- 02/06/2025
Catch up on all the latest news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kent Tonight, live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Abbey Hook. Here are your top stories on Monday the 2nd of June.
00:33Deal murderer sentenced. Andrew Griggs to serve three more years after attempting elaborate cover-up of wife's death.
00:41We thought we had justice for Debbie in 2019. We were wrong.
00:45Kent Commissioner costs uncovered. We find out just how expensive local elections can be.
00:51The cost of the election could be reduced. I've always argued that elections should be held on the same day wherever possible.
00:58And be aware. We're taking a look at the buzz behind honeybees and finding out what threats stand in their way.
01:05A colony of Asian hornets can decimate a colony of honeybees within a few days.
01:10First this evening, a man from Deal who murdered his wife and attempted to cover it up has been sentenced to a further three years in prison.
01:28Andrew Griggs was found guilty of perverting the course of justice after attempting to trick the police into believing his wife, Debbie Griggs, was still alive.
01:38Speaking outside of court today, her family told the press they'd hoped for a longer sentence.
01:43Fitment Dermid has the story.
01:45A devious and conniving killer who attempted to lie to get away with the murder of his own wife, Debbie.
01:52That was how the judge described Andrew Griggs today at Canterbury Crown Court, just before sentencing him to an additional three years on top of the life sentence he's currently serving for murder, which has a minimum term of 20 years.
02:05He murdered Debbie in 1999 and was only given his life sentence in 2019.
02:11But his new charge was perverting the course of justice, which he heard from prison on the Isle of Wight for trying to get his own son to dig up the victim and send a lock of her hair from abroad in an attempt to trick the authorities into believing she was still alive.
02:25Despite his guilty plea, Debbie's family say they still haven't gotten closure for her murder.
02:30We thought we had justice for Debbie in 2019. We were wrong.
02:34We have been tormented and consistently laughed at by A.G.
02:38When we got Debbie back in November 2022, we were able to bury her and we thought that was closure.
02:45Also, it's worth adding that despite us holding out an olive branch, Jeremy, Jake and Luke failed to attend or even acknowledge.
02:54It would appear that we are never going to be able to put us to bed.
02:56And now we are all seeing, seeing, feeling that the déjà vu will ensure that we never get justice or 100% closure.
03:06Despite the serious nature of the offence, the three-year consecutive sentence was reduced.
03:11Now, of those three years that have been added to his minimum life sentence, he'll actually only end up serving just more than half of them.
03:18Those three years were given by the judge and then reduced, at first by a third because of his poor health while in prison,
03:24and then by another third, all because he pled guilty very early on in the case.
03:28But officers say the judge also had the option to have Griggs serve his prison sentence simultaneously, rather than one after the other.
03:35There were two options open to the judge.
03:37The judge could have made it a concurrent sentence.
03:39However, he chose to make it a consecutive sentence and actually acknowledged the seriousness and the gravity of the offence,
03:46making it the highest culpability.
03:47So, in terms of that, I think the judge absolutely took into account everything that was available to him and sentenced accordingly.
03:57It was a consecutive sentence, which is very much welcome.
04:02Judge Simon James also made reference to Andrew Griggs' character and said he showed a lack of remorse during the trial,
04:09not only for murdering his wife, but for using his own son to attempt to provide himself with an alibi.
04:13But the consecutive sentence does mean that Griggs will have to wait longer to apply for parole,
04:19but the family say they still want closure from him by him saying exactly what happened on the night Debbie was murdered.
04:25Finn McDermid for KMTV in Canterbury.
04:29More on that story over on Kent Online now.
04:32Two women have been left with life-threatening injuries following a stabbing in Ashford.
04:37Police and paramedics, including an air ambulance,
04:39were called following reports of an assault at a property in Elson Close just before 2pm this afternoon.
04:46Both women who had been stabbed have been taken to hospital.
04:49It's understood that no arrests have been made and police remain at the scene.
04:53More on that story over on the front page of Kent Online as it evolves.
04:58Next this evening, members of Reform UK's Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE,
05:05team have visited Kent County Council today as the party takes a closer look at the authority's finances.
05:12Reform Chairman Zia Youssef took the visit as a chance to tell KMTV it will ensure taxpayers' money isn't wasted.
05:20Well, our reporter Bartholomew Hall joins me in the studio now.
05:24Start by explaining to us exactly what DOGE means.
05:27Well, DOGE, it stands for Department of Government Efficiency.
05:30It's a phrase that we first heard sort of surface around the election of Donald Trump as the U.S. president back in November last year.
05:38It was all when Elon Musk, the billionaire, joined the U.S. government as an advisor,
05:43and he set up what was known then as the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE.
05:47And we saw huge cuts to federal spending because of that.
05:51Lots of departments being forced to give up their information and find lots of areas in which money can be saved.
05:57Now, it's a similar type of thing that they're trying to do at Kent County Council.
06:00Now, of course, it's got the same name.
06:02We know that they're a big fan of Elon Musk and the politics that he's sort of brought.
06:06Ironically, he's actually now left the U.S. government.
06:08So we'll see how long this sort of, you know, this pseudo-partnership with reform and Elon Musk continues.
06:15But in terms of what they're doing there, they've got a team that are scrutinising the government spending,
06:20using artificial intelligence, using data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques,
06:25all to recommend solutions and ways in which we can do it.
06:27And what we've seen today is the team, including the chairman there in the middle, Zia Youssef,
06:33attending KCC today in order to sort of stamp their boot of authority and say,
06:38this is the way that we're going to be moving forward.
06:40And we can actually hear from the chairman because he spoke to us about what DOGE will mean for Kent earlier today.
06:45This DOGE task force, they're a team of forensic auditors, of software engineers,
06:49and data analysts are consulting into councils like this to help them crunch the data,
06:55work out where the spending, where the money is going.
06:58Similarly, we're seeing road maintenance contracts being handed out for 27 years.
07:0327-year road maintenance contracts.
07:06I put it to you that even space exploration contracts to SpaceX are not 27 years long.
07:11So there's nothing about that that's remotely acceptable.
07:14We've got to ensure taxpayers' money is not being wasted.
07:17That's what reform promised to do.
07:19We've started that today.
07:21Now, there has been some criticism.
07:23It's not sure exactly how this will look behind the scenes.
07:25The reformer have asked KCC to hand over the data.
07:28Opposition parties have said that they're worried about what personal information that can include
07:32and the safety of residents' information in that process.
07:35But Kent County Council itself has declined to comment.
07:37All right, Bartholomew, thank you very much.
07:40Now, it costs hundreds of thousands of pounds in elections
07:44and more than £80,000 in a salary a year.
07:47But how many people know what a police and crime commissioner does here in Kent?
07:51Well, apparently not a lot, with new data obtained under a Freedom of Information Act
07:56revealing the average cost per vote in last year's local elections.
08:00Our local democracy reporter, Olly Leader, has been crunching the numbers.
08:03What do you think is worth £11.62?
08:08A nice bottle of Prosecco, perhaps?
08:12A few boxes of biscuits for the office, maybe?
08:17How about your vote for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner?
08:21Elections for the role were held around this time last year.
08:25And by breaking down how many people actually cast their vote
08:31and comparing it to how much it costs to run the elections in each local authority,
08:40we can reveal just how expensive voting can be,
08:46with a single vote for the commissioner costing a whopping £16 up in Dartford.
08:54Pictured right next to me is Matthew Scott, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner.
09:01He is an elected representative that keeps Kent's police force accountable.
09:08He helps manage their budget and sets priorities for the force.
09:12But how many people here in Maidstone actually know who he is?
09:17Do you know who this guy is right here?
09:20I don't know.
09:21If I said he was a politician here in Kent, would that ring any bells?
09:24Er, no, I've never seen him.
09:27Unfortunately not.
09:29Has he just escaped?
09:31Well, he's someone on the television, isn't he, that interviews us?
09:33That's all I know.
09:35Politician.
09:36Politician? Any idea who he is, what he does?
09:39No, I can't remember what his name is.
09:42He's the Police and Crime Commissioner.
09:43Do you know what the Police and Crime Commissioner role does here in Kent?
09:47Not a lot.
09:48Clearly not the most recognisable name on the high street.
09:53But a vote here was still the cheapest out of all of Kent's councils.
09:58Costing the Borough Council around £3.50 a vote.
10:04In no small part, because it was one of the very few places in the county to be holding local elections at the same time.
10:16There are obviously ways in which maybe the cost of the election could be reduced.
10:21I've always argued that elections should be held on the same day wherever possible.
10:25I said that after the extension of the last term of PCCs, that the term should be realigned with the county council elections.
10:33Then the more elections you run on the same day, the savings that you can make in doing so.
10:37Yes, we're in the fourth term of PCCs, but actually it's still a challenge to make sure that there is that recognition.
10:43We work really hard on that by doing street stalls, by doing public engagements, going out on the beat.
10:50Turnout is a big problem, with 10% less people turning up at the polls for the role last year than they did back in 2021.
11:02Elections are expensive things to run.
11:05And what we've seen over many years is a sort of falling turnout and a disaffection with politics,
11:13which I think is sort of underlying a key aspect of what we need to try and change in terms of getting voters engaged,
11:21getting people wanting to elect the right people to office.
11:26Democracy might be priceless, even if elections are expensive.
11:31But if people can start to put a name to a face, it might help going forward.
11:39Olly Lieder in Maystone.
11:43Time for a break now, but still to come, we'll find out how a Kent cycling team made it all the way to Paris
11:49to raise money for young people across the county.
11:51See you in a minute.
12:01Time for a break now, but still to come, we'll find out how a Kent cycling team made it all the way to Paris
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16:49is just one of the reasons why a local vape action project has been brought to Ashford
16:54following its initial appearance in Tunbridge Wells back in September. This board was created
16:59by the LVA to display all the different ways nicotine can be delivered. Some of the items on
17:03the board are legal and some of them are illegal. This was done to showcase how difficult it can be
17:08to tell the difference. So the LVA is a collaboration between partners including the IBVTA, the
17:14Independent British Vape Trade Association and it's about bringing industry and partners together
17:21to promote responsible retailing for vapes. So the whole point about responsible retailing is a vape
17:26is a legal product. Obviously we know that there are illegal products out there so as a service if
17:32we find illegal vapes we'll remove them. But if you're an adult and you're looking to try and stop
17:36smoking it's a really good product to help you do that. So if we can support that in the local economy
17:42and support retailers to get that bit right that's what we're here to do. The initiative aims to
17:47tackle underage sales, illegal vapes and ensuring that businesses comply with recycling requirements
17:53of the devices. To ensure that the business you're going to is aligning with these rules
17:57a sticker will be displayed in the window. So part of the LVA by making it a community-based
18:04issue is people can access that information and if that then enables those parents to understand what
18:09harm might be being caused then hopefully that will also have a positive impact and stop people
18:13supplying vapes to people underage. But in a world of bright colours, images and interesting flavours,
18:19what vapes are actually legal? The vapes from the 1st of June must have a rechargeable battery,
18:27they must have either a refillable tank for the liquid or a pod that you can swap on and off and
18:33then the coil and wadding has also got to be replaced. So that's about the environmental side of it.
18:37So whatever way you get your rush, make sure it's safe, legal and that you're recycling it.
18:42Kristen Hawthorne for ChemTV in Ashford.
18:47Now it's time for us to take a very quick look at the weather forecast for the coming days.
18:57Tonight we've got clear skies and temperatures between 10 and 13 degrees, wind speeds of about
19:02eight by the coast, nine more inland. Picking up those wind speeds tomorrow, temperatures between
19:07about 15 and 16 degrees, some sunshine behind the clouds there but unfortunately in the afternoon
19:13the rain falling right across the county, that wind picking up ever so slightly too, temperatures around
19:1814, 15. Here's the picture up until Friday, a mixed one, sunshine, cloud and rain, highs of 19.
19:24Now to sport and from Kent Spitfires blasting to victory in their T20 series opener to a youngster
19:40from Canterbury making her debut with Team GB. Plenty is going on in the world of Kent sport so ahead of
19:46a brand new episode of Invictus Sport. Here's the latest.
19:59Hello there, we start today with Kent Spitfires statement win over Gloucestershire in the T20 blast
20:04to open the fan favorite series in a much more positive fashion than how it ended for them last
20:09season. Here's how the 2021 champions opened their T20 blast season in Bristol.
20:14Opening the season in the champions back garden was never going to be easy but two-time champions
20:20Kent Spitfires showed they weren't afraid to strike high. Batting first after losing the toss, skipper
20:25Daniel Beldrummond carved out a slick 58, Zach Crawley blazed 37 off 17 balls and Joe Denley launched
20:33four huge sixes for Kent to post a whopping 208 for three. Gloucestershire fought back though with
20:40Miles Hammond's 38 and Ollie Price's fiery 51 but their 204 for seven fell just short. Tom Rogers led
20:47Kent's charge on the field claiming two wickets for just 22 runs sealing a nervy win. So as the sun set
20:53in Bristol the win for Kent leaves the Spitfires middle of the blast south table ready to face Middlesex
20:59away on the 5th of June. Well we wish them the best of luck. Over to some motorsport news now and a racer
21:07from Maidstone says he's lucky to be alive after a dramatic crash at the Isle of Man TT. In a video
21:12shared on his social media Tom Whedon can be seen smashing into the barriers after losing control of
21:18his bike at high speed. Whedon remains in hospital with back leg and ankle injuries after his crash
21:24during what was a qualifying session. Well the racer took to social media to thank well-wishing fans
21:29and said the race back to fitness has begun. Chatham boxer Robert Caswell will fight for his first title
21:36after putting himself forward to replace an injured Frank Arnold. The 24 year old will now face Newman
21:41Hussain for the southern area super featherweight belt on the 13th of June after some last minute
21:47schedule changes. It comes after Caswell bounced back after losing to Michael Webber Kane in the
21:52same contest in February last year. Speaking to KMTV on Invicta Sport earlier this year Caswell said the
21:59belt is the only goal in mind for the summer. Last year was just such a tough year like I felt like
22:04I had setback after setback like I had a loss and I broke my hand all in the space of three or four months.
22:11It's all part of the journey and and you bounce back stronger and you learn a lot and now
22:15I feel like I'm at the best best part of my career. I've bounced back so well and
22:20and I think this year you'll you'll see the very best of me. Now a teenager from Canterbury has made
22:25her Great Britain debut this week after competing in the Loughborough International. Kichi Ukpai was
22:31involved in the triple jump at last month's competition where Olympians Kimberly Williams and
22:35Katerina Johnson-Thompson were also in action. Battling in a GB vest for the first time the sixth form
22:41student finished seventh and says her eyes are now on completing her mock A level exams before eyeing up
22:46the Welsh championships this summer. Well the very best of luck to her and finally from me a peloton of
22:53Kent cyclists who travel 260 miles from Pluckley to Paris have raised more than £50,000 for
22:59Maidstone based charity the Young Lives Foundation. 19 members of the country style recycling team took on the
23:05three-day challenge to raise funds for services for young people in care across the county. I spoke
23:11with their CEO Martin Heath-Cole and trainee skip manager Paddy Powell earlier. Originally it was a team
23:17building event we wanted to do something harder than you know going for a normal bike ride or whatever so
23:25we had a lot of customers and friends etc all wanted to join us on the trip and you know we had to limit
23:31the numbers really because it would be manic having 50 or 60 people so we sort of went with 22 and we
23:38decided to start raising a bit of money for a charity that comes from Kent which is where we come from
23:44and and is sort of giving it back to helping some of the youngsters in Kent you know go through the
23:49care system so that's how it came about really. That's right and Paddy's also here as well you were
23:54there on the cycle yourself but you're also quite closely tied to the Young Lives Foundation yourself so what
24:00did it mean for you to be raising money for the organisation? Oh it was it was personal. I'm a
24:07trustee for the Young Lives Foundation and they've helped me massively throughout my life so it was a
24:14personal achievement in my way of giving back to them. Of course and it was £50,000 that was eventually
24:20raised that was you know your target was initially £35,000 so you absolutely skyrocketed it. What will that
24:26money go towards how will that help young people now? Yeah so what I was going to say to you Paddy
24:33quickly is that's all right the next one's going to be double the length and you'll have to complete
24:38that one but what it's going to go towards is and there's a reason why so I was very fortunate I had
24:46a really good upbringing went to a really good school but I was one of them kids and if any of my teachers
24:51are watching they would vouch for the fact that I wasn't probably a very good kid at school just
24:56didn't want to be there really and I think a lot of these kids don't have what I had you know I went
25:02to a good school but also I had with my dad and my family a lot of love in my life and a lot of
25:07introduction to older people and so through the working environment I learned a huge amount and if we
25:14can try and give some of these kids some of that um training out of school then that would be fantastic
25:20so some of the money will go towards this program that we want to set up and this year we're hoping
25:27to do it with 11 kids and for me if we can make it become a virtuous circle where you know one of these
25:34kids we give capital to for an idea about a business at the end of it if that goes well naturally they're
25:41going to help the next set of 11 kids and if we can get that working it'd be fantastic so
25:46that's where some of the money will go to and I think there's other areas in Kent with the Young
25:52Lives Foundation that they need some further sort of financial support and so that's where the other
25:58other amounts probably going to go to but yeah it's been amazing and all the people that donated
26:03you know it's fantastic and we hope to follow the journey of where the money does go so that you
26:08know people feel like you know effectively got value for making the investment in us I suppose
26:13well Martin and Paddy from Country Style Recycling thank you very much for joining us today
26:27Bartholomew Hall with all the latest there and of course a brand new episode of Invicta Sport this
26:32evening at 6 30 pm time for a very short break now but when we come back a very special feature
26:38all about our honeybees and the threat they're under from Asian Hornets here in Kent all that
26:43and more after this very short break see you then
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31:13The judge described Andrew Griggs today at Canterbury Crown Court, just before sentencing
31:17him to an additional three years, on top of the life sentence he's currently serving
31:22for murder, which has a minimum term of 20 years.
31:26He murdered Debbie in 1999 and was only given his life sentence in 2019.
31:31But his new charge was perverting the course of justice, which he heard from prison on
31:35the Isle of Wight for trying to get his own son to dig up the victim and send a lock of
31:39her hair from abroad in an attempt to trick the authorities into believing she was still
31:44alive.
31:45Despite his guilty plea, Debbie's family say they still haven't gotten closure for her
31:49murder.
31:50We thought we had justice for Debbie in 2019.
31:53We were wrong.
31:54We have been tormented and consistently laughed at by A.G.
31:59When we got Debbie back in November 2022, we were able to bury her and we thought that was
32:04closure.
32:05Also, it's worth adding that despite us holding out an olive branch, Jeremy, Jake and Luke failed
32:11to attend or even acknowledge.
32:14It would appear that we are never going to be able to put us to bed.
32:17And now we are all seeing, seeing, feeling that the déjà vu will ensure that we never
32:22get justice or 100% closure.
32:26Despite the serious nature of the offence, the three-year consecutive sentence was reduced.
32:32Now of those three years that have been added to his minimum life sentence, he'll actually
32:36only end up serving just more than half of them.
32:38Those three years were given by the judge and then reduced, at first by a third because
32:42of his poor health while in prison, and then by another third, all because he pled guilty
32:47very early on in the case.
32:49But officers say the judge also had the option to have Griggs serve his prison sentence simultaneously,
32:53rather than one after the other.
32:54There were two options open to the judge.
32:57The judge could have made it a concurrent sentence, however he chose to make it a consecutive sentence,
33:02and actually acknowledged the seriousness and the gravity of the offence, making it the
33:06highest culpability.
33:08So in terms of that, I think the judge absolutely took into account everything that was available
33:14to him and sentenced accordingly.
33:17It was a consecutive sentence, which is very much welcome.
33:23Judge Simon James also made reference to Andrew Griggs' character and said he showed
33:26a lack of remorse during the trial, not only for murdering his wife, but for using his
33:31own son to attempt to provide himself with an alibi.
33:34But the consecutive sentence does mean that Griggs will have to wait longer to apply for parole,
33:39but the family say they still want closure from him, by him saying exactly what happened
33:43on the night Debbie was murdered.
33:45Finn McDermid for KMTV in Canterbury.
33:49More on that story and what Debbie's family have said outside court today over on the front
33:54page of Kent Online.
33:56Now next this evening, flowers have been laid in Gravesend after a young girl died in the
34:00River Thames.
34:01It's understood the nine-year-old's body was found in the water near the Gordon Promenade
34:06on Saturday following a huge search effort.
34:09The death comes as a shock to the community and residents have called for more safety measures
34:14in the area.
34:15Well, Kristen Hawthorne joins me now with more details.
34:18Kristen, of course, this is a really, really tragic story, really, really sad for the community
34:23and it tends to bring everybody together and just, it's really, really shocking.
34:27Tell us about the details.
34:29Yeah, so the update today is that floral tributes have been left near Newbridge Causeway in Gravesend.
34:35That's where she was found.
34:37The story, however, it began on Friday afternoon at the Royal Terrace Pier in Gravesend when
34:44there was reports that a boy and a girl were having difficulty in the water.
34:48This began the huge search with marine units, Coast Guard helicopters and the RNLI lifeboats.
34:54The boy, he was found taken to hospital in a stable condition but the girl was not found
34:59until 11.40 the next day, so Saturday morning.
35:03The body of the nine-year-old girl, named on social media as Bea, was found near the Gordon
35:09Promenade.
35:11The toys and flowers have now been left because at the Newbridge Causeway behind the Gravesend
35:17bowling house because this is where she believed to have entered the water.
35:22So yeah, I mean it's a full story really but found just a day later but this is the outcome.
35:27And there's been lots of comments coming in on social media as well in response at the
35:33clubhouse there.
35:34There are people saying, rest in peace little one.
35:37Another added, may you find eternal peace in the arms of angels.
35:40Somebody else said, rest in peace, a lovely girl, rest well, beautiful.
35:44So lots of similar rhetoric, lots of similar stories and you can see those flowers that
35:50are laid there and the toys as well.
35:52The local MP from the area has also spoken out about this, what she said.
35:56Yeah, so she said much of the same as what was said on social media.
35:59She offered her deepest condolences and thanked everyone involved in the search.
36:04She did say that she knows there's many opinions circulating at this time about the circumstances
36:10but from speaking to authorities she does think it's right that there's an investigation.
36:14She also added that it is understood that Bea was playing with her cousin near the water
36:18when she slipped in, fell and got taken by the current.
36:21OK, and what have police had to say about this?
36:24So police say the death is not being treated as suspicious at this time and a report is going
36:29to be prepared for the coroner.
36:30OK, and just tell us a few things about those safety concerns that are in place as well about
36:36the area and how something like this could have happened in the first place.
36:39Exactly, so residents and witnesses of the event and of the search said that there should
36:44be more safety measures, you know, more signs, maybe a fence, things like that, just to warn
36:49people of the currents.
36:50As well as this, Bea and her family are believed to be Romanian.
36:54So they also think that, you know, it shouldn't just be in English, it should be in a variety
36:57of languages just to, you know, hold with the diversity that's here.
37:02OK, all right, Kristen, thank you very much for those details.
37:05We'll see more on that story on the front page of Kent Online today as well and more
37:10as the situation develops and if any safety measures are changed or improved.
37:14But of course, the police saying their investigation continues as well.
37:18All right, Kristen, thank you.
37:20Now, next this evening, it costs hundreds of thousands of pounds in elections and more
37:26than 80,000 in a salary a year.
37:29But how many people actually know what a police and crime commissioner does here in Kent?
37:34Well, apparently, not a lot, with new data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act
37:39revealing the average cost per vote in last year's local elections.
37:44And our local democracy reporter, Oli Leder, has been crunching the numbers and speaking
37:48to people in Maidstone.
37:50What do you think is worth £11.62?
37:55A nice bottle of Prosecco, perhaps?
37:58A few boxes of biscuits for the office, maybe?
38:03How about your vote for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner?
38:07Elections for the role were held around this time last year.
38:12And by breaking down how many people actually cast their vote and comparing it to how much
38:21it costs to run the elections in each local authority, we can reveal just how expensive voting
38:31can be, with a single vote for the commissioner costing a whopping £16 up in Dartford.
38:42Pictured right next to me is Matthew Scott, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner.
38:47He is an elected representative that keeps Kent's police force accountable.
38:54He helps manage their budget and sets priorities for the force.
38:59But how many people here in Maidstone actually know who he is?
39:04Do you know who this guy is right here?
39:06I don't know.
39:07If I said he was a politician here in Kent, would that ring any bells?
39:10Er, no.
39:11I've never seen him.
39:12Unfortunately not.
39:13Has he just escaped?
39:14Well, he's someone on the television, isn't he, that interviews us.
39:15That's all I know.
39:16Politician.
39:17Politician.
39:18Any idea who he is, what he does?
39:19No, I can't remember what his name is.
39:20He's the police and crime commissioner.
39:21Do you know what the police and crime commissioner role does here in Kent?
39:22Not a lot.
39:23Clearly not the most recognisable name on the high street.
39:40But a vote here was still the cheapest out of all of Kent's councils.
39:46Costing the borough council around £3.50 a vote.
39:51In no small part because it was one of the very few places in the county to be holding
39:58local elections at the same time.
40:03There are obviously ways in which maybe the cost of the election could be reduced.
40:07I've always argued that elections should be held on the same day wherever possible.
40:11I said that after the extension of the last term of PCCs, that the term should be realigned
40:18with the county council elections.
40:19Then the more elections you run on the same day, the savings that you can make in doing
40:23so.
40:24Yes, we're in the fourth term of PCCs, but actually it's still a challenge to make sure
40:29that there is that recognition.
40:31We work really hard on that by doing street stalls, by doing public engagements, going out
40:35on the beat.
40:36Turnout is a big problem, with 10% less people turning up at the polls for the roll last year
40:45than they did back in 2021.
40:48Elections are expensive things to run.
40:52And what we've seen over many years is a sort of falling turnout and a disaffection with
40:59politics, which I think is sort of underlying a key aspect of what we need to try and change
41:05in terms of getting voters engaged, getting people wanting to elect the right people to
41:11office.
41:12Democracy might be priceless, even if elections are expensive.
41:18But if people can start to put a name to a face, it might help going forward.
41:24Olly Lieder in Maystone.
41:30Some interesting responses there in Maystone.
41:33It's time for us to take a very quick break now, but when we come back there's a new opportunity
41:37in Ellsford offering a beekeeping experience.
41:40It also comes as experts warn of increasing threats to the species like the Asian hornet.
41:46Our reporter, Kristen Hawthorne, got dressed up as a beekeeper for the day.
41:49We'll have her report in a few minutes' time, see you then.
42:16We'll have her report in a few minutes' time, see you then.
42:46Thanks a lot of people.
48:11sunshine to the coast let's take a look at the forecast this evening we should
48:19have clear skies across the county temperatures between about 10 and 13
48:24degrees up in Dartford there tomorrow morning wind picking up inland as well
48:28as by the coast there a mixed picture some sunshine down in Dover but a
48:32cloudy sky across the rest of the county bringing the rain with it by the
48:36afternoon as well temperatures staying around 15 degrees warming up slightly
48:41to the end of the week highs of 19 all week long but a really really mixed
48:45picture some rain and sunshine while the clouds remain now as a local apiary in
48:58Ellsford prepares for its first summer offering hands-on beekeeping experiences
49:03our reporter Kristen Hawthorne went along to suit up and learn more about our
49:07county's honeybees she also found out about a growing threat to our native
49:12pollinators the invasive yellow-legged Asian hornet and what we can all do to
49:17help protect the hive how much do you know about the honeybee personally I
49:22thought I knew a lot but it turns out there's much more to the insect than I
49:25previously thought this is just one sheet of honey and it weighs about three
49:29pounds it's quite heavy and the bees here they are flying all around but this is
49:35just a little bit of the honey that they produce every single day but beyond the
49:38honey and the beeswax the threat of yellow-legged hornets is a serious issue
49:42as they can wipe out entire hives of our native honeybees what they will do they
49:47will hawk a colony of honeybees so once they found a colony I will fly around in
49:52front of it catching the honeybees as they come back to there because obviously
49:56the honeybees are bringing stores and that they will catch a honeybee on the wing
50:00the wing muscles are the protein that they need to feed to their larvae they
50:04don't eat the bees they they just need the protein to feed to their larvae that
50:09then grow into adult hornets if you see in you in like your loft you shed a
50:14little embryo nest which is like a golf ball paper mache inside the under in your
50:20eaves your roof and things like that just have a good look at it you know that
50:23could be a Asian Hornet Queen it could be European Hornet Queen if you see one snap it
50:28and report it on the Asian Hornet Watch app this is an Asian Hornet and it's been
50:32newly named as the yellow-legged Hornet each one of these can consume almost 13
50:37kilograms of insects in its lifetime whether that be wasps honeybees or
50:41anything else in comparison to European Hornets the yellow-legged Hornets are
50:45slightly smaller and a lot darker in color so if you're looking out for them
50:48those are the things to look for in a yearly life cycle a nest of Asian
50:52Hornets can consume 12 and a half kilos of insects that's honeybees flies
50:57butterflies spiders anything so you imagine it it's what the weight of 12
51:02bags of sugar in white of insects per nest per year and yeah they just they're
51:09just decimate all the local you know insect life this trap is designed to
51:15allow anything back out that isn't an Asian Hornet like your wasps and your
51:19flies and stuff like that more queens we catch now the less that less nests that
51:23are produced but it's not just Hornets causing problems as habitat loss has
51:28forced some honeybees to build hives inside homes Jason has been doing hive
51:33removals for four years now but with honeybees losing more and more of their
51:36natural habitat it's not surprising that 2025 has been a particularly busy year so
51:42by becoming educated planting things like lavender and thyme in your garden and by
51:47trapping or reporting yellow-legged Hornet sightings we can slowly but surely help the
51:51bees live a little easier Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Ealesford
51:56well joining me on the line now is Ian Campbell from the British Beekeeping
52:06Association watching all those bees flying around makes me makes me all itch and
52:09twitchy but explain to us why they're just so important the key thing with
52:16honeybees is pollination and they are fantastic pollinators they live in large
52:21colonies in the UK most beekeepers are small hobby beekeepers so we don't kind
52:26of move our bees around other species do a lot of pollination as well but it's
52:31that pollination that's the real critical thing for your food security and if
52:35you like things like coffee and chocolate and things like that you need
52:40honeybees as well as a huge range of other crops yeah Kristen spoke about it in
52:45her piece there about the yellow-legged Hornet and just how worried should we
52:49be about the threat to honeybees is it getting worse does it change into the
52:54summer months it certainly has we've had yellow-legged Hornets coming into the UK
53:00since 2016 and until 2023 it was at relatively low levels and the problem was
53:06being managed by the national bee unit very effectively in 2022 there was a huge
53:12surge year in France in 2023 we picked up the consequences of that in England and
53:19going from a handful of sightings we went to 72 nests found in 2023 that number
53:25dropped down a little bit last year largely because of the horrible horrible spring and
53:29early summer we had this year the numbers we're seeing in the Channel Islands and
53:34places like that are at new record levels and we're really worried that that's going to
53:38transfer to to the UK and Kent is right on the front line unfortunately yeah and the
53:44Garden of England of course too is that a particular concern it will be I mean one of
53:50the impacts of yellow-legged Hornets can be on fruit crops on orchards on pollination as
53:56it takes down the local biodiversity so yes it can be a big big concern to your area and what can
54:02people do to not only we had in the report there to take a picture of the Asian Hornet if you see
54:07it and report it but also taking it right back to the beginning how can we promote honeybees in
54:13our area how can we give them somewhere to to make a home I mean with honeybees they live in in hives
54:21and those hives are generally managed by beekeepers with uh there's a huge range there's 270 species of
54:27bee in the UK um all of those need habitat as you suggested to and they need forage so planting
54:34in your garden however small even if you've got a window box or a small patch of garden
54:38just plant flowers um and that would that will make a really big difference
54:43can you take us through a bit a few of the differences between the different types of bees
54:49that we have and honeybees and bumblebees what are some of the key things that stick out I imagine the
54:53list could go on and on and I don't know if we have time for for them all but take us through some
54:57of those key things so when we're looking in our gardens we know very quickly and clearly we had
55:02a bit of an explanation there in that report and we saw the different pictures of bees but what are
55:06some of the different species that we'll see in Kent so there's one species of honeybee aphys mellifera
55:12and a lot of people confuse those with wasps because the shape and the size people think is very
55:18wasp-like but it isn't that bright yellow color that you see in wasps um what people often confuse
55:24is there are many species of of bumblebees about 24 species of bumblebee um those live in small
55:30colonies couple of hundred bees um those can be in your garden those can be in the ground those can
55:36and so occasionally they're in buildings as well or outbuildings those will disappear by the end of
55:41the year they're not really any issue to you they don't often sting and then there's the all the
55:46solitary bees which is well over 200 species and they cover such a huge range and such a huge kind
55:52of diversity that yeah you're exactly right we can't go through all those right now and i know
55:58you weren't there to obviously film that report with kristin and see her beekeeping at um beekeeping
56:04skills in action but how do you think she did from just the videos you see have we got a beekeeper
56:08on our hands here at came tv absolutely i mean the main thing with working with bees is confidence
56:14and you want to be sensitive to how you move they don't like sudden movements they don't like
56:22jerky movements they don't like people waving their hands around so if you're calm and just relaxed and
56:28that's that's how sort of kristin appeared that's lovely if you're just relaxed around the bees
56:35they'll be fairly chilled around you yes you did an excellent job but we need her here reporting so
56:39maybe in another life ian gavill thank you so much for your time today all right that's all we've got
56:45time for on kent tonight see you tomorrow
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