thankfully, the whole
26:25family is doing wonderfully, happily and healthy in their new home. Very cute that, isn't it?
26:32Well, I'm afraid that's all we've got time for this evening on Kent tonight, live here on KMTV. But
26:37we've got more on our website and on our TikTok as well. That's KMTV Kent. We'll be back tomorrow morning
26:43at 7am with the Kent Morning Show. We'll see you then. Goodbye.
26:50Bye.
26:51Bye.
26:53Bye.