- 03/06/2025
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.
00:27I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Tuesday the 3rd of June.
00:32Seeing red, businesses losing thousands as council find hundreds for red route parking.
00:38We've had a reduction in footfall and revenue of around 30 percent, it's been very very difficult.
00:45Looking back to Beckett, 800 years on, how well does Canterbury know the city's most
00:52famous archbishop?
00:54He was quite a prominent figure. It was very violent times that they lived in.
00:58I know he was murdered in there, in the Canterbury Cathedral.
01:03And leave our land alone. Romney Marsh Campaign Group marches in protest of solar panel plans.
01:10We have other options to make energy. And with the best one in the world, solar is an
01:15intermittent energy source.
01:20But first tonight, the family of a four year old boy have paid tribute after he was killed
01:33in a crash in South Fleet. Peter Mahon was sat in a car when it collided with another on
01:38Sunday evening. His father remains in critical condition as two people have been arrested in
01:44connection with the incident. Well, our reporter Bartholomew Hall joins me in the studio now.
01:48Bartholomew, what more do we know? Well, the incident took place on Sunday evening at
01:53around 9.30 p.m., and it involved two grey Ford Rangers. Police told us they then closed the road
01:59for several hours as three people from the same vehicle were taken to hospital. And that includes
02:05four year old Peter Mahon, who you mentioned sadly died while at hospital. His one year old
02:11sister, who was treated for minor injuries before being discharged. And their father, 24 year old
02:16Lovell, who remains in critical condition in hospital this evening. Now, the latest is that
02:22two men have been arrested in connection with the incident. A 27 year old from Darenth and a 53 year
02:29old man from Swanleigh. Now, both of those men remain in custody this evening as police continue their
02:35questioning. And that's the scene of the crash at the time where police closed the road, as you said.
02:40But we've seen lots of tributes coming in now for Peter. That's right. Devastated family members and
02:46friends writing messages online describing him as a beautiful angel, sending messages such as rest in
02:52peace, baby, straight to the gates of heaven. Some going on to describe him as the kindest little
02:58boy and loving child. And what's next in the investigation now? Well, police are asking anybody who
03:05might have information, who may have witnessed the incident, which took place on Sunday evening,
03:09as I mentioned, to come forward and provide any sort of footage they may have had, dash cam footage.
03:14It's actually now being treated by Kent Police's Major Crime Unit. And they can be
03:18reached directly via the Major Incident Public Portal. All of those links available on Kent Online at the
03:25moment. And as always, Crime Stoppers can be contacted anonymously. All right, Bartholomew,
03:30thank you very much. An incredibly distressing story and more, as you say, on Kent Online. Thank you.
03:37All right, next this evening, a woman has died and another is still in hospital following a stabbing
03:42in Ashford. Police were called to Elson Close in Newton on Monday afternoon after reports of an
03:48assault. A woman in her 50s was confirmed dead later that day, and the second woman in her 30s remains
03:55in a serious but stable condition. Police say they were known to each other and the force is not
04:00currently looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. No arrests have been made and
04:05the investigation will now be led by the coroner with support from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime
04:11Directorate. A woman from Gillingham could face the death penalty after being accused of smuggling nearly
04:18a kilogram of cocaine into Indonesia. 39-year-old Lisa Stocker was allegedly carrying the drugs
04:25through Bali Airport back in February. Her partner, 38-year-old John Collier, was arrested
04:31alongside her. Police say they were caught with 17 packages of the drugs hidden in Angel Delight
04:37packaging. A third British suspect appeared in court alongside them and they could all face the
04:43death penalty if convicted. Next this evening, double red lines in Rainham are costing a local
04:51business thousands of pounds every month. That's according to Stephen Goddard, who runs three shops
04:57on the town's main route. He says the business can no longer rely on passing trade. Medway Council painted
05:04the lines a year ago and claims the scheme has been a success. Tonight, Gabriel Morris can exclusively
05:11reveal how many drivers have been fined for stopping on them. Double red lines drive around Medway.
05:18You've probably spotted them. We've obtained exclusive figures showing how many drivers
05:24enforcement cameras have caught. De Brook and Chatham recorded the highest number of offences,
05:30with 655 penalty charge notices issued in January. That number dropped to 134 by March.
05:40On Rainham High Street, the figures have fluctuated. To give you a taste, 52 fines of December,
05:4625 in January and 46 in February. One ice cream shop on the red route says the scheme has driven
05:54customers away over the last year. It's been very tough. I mean, we've had a reduction in footfall
06:00and revenue of around 30 per cent. It's been very, very difficult. Obviously, we've tried to reach out
06:08to the council to get some sort of concession regarding the bay immediately outside our shop,
06:13but there's no concession being offered. And one of his customers says
06:17Rainham's lost its appeal, thanks to fines on the red line.
06:21Would this put you off coming back here again?
06:23Well, of course it will. £75 for an ice cream? I think that's a little bit expensive, don't you?
06:29We took the business concerns straight to the councillor responsible for the red routes.
06:34There are actually more legal places to stop in Rainham and in the other four locations than there
06:41were previously. So I would say keep talking to us. If they have genuine concerns, we are always listening.
06:48And for those who do get fined, how does Medway Council spend that money?
06:52So if selfish drivers insist on being issued with PCNs and ignoring the rules,
06:58I'm not going to refuse the money that they are putting into the kitty to improve Medway's roads.
07:04Now, this time last year, Medway Council went about repainting some of these double yellow lines
07:10red. But what's the difference between those? Well, the idea of red routes is to free up traffic
07:16on some of the main routes around the town. It means on double red lines, you cannot stop at any time.
07:26Unlike double yellow lines, where drivers can briefly stop to pick up passengers.
07:31A year since they've appeared in Rainham, what do shoppers think now?
07:35Do you think they're a good idea? Yes. Have you ever seen anyone stopping on a double red here?
07:41No, I haven't. But I know of somebody who did and they got fined.
07:44In places like this, as you just see, probably an ambulance went through earlier.
07:49Yeah, probably a reasonable idea.
07:53Oh yeah, definitely. Especially around here. Because otherwise it just gets clogged up.
07:57Medway Council told us they currently have no plans to expand the red route scheme.
08:02They also said the decision doesn't reflect the performance or response
08:06to the five current locations. Gabriel Morris for KNTV, in Medway.
08:10Now today marks the anniversary of Thomas Becket becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury.
08:17He was most well known for being killed by knights of Henry II, and after his death became a saint
08:23and a symbol of the church. But apart from all that, how well does Canterbury actually know,
08:28arguably, their most famous historical figure? Fitment Dermid went to the city to find out.
08:33On the 3rd of June in 1162, Thomas Becket was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury
08:40by a royal council of bishops and noblemen. But his tenure didn't last long. Only eight years later,
08:46he was killed in the cathedral at the command of King Henry II. Since then, he's become a historic
08:52symbol of the church and a venerated saint. But it has been 863 years, so how well does Canterbury
08:58and its visitors know the city's most famous archbishop? Not a lot, other than that it was
09:04very violent times that they lived in. I know he was murdered in there, in the Canterbury Cathedral,
09:10and I've seen the spot where allegedly he was murdered. Henry expected that, obviously,
09:15his good old drinking buddy Thomas would do what he needed to really get the church,
09:20I think, under the control of the state even more so. He was quite a prominent figure within
09:26the history of Canterbury. Who will rid me of this turbulent priest? Those were the words of King
09:33Henry II, and there's some debate in history whether that was a genuine call to action for his four nights
09:38to burst through these very doors, or if it was just a fit of rage, expressing his frustration at the
09:44Catholic Church. Well, whatever he meant, one thing's for certain, Thomas Becket was killed in the very
09:50church where he worshipped. The spot in the cathedral where Becket was stabbed is now marked with two
09:56swords, and the shadows represent the four swordsmen who took his life. After his death, Becket was
10:02honoured as a saint, with the Corona Tower at the cathedral built to house his holy relic, the top of
10:07his skull removed from his body. But was this common? Were other archbishops and religious figures as
10:13revered as he was? Not in the way Thomas was revered. Thomas's, the impact of Thomas's murder
10:21was unlike anything at that time in the Christian world. It shocked people in Canterbury, in the
10:30surrounding area, and pretty soon throughout the Christian world. So you had a kind of pilgrimage to
10:36Canterbury that was unprecedented. And that was partly because of the violent nature of his death,
10:42but also it was because of this intriguing story of somebody who had transformed from the supporter
10:49of the king to the defender of the church. Many historians say that Becket's life began
10:55as soon as it ended, and that the story told throughout history is one of tragedy. But despite
11:00this, he was believed to perform healing miracles across his lifetime. And so, on the anniversary of
11:05his appointment as Archbishop, and with the Canterbury Cathedral holding tours of the Corona Tower,
11:10built to honour him, it might be worth finding out more about one of the city's most iconic figures,
11:15as well as the man behind the martyr. Finn McDermid for KMTV in Canterbury.
11:20All right, now it's time for a very short break. But still to come, we'll be speaking with our
11:25local democracy reporter, Ollie Leda, about what Kent County Council's new efficiency policy
11:31means for us. And we'll be taking a look at a local flower group who have organised an event to
11:35raise money for charity in this week's Climate Roundup. All that and more ahead of a brand new
11:41episode of Kent on Climate coming up at 6.30 this afternoon. But more news from across the county
11:46we'll see you in just a few minutes time. I'll see you then.
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15:30firefighters more than 12 hours to put out using seven fire engines.
15:35Another resident told Kentonline that CCTV footage shows people entering the building
15:39around the time of the fire, which has been given to the police.
15:43The force says an investigation into what started the fire is currently underway.
15:49Uncertainty is in the air this week at County Hall, as council staff fear that Reform UK's
15:54efficiency drive will lead to layoffs.
15:57The party chairman arrived yesterday alongside other members of the Elon Musk-style Department
16:02of Government Efficiency.
16:05But speaking to the union secretary at Kent County Council, staff may not be quite as
16:10jubilant about doge on their doorstep.
16:15They're worried about the job cuts.
16:17They're worried about having funds cut.
16:22We know that they've come in and said they're going to do this doge cut and coming.
16:29But KCC have underfunded, all local governments, authorities are underfunded by central government
16:37and have been for years.
16:39Almost every year we've had, we have to cut back, not just by a little bit, but by millions.
16:45So it's a question of how far do you go before the authority implodes and we can't actually
16:52provide the services that people want.
16:55Well, our local democracy reporter, Olly Leedy, Leedy, they gave you a new surname there,
17:01Olly Leeda, joins me now.
17:03Why is reform so insistent on making everything efficient?
17:08It's a little complicated, but let me break it down for you, Abby.
17:11Local government is an expensive business, as we heard Sarah say there.
17:16But it's especially the case if you're Kent County Council.
17:19They're one of the biggest local authorities in the entire country.
17:24Nearly two million people live within its borders.
17:27And that comes with exceptional cost because the council has to run everything from bus services
17:34to fixing potholes.
17:36And they spend around £2.6 billion every year on those essential services.
17:42But the cost of certain services are ballooning.
17:45And we're particularly talking about adult social services and children's services.
17:49And it's hard to find the money for that.
17:51I mean, 70% of the revenue budget has come from council tax.
17:55I'm sure all the viewers at home know how much council tax has gone up in recent years.
18:00And a quarter of the capital budget, that's for more infrastructure, long-term projects,
18:05is being borrowed.
18:06Around 26% of that budget comes from money outside of KCC being borrowed into it.
18:13That creates a lot of debt within the council as well.
18:17And we're already seeing these pressures.
18:19We've heard about the family hubs, the closures of libraries, of bus services being cut back.
18:25And ReformUK argue there are savings that need to be made, inefficiencies that can be rooted out,
18:31that could relieve some of this pressure.
18:34As we heard there from Sarah, lots of this money that comes to KCC is from grants.
18:39It's from the government.
18:39It comes down the pipeline.
18:42And if you look at the last budget, the council had to spend more on those services,
18:46Adder and children's services, at the expense of almost every single other part of the budget.
18:52Because they have a legal obligation to fulfil those services.
18:55Around 80 million were spent on adult services.
18:58That's a huge number for one tiny part of the jigsaw.
19:02And those sceptical of Doge, you can see on screen right now.
19:07It looks like a strange Avengers movie, doesn't it?
19:09Yeah, it's not the most appealing boy band in the world.
19:12But they are hoping they want to fix the core issues by rooting out these inefficiencies in the numbers.
19:19But the sceptics of this group here, they say that it's not just the money to do what they're saying they want to do.
19:24And how realistic is the prospect of job cuts?
19:28Well, that's a really good question because it's kind of one of those unknown quantities.
19:34The Conservatives previously told us last year when they were in power that job cuts were inevitable to stave off effective bankruptcy.
19:42One member of the Conservative group was calling for a 10% reduction in the workforce.
19:47That's thousands of jobs.
19:49And that was a Conservative administration.
19:50This is a reforming administration that wants to go further, faster.
19:55So it's really difficult to tell if jobs will be cut and how.
19:59Because you can say you want to cut jobs, a councillor cannot fire a member of staff.
20:03It's not in the Kent County Council constitution.
20:06It's all to do with what officers and HR departments want to do.
20:11But depending on what Reform UK allocate in regards to budgets, different departments,
20:17it could mean redundancies are more likely.
20:19We've heard a lot about cutting back on net zero policies and environmental policies if they don't have tangible benefits to residents.
20:29I mean, that staff and environmental projects could be at risk.
20:31But that's speculation.
20:33We don't really know because it's all up in the air.
20:35And that's kind of one of the concerns here.
20:37We don't really know how open that Doge team, that erratic boy band of different members of the Reform Party,
20:44are actually going to be with the books that they're cooking.
20:48And very, very quickly, how have other parties, particularly the Liberal Democrat opposition, reacted?
20:54Well, the Liberal Democrats have gone down a different route with it.
20:56They say there's lots of concerns because these people, they're not elected.
21:00They're coming in here to look at things, to find their deficiencies, hopefully to save the council money.
21:04But they could be going through the records of quite sensitive public information.
21:09The residents may not be happy that their information is being looked at by these outsiders.
21:15All right, Ollie.
21:16Certainly an interesting one that we will continue to talk about here on Kame TV.
21:19Thank you very much.
21:21All right.
21:21Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kemp by logging on to our website, like this one.
21:28It's funny how life changes, and how this place can change your life, because it has changed mine quite considerably, really.
21:40For some, it's a radio station or a church.
21:43For others, it's a lifeline.
21:45Sheppie Spectrum Arts has won a King's Award for their volunteering service to those in Kent by encouraging people to just be.
21:51For the founders, however, this award is just the beginning.
21:55For an internet radio station, which is just us guys, it averages around about 1,000 listeners per day, which is really good for a small station.
22:04It's more than some big stations in some ways, so really good.
22:07And they all listen, they sit down and they're doing their artwork and things, and they go, oh, it's me, it's me.
22:13They haven't tired of it yet, so really good.
22:17So there's potential there as well, you know.
22:19But what does this award mean?
22:21The King's Award for Voluntary Service, it was started originally, it was originally known as the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service,
22:27and it's the equivalent to an MBE for volunteering.
22:34And it's given to outstanding organizations that are, both have a lot of volunteers working for it, but also, but is run by volunteers as well.
22:46The Just Be Centre helps those in Folkestone find a sense of community, whether they're able-bodied or have a learning disability.
22:52Today, after the awards, they're decorating soap and, oh, it'll be Lisa.
22:58She's getting help from Crystal to do just that.
23:00The group gathered to celebrate the award with a show of music and dancing.
23:04But for those who use and volunteer for the service, this award is less important than what it has done for them.
23:10I kind of thought, well, I'm not doing anything, so this is something that I could be helpful to needy people and disabled people.
23:18And so, Gina gave me a shot and I suppose I showed good willing and that because I'm still here today and I'm still, you know, feeling really good about what we do and I'm really glad I found the place and, you know, made the move.
23:35The music behind this story was made by Steve and another volunteer called Ben.
23:40By doing these activities, they can not only develop their skills but encourage others to do the same.
23:45And with the group selling their volunteers' art and CDs, they live up to their name of being Busy Bees.
23:52Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Folkestone.
23:55Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Folkestone.
24:25The afternoon as well, temperatures climbing to about 18 degrees, some sunshine behind the cloud in some parts.
24:31Unfortunately, some wet weather for us on Thursday.
24:34The same again on Saturday, partly cloudy and sunny on Friday there.
24:47Now for warnings over, a pollen bomb forecast for the southeast, meaning many will be facing their first spout of hay fever this year.
24:55To a call for more eco-warriors as this week marks Volunteers Week.
24:59Aired of a brand new episode of Kenton Climate at 6.30 this evening, let's take a look at the environmental news from around the county.
25:06First up, pollen is on the rise.
25:09The peak pollen season is upon us with typical highs in late May, June and July.
25:13The first grass pollen bomb is forecast to hit the southeast this Friday.
25:17It is predicted that many people will be getting their first bout of hay fever this summer.
25:21A pollen bomb is an unofficial term to describe short bursts of high pollen production in the area.
25:27There are many ways you can help to reduce your pollen exposure, such as washing your clothes and face after being outside,
25:32vacuuming carpets and floors regularly, and wearing hats and wraparound sunglasses to prevent pollen getting in your eyes and hair.
25:38Next, a gardening team seeks to help raise funds for Heart of Kent Hospice.
25:43Blooming Green will be open to flower tours on the 14th of June to help teach people about the unique world of eco-flower farming,
25:50all while admiring the beautiful seasonal flowers in bloom.
25:53The ticket proceeds for this exclusive pre-season fundraising event will be donated to the Heart of Kent Hospice,
25:59who provide free end-of-life care to those living with a terminal illness.
26:02They will also be donating 20% of funds from the Pick Your Own Flower bouquets purchased during the event.
26:08And finally, it is the start of Volunteers Week and the RSPCA is calling on the public to become Wildlife Friends.
26:14The Wildlife Friends pledge is to take on simple tasks in home gardens and outdoor spaces to help keep wildlife out of harm's way.
26:21This allows the RSPCA to have more time to respond to urgent cases of cruelty and neglect.
26:26The animal charity has put together a new menu of quick and simple tasks people can complete to help their local wildlife,
26:32such as putting away football netting and providing drinking stations.
26:35That's all for this week's Climate Catch-Up.
26:37More environmental news coming up at 6.30 this evening,
26:41but stick with us straight after the break, a round-up of your headlines on Kent Tonight this evening.
26:46See you in a few minutes.
32:37There are actually more
32:38legal places to stop
32:40in Raynham and in the other four locations than there were previously.
32:44So I would say keep talking to us.
32:46If they have genuine concerns, we are always listening.
32:50And for those who do get fined, how does Medway Council spend that money?
32:54So if selfish drivers insist on being issued with PCNs and ignoring the rules,
33:00I'm not going to refuse the money that they are putting into the kitty
33:03to improve Medway's roads.
33:06Now, this time last year, Medway Council went about repainting
33:10some of these double yellow lines red.
33:12But what's the difference between those?
33:14Well, the idea of red routes is to free up traffic
33:18on some of the main routes around the town.
33:22It means on double red lines, you cannot stop at any time.
33:28Unlike double yellow lines, where drivers can briefly stop to pick up passengers.
33:33A year since they've appeared in Raynham, what do shoppers think now?
33:37Do you think they're a good idea?
33:39Yes.
33:40Have you ever seen anyone stopping on a double red here?
33:43No, I haven't.
33:44But I know of somebody who did and they got fined.
33:47In places like this, as you just see,
33:49there's probably an ambulance went through earlier.
33:51Yeah, probably a reasonable idea.
33:54Oh, yeah, definitely.
33:56Especially around here.
33:57Because otherwise it just gets clogged up.
33:59Medway Council told us they currently have no plans
34:02to expand the red route scheme.
34:03They also said the decision doesn't reflect the performance
34:06or response to the five current locations.
34:10Gabriel Morris for KNTV in Medway.
34:12Well, joining me now is Conservative Councillor Andrew Lawrence in the studio.
34:18Thank you very much for joining me.
34:19Now, you've been very vocal in your opposition of the red routes,
34:22but you heard from the people in Gabriel's report there, they were for them.
34:25Yeah, I mean, everyone's going to have an opinion about red routes.
34:29I think the point we made when the red routes were proposed,
34:32particularly for Raynham,
34:34is actually the problem in Raynham is just the layout of the roads,
34:37the numerous numbers of traffic lights.
34:39People stopping, yes, is an inconvenience and on occasion selfish,
34:44but actually the problems with Raynham is just the weight of traffic
34:47and the various traffic lights people have to negotiate.
34:51So I'd be very interested to see whether Medway Council can justify
34:54that traffic flows have improved since the red routes were introduced.
34:59What can the council really do about the roads being a bad layout?
35:04They can't uproot all the buildings that are there
35:05and the pavements that are there already.
35:07So what else do you propose?
35:08Absolutely not.
35:09So let's fine hard-working, law-abiding residents
35:13who are just going about their daily business.
35:16I think there's a bigger problem here.
35:17If you take the red routes as one issue,
35:19but also the fines that are being levied on motorists around schools
35:22and also for inadvertently entering yellow box areas,
35:29which on occasion aren't very well marked, to be honest with you.
35:32If you add to that the increase in car parking charges,
35:36why would you go to Raynham face potentially entering a yellow box
35:41and getting a fine, stopping on a red route and getting a fine
35:43and then parking and having to pay two or three pounds
35:46for a couple of minutes of parking
35:48when you could go to Tesco's or Sainsbury's and park for free?
35:51It is decimating our local businesses.
35:53And again, just this point about, you know,
35:55not everyone goes out of their way to purposefully park
35:58or enter a yellow box fine.
36:00So, you know, it does strike me that Medway Council
36:03are really attacking the motorists here.
36:05And yet if you go to the Barnfield Recreation Ground,
36:08where there's absolute lawlessness
36:09with people using motorcycle and quad bikes
36:12and the council seem not bothered.
36:15Well, we'll stick to the traffic issues
36:16and the red routes for now.
36:18If, as Alex said in that piece there,
36:21the money is going into improving the roads in Medway,
36:24I'm sure you'd want to see that
36:25with just the number of potholes that there are.
36:28But they're not.
36:29That's the whole point.
36:29But Alex says the money is.
36:30No, Alex might be saying that.
36:32Alex actually quite sarcastically said
36:35he'll take money off hard-working residents
36:37who are already paying loads more in council tax
36:39but getting ever fewer services.
36:41The bottom line here is the biggest pothole in Medway
36:44is Medway Labour's budget,
36:46which is currently a deficit of £40 million
36:48and they're having to borrow to plug that.
36:52The other thing about this is,
36:53is as we said in a recent council meeting,
36:56the amount of money being spent on potholes
36:58is actually reduced.
37:00So I don't know where Councillor Passan
37:02is getting these numbers from.
37:03I would be very happy if he could ring-fence
37:05all of that money that he's raising
37:07and spend it on potholes.
37:09That would be something that actually residents could see
37:12but that's not happening.
37:13And let's be honest here,
37:15the School Street Scheme,
37:16which is another area where the council
37:19have already issued something like 16,000 notices,
37:22they purposely in their budget papers
37:25state very clearly that the new School Street Scheme
37:27will raise another £200,000.
37:30So with things like School Street as well,
37:32ultimately that's aimed at keeping children safe in particular.
37:34So how else would you propose
37:36that children are kept safe and clear
37:38from roads that can become incredibly clogged up with cars
37:41and traffic is rife in these Medway towns?
37:44Yeah, but traffic's rife across the Medway.
37:45We've got a big problem.
37:46Every time there's a problem on the M2,
37:48all the traffic comes through Medway.
37:49Everyone knows this.
37:51The thing with School Street is that
37:52on a number of those schemes,
37:54the council never proved the case
37:56that actually there was a road traffic problem.
37:59They're just about to introduce a School Street Scheme
38:02outside Fairview Primary School,
38:03which is in my ward.
38:04There hasn't been an accident
38:05outside Fairview Primary School in living memory.
38:08No one can remember the last time a child was hurt outside.
38:12And also the other area here is about reducing pollution.
38:16Well, you're not going to reduce pollution
38:18if you just stop people parking outside of school
38:20for two hours a day.
38:22There's one more big issue about School Streets.
38:23I have asked a number of times
38:26whether those cameras are actually switched off
38:28when the School Street Scheme is not in operation.
38:32I'm still waiting for an answer.
38:33Well, we do know that someone actually had a fine
38:35while the school was out for term.
38:38Absolutely.
38:38But then Medway Council retracted that
38:39and said it was a mistake.
38:40So perhaps they've learnt from that mistake.
38:42I know you're very outspoken about School Streets
38:44and Red Roots as well.
38:46And there's certainly a case to be heard for both sides.
38:48But a few people there,
38:49and the council themselves say,
38:50the money from the fines is going back into the roads
38:52and it's for the safety and the traffic in the area.
38:54It's not.
38:55We'll leave that debate there.
38:56One we will continue to have.
38:57It came to you, Andrew.
38:58Thank you so much for your time today.
38:59All right.
39:00Now, today marks eight centuries
39:02since Thomas Becket became the Archbishop of Canterbury.
39:04Finn McDermott's been down to the city.
39:08On the 3rd of June in 1162,
39:10Thomas Becket was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury
39:13by a royal council of bishops and noblemen.
39:16But his tenure didn't last long.
39:18Only eight years later,
39:19he was killed in the cathedral
39:21at the command of King Henry II.
39:23Since then,
39:24he's become a historic symbol of the church
39:26and a venerated saint.
39:27But it has been 863 years,
39:30so how well does Canterbury and its visitors
39:32know the city's most famous archbishop?
39:35Not a lot,
39:36other than that it was very violent times
39:38that they lived in.
39:39I know he was murdered in there,
39:41in the Canterbury Cathedral,
39:43and I've seen the spot
39:44where allegedly he was murdered.
39:47Henry expected that,
39:48obviously,
39:48his good old drinking buddy Thomas
39:50would do what he needed
39:51to really get the church,
39:53I think,
39:54under the control of the state even more so.
39:56He was quite a prominent figure
39:58within the history of Canterbury.
40:02Who will rid me
40:03of this turbulent priest?
40:05Those were the words
40:06of King Henry II.
40:07And there's some debate
40:08in history
40:08whether that was a genuine call to action
40:10for his four knights
40:11to burst through these very doors,
40:14or if it was just a fit of rage,
40:16expressing his frustration
40:17at the Catholic church.
40:18Well,
40:19whatever he meant,
40:20one thing's for certain,
40:21Thomas Becket
40:22was killed
40:23in the very church
40:24where he worshipped.
40:25The spot in the cathedral
40:27where Becket
40:27was stabbed
40:28is now marked
40:28with two swords,
40:30and the shadows
40:30represent the four swordsmen
40:32who took his life.
40:34After his death,
40:34Becket was honoured
40:35as a saint,
40:36with the Corona Tower
40:37at the cathedral
40:38built to house his holy relic,
40:40the top of his skull,
40:41removed from his body.
40:43But was this common?
40:44Were other archbishops
40:45and religious figures
40:46as revered as he was?
40:48Not in the way
40:49Thomas was revered.
40:50Thomas's,
40:52the impact of Thomas's murder
40:54was unlike anything
40:56at that time
40:57in the Christian world.
41:00It shocked people
41:02in Canterbury,
41:03in the surrounding area,
41:05and pretty soon
41:06throughout the Christian world.
41:07So you had a kind of pilgrimage
41:09to Canterbury
41:10that was unprecedented.
41:12And that was partly
41:13because of the violent nature
41:15of his death,
41:16but also it was because
41:17of this intriguing story
41:19of somebody
41:19who had transformed
41:21from the supporter
41:22of the king
41:23to the defender
41:25of the church.
41:26Many historians say
41:27that Becket's life
41:28began as soon as it ended,
41:30and that the story
41:30told throughout history
41:31is one of tragedy.
41:33But despite this,
41:34he was believed
41:35to perform healing miracles
41:36across his lifetime,
41:37and so,
41:38on the anniversary
41:38of his appointment
41:39as archbishop,
41:40and with the Canterbury Cathedral
41:41holding tours
41:42of the Corona Tower
41:43built to honour him,
41:45it might be worth
41:45finding out more
41:46about one of the city's
41:47most iconic figures,
41:48as well as the man
41:49behind the martyr.
41:51Finn McDermid
41:51for KMTV
41:52in Canterbury.
41:54Time for a very quick break.
45:52We've got pictures from the next day.
45:57Now, we've got pictures from the next day.
45:58We'll be showing you shortly.
45:59The crash involved two grey Ford Rangers.
46:00Police told us that three people were taken from one of those cars to hospital.
46:03That included four year old Peter Mahon who you mentioned sadly passed away at hospital.
46:09His one-year-old sister, who received treatment for minor injuries before being discharged,
46:14and their father, of course, 24-year-old Lovell Mohan, who remains in critical condition in hospital this evening.
46:22Now, the latest from the scene is that two men have been arrested in connection with the incident.
46:28There's a 27-year-old man from Darrinth and a 54-year-old man from Swanley.
46:33Both of those remain in police custody this evening as inquiries continue.
46:37And what can you tell us about the tributes that have been coming in for Peter?
46:41Well, of course, there's been a number of messages that have reached us here,
46:44from devastated family members, friends, describing him as a beautiful angel,
46:50mentioned his nickname was Peter Rabbit, many people commenting that online,
46:55people describing him as golden, saying he's a little angel straight to the gates of heaven,
47:00and some going on to describing him as the kindest little boy and loving child,
47:05a beautiful baby boy, and many people saying, rest in peace.
47:09And what can you tell us about the police investigation, and what's next?
47:13Well, of course, those two people, as I mentioned, remain in custody this evening.
47:18Police are asking to hear from anybody who may have seen the incident, witnessed it.
47:22It's now being investigated by Kent Police's major crime unit.
47:26As I mentioned, it involved two grey foiled rangers, happened on roughly 9pm, 9.30pm on Sunday evening.
47:34And so anybody who may have been around the area at that time is asked to come forward,
47:37share any sort of dash cam footage that they may have,
47:40and that can be uploaded to the major incident portal.
47:43All of those links available over at Kent Online,
47:46as well as the Crimestoppers number, who can always be contacted anonymously.
47:51OK, Bartholomew, as you said, more information over on Kent Online,
47:54those tributes that have been coming in as well.
47:56Thank you very much for those details.
48:00All right, now, this weekend, a Romney Marsh campaign group
48:03will be taking to the countryside to walk against mass solar energy schemes.
48:09The hands-off our Marsh group will be walking on footpaths and country lanes
48:13to raise awareness of the threat posed by some plans.
48:16Our climate producer, Daisy Page, spoke with Colin Woolard from the group.
48:21At the end of the day, food security must somehow trump, you know,
48:27this sort of headlong rush into renewables.
48:30We have other options to make energy.
48:33And with the best one in the world, solar is an intermittent energy source.
48:38And we cannot get through a winter just on solar and wind.
48:42You know, we need to have backup sources.
48:44So to send all of these fields into 20-plus-20-year lease agreements for solar,
48:52our food security is going to suffer as a result.
48:55You know, New Church is just going to get swallowed up to the north.
48:59Old Romney is completely surrounded.
49:02And these are just the two that have come up for public consultation.
49:04We know from the tech register there are other schemes in the pipeline.
49:09You know, it's literally like gold rush because the way that electricity is priced
49:15with the marginal pricing and particularly with renewables,
49:18there's literally like this gold rush fever from what can only best be described
49:23as solar prospectors that want to get onto this subsidies bandwagon.
49:26And, you know, all of this agricultural land realistically will never get returned
49:32to agricultural use.
49:35You're talking 20-year plus 20-year, 40-year time period.
49:39I mean, will these companies be around in 40 years to remove all of the accumulated
49:45infrastructure from these fields?
49:48I really cannot see that's going to be the case.
49:52So this is what's, you know, ringing massive alarm bells for all local residents
49:56in these areas.
49:58You know, we're just seeing, you know, the whole area getting chewed up.
50:02Now, the companies say that they're going to be given vital support to the transition
50:07of these renewable energies with the UK government goal of reaching net zero by 2050.
50:13So some people might be saying, why not these farmlands?
50:18Well, what is more important, food or intermittent energy?
50:23And most expensive energy.
50:24It's not as if anybody can make a case that any of our electrical power has got cheaper
50:29in the last 10 years.
50:32You know, particularly as we saw with the Ukraine invasion, energy prices went through
50:38the roof.
50:39And they might have eased off a little bit, but the trajectory is still ever higher.
50:45Renewables, unfortunately, because of the way they're priced, are the most expensive form
50:49of energy.
50:50What we should have done, what governments should have done, is to put investment into
50:54Dungeon S.
50:56Dungeon S is screaming out for a Dungeon SC or the small modular reactors.
51:02That's 365 days a year, 24 hours a day power.
51:06Not this intermittent.
51:07When I know, I know plenty about solar.
51:09I've got 140 kilowatts of solar here for my business.
51:13And I know what it can and what it can't do.
51:15So when I go into the consultation meeting with the solar developers, I'm simply not going
51:20to be swayed by their arguments that it works all the time, because it simply doesn't.
51:25I know from my own experience, it's intermittent.
51:31I mean, we have to supplement with a diesel generator.
51:34The reality of the realities of renewables, they can supplement everything else, but they
51:39are not the answer.
51:40And for the government to head, you know, entirely down this renewables route, it's only going
51:46to end in tears.
51:47And it would be consumers that pay for it.
51:49And it seems such a crying shame to see such a historically important landscape as Romney
51:54Mars literally destroyed with these schemes.
51:58And it's the cumulative effect that is really the most alarming, because there's so many
52:02schemes being proposed.
52:04Right.
52:05Well, our climate producer, Daisy Page, joins me in the studio now, ahead of a brand new
52:09episode of Kenton Climate in about eight minutes' time.
52:12All right, Daisy, that's a very contentious issue, of course, with that protest planned this
52:17weekend, a lot of people weighing up the odds and trying to decide what they'd rather.
52:22Yeah.
52:23Well, Colin was saying that the residents going will be walking around, and he said it's what
52:27the residents will be losing is what they're going to be putting their hiking boots on,
52:31walking around to see what the residents will be facing the loss with.
52:35But this is all kind of to help with the net zero target set by to reach net zero by 2025.
52:44And that has been set by the UK government.
52:48And both companies have said that they're providing a vital contribution to this by introducing
52:53these solar schemes.
52:55He also said there is transition into low carbon and secure energy systems.
53:00But as Colin said there, is it energy or food?
53:02And it will be a debate to follow closely in the future.
53:05But we've got a bit of a longer interview with Colin during Kenton Climate.
53:09So it will be a bit more into detail of what he thinks and what he says the impact will
53:14be on residents as well.
53:15Yeah, definitely.
53:16And then we'll hopefully hear more as well after the protests and as it continues as well.
53:22And if those solar panels do in fact go up, we had a little sneak preview there I saw on
53:25the screen.
53:26Some litter.
53:27Some litter.
53:28It's something you're talking about in Kenton Climate this evening.
53:30Well, you know, we always like a day here, a special day of some form.
53:35And one coming up this Thursday, June the 5th, is World Environment Day.
53:40And this year's theme is about plastic pollution and learning to tackle it.
53:45And they want to raise awareness of how we can do this.
53:49Now, this was started in 1973 by United Nations Environment Programme.
53:55And there's been a hashtag going around this year.
53:58It's hashtag Beat Plastic Pollution and people sharing their stories of how they're helping
54:03to beat it.
54:04Now, as you may know already, I have prepared a little question for you.
54:09As it is said that the UK has the highest rate of plastic waste.
54:13So according to a recent survey in 2024, how many pieces of plastic packaging is thrown
54:18away annually here in the UK?
54:20Now, I've done multi-choice to help a little bit.
54:23But we've got A, 90 billion pieces, B, 60 billion pieces, or C, 40 billion pieces.
54:31I'll go the highest because in my days of producing Kenton Climate, I learned a lot about the environment
54:36and how bad we are for it.
54:39So I'll go with the highest, 90.
54:40Yeah, and you're correct.
54:41And I actually had to go back and reread this because I was thinking how much.
54:46But it's individual pieces of packaging.
54:49And that's really amazing.
54:50The ULAs that we actually saw earlier, if we can get them back, they were just down the
54:53road from us.
54:54I sent a couple of our production assistants out today.
54:56And I was like, I know, I drive past it every day because I was like, I need some footage.
55:01We're doing this ULA in Kenton Climate today.
55:03And I know down that road, you'll definitely be able to get some.
55:06So it just shows that it's not far away from us.
55:08We might not see it.
55:10I think we don't really acknowledge it every day now, do we?
55:12But it is really around us and so close to us.
55:16Yeah, it's terrible seeing all of that.
55:19But other than just putting things in the bin and recycling, which it does amaze me when
55:24people drop glitter or you're driving along and you see somebody throw something out the
55:27window, I do think it's, I think it's awful.
55:29And I don't know how people still do it.
55:31But how can we reduce our plastic if we're looking to do things like recycling?
55:35We know from many morning shows, you are the queen of recycling.
55:39We've had Daisy planting things live on the telly with us.
55:41So how can we actually reduce our plastic?
55:44So obviously, as you mentioned there, reduce, reuse, recycle.
55:47They're the three things that we can stick to and keep in our mind.
55:50When we're thinking about reducing, obviously, it's quite difficult.
55:54Some people might not be able to avoid plastic.
55:56It is everywhere where we go now.
55:57So it's thinking small.
55:59What can we look at in our everyday life?
56:01One thing that stands out, if you'd like to go and get a coffee, maybe get yourself a
56:04reusable coffee cup or check out what you're using your water.
56:07Are you buying water every day or can you re-keep your water bottle and rinse it out and use
56:11it again?
56:11Some good advice, Daisy.
56:12More to come on Kental Climate this evening in four minutes time.
56:15All right, let's take a very quick look at the weather forecast before we go.
56:24Tonight, partly cloudy weather with temperatures between 12 and 13 degrees in parts of the county
56:30there and by the coast.
56:31Wind picking up just slightly tomorrow morning.
56:33Temperatures between about 15 and 16.
56:36Staying dry.
56:36Some sunshine behind the clouds, perhaps.
56:38And into the afternoon, a lot of cloud.
56:41High wind speeds too.
56:42All right, that's all we've got time for on Kent Tonight this evening.
56:46Stick around for Kent on Climate.
56:47Bye-bye.
56:47Kental.
56:51Bye-bye.
56:52Bye-bye.
56:53Bye-bye.
56:53Bye-bye.
56:55Bye-bye.
56:57Bye-bye.
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