- 24/06/2025
Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Cameron Tucker.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
00:25I'm Cameron Tucker. Here are your top stories on Tuesday the 24th of June.
00:31A ring of steel. Tunbridge Wells residents say road closures are a living nightmare.
00:37At the moment it's just unbearable. It's impossible to go around because all the roads on the south side of Tunbridge Wells are closed.
00:45Destroying our past and our future. Kent reacts to spate of heritage crimes.
00:51We can make copies but it's not the original.
00:54Making a splash. Medway dignitaries and dolphins mark annual admiral of the river celebration.
01:01We've had a great time. It has been an absolute joy.
01:04No slacking. Teams battle it out in Tunbridge to be named national tug of war champions.
01:10Months of solid training. Gone into it and everyone's put their whole every bit in.
01:14In our first story this evening. Drivers in Tunbridge Wells have called the current state of roads in the town hellish and unbearable.
01:24Work on several key routes has led to rush hour chaos, late school runs and fears the town will be blighted with road issues throughout the busy summer months.
01:33The agencies responsible insist the work is essential as they're repairing separate sewage systems to stop pollution from leaking into local rivers.
01:42Our reporter Gabriel Morris has been taking a closer look.
01:45Talk to Tunbridge Wells locals and they'll tell you traffic clogs for roads at rush hour.
01:52But right now multiple road closures have brought the town to a near standstill.
01:56Residents say congestion has never been worse.
01:59At the moment it's just unbearable. So yesterday for example it took me 45 minutes from the Trinity of Art, the cinema, to go back to my place that is near the front road. That usually takes five minutes.
02:13I just think it's unplanned. Emergency work has to be done. The effect on the local economy is huge. The frustration is huge. The pollution is huge.
02:26It's more than inconvenient, isn't it? I missed an appointment, by the way.
02:32Was it an important appointment?
02:34Fairly important-ish, yeah.
02:36And what does that mean now for you?
02:38That means I was late and the person I was going to meet was late. That means their day's late, my day's late and of course it's a knock-on effect.
02:48Five major roadworks are happening across the town. Drivers say even the usual rat runs have jammed up.
02:55The biggest problem, seemingly coming from this main route into the town, being closed.
03:01And if you try to take a diversion, you'll likely hit another closure, like this one on Linden Park Road.
03:08People are asking why authorities allowed so many roads to close at once.
03:14But agencies say these works are essential.
03:16And it means Kent County Council, under current legislation, virtually has no say about when they happen.
03:25Southern Water shut Front Row to stop disconnected sewage pipes from leaking into the River Grom, something the local MP has long called to fix.
03:35Ripple Effect has been investigating for pollution and says the river was virtually dead.
03:41They believe this repair work is crucial.
03:43But when we tested at the very start of the month, we went down on a Monday lunchtime, took our samples and ammonia was very high.
03:51It was much higher than we'd seen it before.
03:53And we searched for invertebrates.
03:56There are eight that we look for.
03:57In particular, we normally find a few and we found absolutely none.
04:01So we were very concerned, reported it to the Environment Agency and Southern Water.
04:05When the Environment Agency confirmed there was sewage in there, they were quick to rat the Southern Water.
04:10I'm delighted that they're fixing the problem.
04:14The roadworks may continue for another week or more.
04:18That means drivers will face delays for a little longer.
04:21But experts say saving the river's ecology makes the disruption worthwhile.
04:26Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited Strewd earlier on to announce widespread financial support to children and families here in Kent.
04:39She said changes to free school meals means 20,000 more children in the county will have access to them,
04:46while also adding that 15 schools will be rebuilt.
04:49Critics say these measures don't go far enough, but the Chancellor argued the impact on local families will be significant.
04:56We can't do everything straight away.
04:58We have inherited public finances that are in a mess and public services that are on their knees.
05:04But we are steadily improving the living standards for working people for cuts in interest rates since the general election,
05:11taking money off of people's mortgages and rents.
05:15And this adds up to a government that is determined to improve living standards for ordinary working people
05:21and improve the public services that they rely on, particularly our health service.
05:26And you can find out more about the Chancellor's visit to Strewd by going to Kent Online.
05:32Ashford MP Sojan Joseph hopes he can help change the game for patients after being selected to serve on the Mental Health Bill Committee.
05:41The bill aims to modernise the 1983 Mental Health Act, strengthening patient rights, increasing patient involvement in care decisions,
05:49reducing racial inequalities and tightening restrictions on detention, particularly for those with learning disabilities and autism.
05:58Sojan Joseph, who is a former nurse himself, told us change has been long overdue.
06:04As you probably know, as of last April, there were approximately one million people were waiting for mental health services.
06:14So the mental health services were, I would say, people were let down for many, many years.
06:22So so many people waiting to get some help.
06:27So that's why an immediate work need to be done to this.
06:32And this was our manifesto commitment as well.
06:36Now, stolen memorial plaques to vandalised sites.
06:40Some of Kent's most historic items and buildings have suffered from a worrying spate of so-called heritage crimes.
06:48Experts are concerned that it's a growing problem across the county and the country.
06:52But since the crimes vary, there isn't a clear number of how many historic sites have suffered from actions such as vandalism, arson and theft.
07:00Well, Finn McDermott has this report.
07:04Kent is a county of cathedrals, castles and chapels and has items of historical significance in its museums, exhibitions, churches and even undiscovered below ground.
07:14But this also means it sees frequent heritage crime, which tends to be theft or vandalism of items of historic value.
07:20Most recently, last month, two First World War memorial plaques were stolen from Christchurch Luton in Chatham.
07:27The plaques had 150 names dedicated to Medway's sailors and soldiers.
07:32With many of the church's congregation related to them, the thought of it going missing was particularly distressing to locals.
07:38The plaques were eventually returned.
07:40But where is the value in stealing these historic items?
07:43There could be a social factor to start with.
07:46If you think about it, to commit a crime against individual property is just a crime towards an individual.
07:53But when we target heritage sites, we are committing a crime against an entire community.
07:59So it's almost an act of contempt or defiance towards a community as such.
08:06There's also, for sure, an economic motivation in many cases.
08:12So online, there is a thriving, thriving market, especially for military objects, so war-related objects.
08:20But this isn't the only instance with 9,000 crimes from 2022 to 2024 committed on church property,
08:26with Kent among the worst-hit areas in the county.
08:29According to experts, the crime is not just stealing items physically, but stealing Kent's culture.
08:34Each generation that's gone by has had heritage to look after.
08:40And that's the same now in 2025.
08:43We need to be able to leave our ancestors this rich legacy, either in as good as or even better condition for the future.
08:53And if people come along and damage or steal those items or those buildings, that can't be passed on.
09:00We can make copies, but it's not the original.
09:02Specific charges like arson, theft or vandalism can be recorded as heritage crimes.
09:08But Historic England are also asking for a specialist marker so that more data can be collected
09:12and the issue tackled to protect the county and the country's past.
09:16Finn McDermid for KMTV.
09:17Now, don't forget, you can keep up to date with all your latest stories from across Kent by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
09:27There you'll find all our reports, including this one about an elephant slide that caused issues with neighbours,
09:33describing it as nothing more than a monstrous eyesore.
09:35It wasn't your usual garden ornament, an eight and a half foot fibreglass elephant taken from a Gillingham driveway by Medway Council.
09:49Ellie had been a fixture of the strand for 30 years.
09:54But when the water slide was found unsafe, one regular convinced the contractors hauling her away to make his home her stomping ground.
10:08That was going to be the crowning glory of all my little toys.
10:11This was going to be the centrepiece.
10:13She was coming here on my lawn and it was going to be...
10:15I was actually going to build a little pond there, so you could slide down it into the pond.
10:21But after two months and complaints from neighbours, the council seized the slide,
10:29taking Ellie to the great elephant sanctuary in the sky.
10:33Or in other words, landfill.
10:35I mean, the landfill was bad enough.
10:37Why put a big lump of fibreglass when it could have stayed here with me?
10:42It wasn't a lot to feed it either.
10:43But with children flocking to see the jubilee-themed oddity,
10:51for the neighbours next door, Ellie becoming a dangerous eyesore was the elephant in the room,
10:58or rather, on the road.
11:01We saw the bits of string tied to bits of old wood,
11:04the fact that it was unsafe, the fact that it could have fallen at any time,
11:08the fact that it was dangerous.
11:09I can't believe for a moment that he actually thought that he could leave it there.
11:15I mean, planning.
11:16I mean, you have to have planning permission.
11:18We couldn't put a shed up in our front garden.
11:21So, a six-foot shed.
11:22So how would he be able to put a ten-foot elephant up?
11:26Medway Council says it's unsure of how the slide ended up on Romani Road.
11:32But while an elephant may never forget,
11:36the council and some of the residents probably wish they could.
11:42Ollie Leder in Gillingham.
11:45More to come on Kent tonight after this short break.
15:56of at least seven different types of cancer including breast cancer and bowel cancer which
16:01two of the most common cancers in the UK and our evidence shows that any amount of alcohol can
16:08increase the risk of cancer but clearly our polling and other work has shown that this is
16:13not well known and people in the southeast region just over one in six adults feel comfortable
16:22talking about their relationship with adults and only one in four think there's any health risks at
16:28all attached to drinking alcohol so we're really through this cancer prevention action week trying
16:34to raise awareness and get people talking about alcohol and what we're doing is trying to call
16:40for government to commit to a national alcohol strategy so we can start addressing this properly
16:46and why do you think those figures nationally and um here in Kent in the southeast are so stark do
16:53you think they're down is it societal reasons is it down to um you know peer pressure when you when
16:59you know people go out and maybe drink a little bit more and kind of forget of you know maybe the
17:05health implications that could result what have you found has been some of those reasons for that
17:10that lack of understanding i think there's many different reasons alcohol is completely entwined
17:18in our way of living um how we celebrate things how we deal with um difficult situations and challenges
17:25in our lives but in addition to that the um alcohol industry really uses quite confusing and misleading
17:34marketing and labeling and that all helps to kind of confuse people and hide the harms that
17:42we can experience from alcohol so that's really why we're trying to start a national conversation and also
17:50raise awareness of these harms so really people are equipped with the facts so they can make their own
17:55decisions so kent's got a really strong you know you mentioned there earlier on that uh loads of
18:03different parts of the uk have a really strong connection with with alcohol here in kent
18:07um we've got farms have grown hops for centuries we've got gin distilleries um is there a particular
18:15kind of alcohol to steer away from or to have less of um that you found with with your research
18:23it's a really great question and one that we're often asked really evidence shows very clearly that it
18:30is the ethanol in alcoholic drinks that is harmful therefore all types of alcohol are harmful there
18:37is no evidence for any particular type of alcoholic drink being better than another people often ask
18:43for example about red wine because of the antioxidants in red wine but any antioxidants in
18:50wine can be found in other foods and the harm from the ethanol in the wine will far outweigh
18:57any potential benefits so we wouldn't be recommending that people consume one type of alcohol over
19:03another and talk to us a little bit about this national alcohol strategy how would that be shaped
19:09what are the stages of of bringing it into force um give us a bit of that overview the government's
19:17committed to a national cancer plan which we're really positive about but what's missing is a specific
19:24strategy on alcohol and we haven't had in england and our um a strategy on alcohol since 2012 so there's
19:32clearly a gap there and we're calling for that in order to really join the dots between that and the
19:38national cancer plan so that the whole picture could be considered and in relation to alcohol
19:44specifically the policy asks that we're asking for are for mandatory labeling on alcoholic drinks
19:52minimum unit pricing and also stronger marketing restrictions all of this is tying in with cancer
20:00prevention action week um taking place this week um if there's one thing that our viewers can take away
20:08from this conversation and from the week about what we've been talking about today what is it that
20:14you would like them to to take away and to ponder and think about and and maybe even action yeah no
20:22thank you so for cancer prevention action week well cancer research fund is really asking people
20:27to start a conversation reflect on their own drinking talk about their um about alcohol and the role it
20:34plays in their lives but we also really encourage your listeners to go on to world cancer research fund's
20:41website and sign our petition where we're calling for a national alcohol strategy so yes that would
20:47be great if your listeners want to go and do that and support the campaign next up and the recently
20:54appointed mayor of medway can also add the admiral of the river to his title the annual tradition of
21:01the admiral's crews saw dignitaries and this year dolphins sail the river medway finding out more
21:06about this centuries-old ritual was kai way over the weekend the rochester cruising club held their
21:21annual admiral of the river cruise a traditional procession steeped in history and ceremony the idea
21:27of the apple's crews is that the admiral beats the bounds of his jurisdiction so the bounds of his
21:34jurisdiction is from the hawkwood stone where we've cruised today um and that marks the upper boundary
21:40of his jurisdiction it's quite a lot of um pomp and ceremony which i think is what makes britain great
21:46camelot is my boat it's the admiral's barge for the weekend uh and i think the mayor has been very
21:52touched the admiral has been very touched by the amount of participants in the cruise the new admiral
21:57was joined by a steamed company and by that i mean some dolphins who surfaced and rode along with the
22:03ships on the 14th of may this year i was elected as the latest mayor of medway and today i'm performing
22:11the role as admiral of the waters of the medway from the sheerness to hawkwood stone the river um just
22:20to see it when you travel upstream um how beautiful some of this is the mayor also pointed out the
22:25importance of conserving the river medway and all its natural wildlife along with the dolphins he was
22:31joined by perhaps there's been too passive an involvement from the local authority over just
22:36the river um just to see it when you travel upstream um how beautiful some of this is really
22:42and it's a hidden thing you know and we shouldn't have that this is something to celebrate now i'm not
22:48sure how many boats are here but there are a lot lining the river medway as part of the admiral of
22:53the river cruise today so much work that goes on on the river to conserve the river and also to help
22:59with the fishery so yeah i think it's a great event and it goes very much i noticed every year
23:03uh and it's great to see you know such a large amount of the boats out from the rochester cruising
23:08club we've heard that there was a dolphin and actually to see it and then on the way back we
23:13actually saw a seal as well what what glorious weather what a wonderful weekend to choose families
23:18councillors and dolphins were all able to share the river medway to celebrate this occasion
23:24hi way for came tv in rochester
23:26time to take a look at sport and kent zach crawley helped put on an opening partnership of 188 runs
23:36as england continued their bid for victory in the first test against india at headingley
23:41crawley's contribution of 65 off of 126 balls came to an end shortly after a rain delay the batsman
23:48edged a swinging delivery from prasid krishna to kail rahul at slip but not before him and ben duckett
23:54recorded the highest ever opening partnership in the fourth innings against india ever and england
24:00require 52 runs to win with five wickets remaining we'll have more at the end of kent tonight on that
24:07one in golf and a handful of kent golfers are just one step away from vying for the claret jug at the
24:13british open regional qualifying has been taking place at rochester and cobham park golf club players
24:19oliver lewis perkins and charthills general manager and trichetti have made it through after both
24:25shooting a two under 69 three kent golfers secured reserve spots for final qualifying elsewhere those
24:31who won will play again in the final qualifier on the first of july with the open taking place at
24:36royal port rush from the 13th of july
24:39and you can check out our website kmtv.co.uk for more stories including this one caught on camera a
24:53familiar sight here in maidstone with shoplifting being a regular occurrence for those working
25:03in this charity shop it's just a sort of a bit of a slap in the face because everything we do here
25:09goes back to the people in maidstone and so from the sort of circle of someone donating something that
25:15they've looked after for years or or their precious collection and then for me to put it out and for
25:20it just to be stolen it's just it's just destroying it's not just shoes having to be put behind the
25:28counter with metal handles being ripped from furniture and some high value items never even
25:37hitting the shopping room floor in the first place shoplifting's got so bad here they've even had to
25:46board up half the fitting rooms it's pushing us to get more vigilant on things that we never needed to
25:54do before so it's taking staff away from vital areas to be watching those very few people that do this
26:01and what it does is it has a massive impact on everybody the morale of the shop because people
26:06feel they've failed the charity of things are being stolen which they haven't they're doing their best
26:10and people are only taken away as i say from the people in need shoplifting is on the rise here in
26:17kent with recent data revealed at the kent and police crime commissioner's delivery board showing
26:26that despite crime overall dropping by 10 percent over the last four years shoplifting has skyrocketed
26:36by more than 50 percent during that time there's some work that needs to be done that we are doing
26:42through my retail crime board to analyze quite what is happening in that space it is a crime which
26:47is massively uh apologies we've had some technical issues but we're going to be going to a short
26:51break now we'll have more on kent tonight after this short break
27:12so
27:22we'll see you
27:23in the next one
34:47도
35:13in stealing these historic items.
35:15There could be a social factor to start with.
35:17If you think about it, to commit a crime
35:20against individual property is just a crime
35:22towards an individual.
35:24But when we target heritage sites,
35:27we are committing a crime against an entire community.
35:31So it's almost an act of contempt or defiance
35:34towards a community as such.
35:39There's also, for sure, an economic motivation
35:42in many cases.
35:43So online, there is a thriving, thriving market,
35:46especially for military objects, so war-related objects.
35:51But this isn't the only instance with 9,000 crimes
35:54from 2022 to 2024 committed on church property,
35:58with Kent among the worst-hit areas in the county.
36:01According to experts, the crime is not just stealing items
36:03physically, but stealing Kent's culture.
36:06Each generation that's gone by has had heritage to look after.
36:11And that's the same now in 2025.
36:14We need to be able to leave our ancestors this rich legacy,
36:19either in as good as or even better condition for the future.
36:23And if people will come along and damage or steal those items
36:28or those buildings, that can't be passed on.
36:31We can make copies, but it's not the original.
36:34Specific charges like arson, theft or vandalism can be recorded
36:37as heritage crimes, but Historic England are also asking
36:40for a specialist marker so that more data can be collected
36:43and the issue tackled to protect the county and the country's past.
36:46So, Finn, you've been looking at the story all day,
36:56and really quite shocking incidents that have happened.
37:00Where else have we seen these cases of heritage crime?
37:04Well, it's like I mentioned in the package.
37:07Kent seems to be quite bad, and we've had some statistics in
37:09that are able to centre on some of these areas of religious significance.
37:13So, churches, where you'd expect to find old artefacts.
37:16Those are particularly hit hard.
37:18There's also an instance, obviously, I mentioned there in Chatham,
37:24about that Christchurch Luton Church where he had the First World War plaque
37:30that was stolen and then thankfully recovered.
37:33But there's also various artefacts in one case from the home of a man in Dover
37:38who was actually taking things off of a wreck of the Dover Strait.
37:41So, this isn't an isolated incident.
37:43These are happening in specific areas across the county.
37:47But the real issue is understanding that and being able to pinpoint
37:51how bad of a problem is this.
37:53Because here in Kent we have a lot of different history,
37:55whether you're in Canterbury with a cathedral or, like I mentioned,
37:58you know, we're in a unique position where we've got a lot of different history.
38:03There's Roman villas in Tenham, there's areas of military significance
38:07because of our position to Europe, especially obviously in the 1940s,
38:10Europe was occupied.
38:13There's also, I believe there was a story in, I believe it was Spar Valley,
38:19there was a railway, it was volunteer run,
38:20and they had issues with devastating graffiti across some of their vintage steam and diesel trains.
38:26That's near the high-wheeled.
38:28I think they were quoted as saying it's not just the case of removing graffiti.
38:32The paint underneath is so badly damaged we can't just buy it from B&Q.
38:36It costs £500 for a tin.
38:38So this isn't an isolated incident.
38:40This is something that's happening on a wider scale.
38:42And historic England are really trying to stop it.
38:45And it's a real range of the sites that have been affected as well.
38:50Some of those places of worship that you've mentioned as well,
38:53we've seen the Memorial Synagogue in Chatham has also been affected for years,
38:58to more recent ones like the Spar Valley Railway.
39:02And I think what you identified in your report that was really interesting is that some of those,
39:07it's really hard for the police to take action because of the range of crimes that come up,
39:13whether it is hate crime, if it's a religious place of worship or general vandalism or arsenal or some of those.
39:21You've also mentioned about how the police are using AI to help with those investigations.
39:29Tell me a little bit about how they are employing this new technique.
39:33Well, they've said it certainly has a role to play, particularly in clamping down on graffiti, of all things.
39:38So Mark, who I spoke with in the package there, he's working alongside...
39:42He's from Kent Police?
39:43No, Mark is from Historic England.
39:45He's from Historic England.
39:45He's their head of heritage crime.
39:47Yeah.
39:48He is working alongside a Canterbury Christchurch University professor,
39:52which essentially is having a supervised machine learning what the graffiti looks like in order to identify these offenders
39:59and essentially link offences together so they can have an idea of,
40:02OK, this person's hitting these places and we know it because the AI is recognising it.
40:07And so they're essentially imaging it.
40:09And Mark said it's going to be a complete game changer because having the iconography
40:14and chemical composition added together of these instances of vandalism,
40:18it's going to give them a completely different insight into exactly who is committing these offences.
40:22So that's just one solution.
40:23But yeah, it's like you mentioned, it's the legal definition.
40:26When you have all these different crimes, you want to put them under the same name,
40:29but that's not really how it works in their database.
40:32It's arson, it's theft, it's like you say, it could be hate crime.
40:35So it's not just, here's the problem, we need to fix it.
40:38It's how bad is the problem?
40:39How can we identify the problem?
40:41And then what do we do to fix it?
40:42And you talked about AI there.
40:44What are some of the other solutions that Historic England are talking about,
40:47that Kent Police have spoken about?
40:49Maybe there's some of the governmental ways forward.
40:53What are some of those solutions in play?
40:56Well, the main one that I spoke with Mark about was creating this specialist marker.
41:01So when a crime is recorded, when a charge occurs,
41:06it's having that marker of this is specifically a heritage crime.
41:10The exact definitions of that, I feel, will be interesting to play out.
41:15Does that mean any crime committed on a historic site?
41:18Is it something that has to damage the historic site?
41:20The definition of a heritage crime is to damage or take away from the value of some of these items.
41:27So specifically, is it going to be anything that hurts or harms these buildings or these items?
41:32So it's that definition that I feel will be the solution,
41:35and that marker is really what they're looking to try and do.
41:36And what I'm sure you'll be keeping close tabs on on Kent's Night,
41:39and indeed on Kent Chronicles.
41:41Finn, thank you very much.
41:42Time for our final break.
41:43Now we'll be coming back with the last part of Kent tonight.
41:46We'll see you in a few moments' time.
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42:31We'll see you in a few moments' time.
47:54Keeper Jacob Adams has signed from National League's Wellstone Raiders.
47:59The 24-year-old also enjoyed spells with Walton Casuals, Leatherhead, Hayes and Yetting before joining Wellstone.
48:06Angels boss Craig Nelson said Adams comes in with great pedigree and a calmness beyond his years,
48:12giving their side real strength in the goalkeeping department.
48:15And finally, in-sport British touring car champion Jake Hill now trails by 90 points in the competition
48:21after a disappointing race at Alton Park.
48:24So far in the season, the Platts Heath race has gotten one win and finished fifth just ahead of the mid-season break.
48:30His poor form is being chalked up to multiple mistakes on the track,
48:34the worst of which in race three saw him drive off the tarmac briefly, costing him five places.
48:39Currently, the team principal Dick Bennett says they'll use the summer break to prepare and come back performing better.
48:46Now it's time to take a quick look at the weather.
48:54Clear skies tonight with highs of 18 degrees up in Dartford and lows of 16 in Ashford.
49:00Temperatures will be going down to 20 and 21 degrees the following day.
49:05Wind speeds of 7 and 5 miles per hour.
49:07Into tomorrow evening, highs of 26 degrees in Medway.
49:11Winds picking up to 10 and 7 miles per hour.
49:13For the rest of the week, it is looking pretty consistent.
49:1625 to 26 degrees, highs of 26 on Saturday.
49:20Pretty overcast for the rest of the week.
49:23Now I said that was the end of sport, but I got sorely mistaken because sack racing, wheelbarrow races and the three-legged race,
49:40all classic sports day games and tug of war is no different.
49:44But how it's played in the national championships in Tunbridge certainly is.
49:48Hundreds of teams from across the country all gathered at the weekend with a clear goal in mind,
49:53getting gold in their weight class and earning themselves a prestigious spot at the world championships
49:58in Nottingham later this year.
50:00Finn McDermott went to find out more.
50:02Two teams pick up the rope, but only one of them can put it down as the winner.
50:23Some call it a game and you might have seen it at your local sports day,
50:26but this isn't child's play.
50:28It's a battle and that's why they call it tug of war.
50:31Grit, grip, strength and steadiness were all on show,
50:36but it was the team's stamina that was tested under the sweltering sun for the national championships in Tunbridge,
50:41which saw more than 100 teams battling it out for the ultimate prize.
50:45So the winning teams of the weights will go on to represent England at the world championships in September in Nottingham,
50:55which England are hosting.
50:57We've got teams from all over the country, from Cumbria, from Devon,
51:01as well as the local team, Oxley-Vines Cross, who are based on the Kent and Sussex borders.
51:06And they land just on the Sussex side of that border, meaning there was no official Kent team at the tournament.
51:12Despite this, they were tipped as the favourites, but lost out in the finals to ANSI.
51:17Months of solid training.
51:19Gone into it and everyone's put their whole, every bit in.
51:22Awesome.
51:23We've never won anything before.
51:24We've never represented at the world championships.
51:27To do this, it's like we're just a young group of friends getting together, doing something we enjoy.
51:30It's amazing.
51:32And there was more finals drama, as over in the women's bracket,
51:35Melton Mowbray took the gold from Bedford ladies in the Midlands derby
51:38and added a trip to Nottingham for a chance at the world title on top of their busy international schedule.
51:44I'm so happy, I feel like I could fight my Tyson.
51:49This is what we've trained all year for.
51:51This is the weight that we're representing Great Britain in, in China.
51:53So if we lost it here, we'd probably get a headstand.
51:57But it's just incredible to win it here and then know we're going to China in August
52:00and compete there at the same weight.
52:04But unlike the weather, the state of the sport isn't all sunshine and rainbows,
52:08with less teams participating than in tug-of-war's glory days.
52:11It's mainly a traditionally rural sport, to be fair.
52:14There used to be a lot more teams around this area today,
52:16but obviously all of those have gone over time.
52:19So the sort of traditional teams, a lot of the successful teams,
52:23try and keep going to keep winning.
52:24So that's how a lot of teams stay involved in the sport.
52:28But we would like more to get involved.
52:29And for those who did and won, they'll go from competing in a field in Tunbridge
52:34to getting a chance at the world championship title.
52:37Finn McDermid for KMTV.
52:39Now, coming up after the break is another episode of Kent on Climate,
52:45covering all the environmental news from around the county.
52:48On this week's episode, we'll hear about Medway's local plan,
52:52which is set to be discussed this Thursday,
52:54and how it's keeping climate in mind.
52:56And we'll be finding out a bit more on some tiny forests.
52:59Well, joining me now to tell us more is producer Daisy Page.
53:02Daisy, you attended the local plan briefing yesterday.
53:05How much of that discussion evolved around climate?
53:10Yeah, so it was really interesting.
53:11Obviously, it was yesterday, and it was really discussing
53:13what Medway is going to be looking like in the future.
53:17And the main points of topic, which we can all imagine,
53:20was about housing, the location of where these houses are going to be,
53:24and also services like supermarkets.
53:27And one thing I did point out, I mentioned it to Izzy,
53:29and I do have to ask you this question as well,
53:31but they talked about using the River Medway for transport
53:34so people could get from one side to the other on a boat.
53:37So that could mean getting a boat to work.
53:39How do you feel about that?
53:40Well, we've seen Kai on this show doing something like that.
53:43So, yeah, it looks like a rather idyllic way of getting to work, I would say.
53:47Boating seems to be the new way of transport.
53:49I'd be down for that, yeah.
53:50Yeah, and they were kind of discussing that,
53:52obviously, with the new housing traffic, more cars on the road.
53:55So maybe introducing this would be a new method
53:57of getting some of those cars off the road and reducing that traffic.
54:00And it obviously works in London as well with the Thames Clippers
54:03and that part of the ecosystem in London.
54:06So, yeah, it could be really interesting to see that in Medway.
54:08I'm pretty sure on your phone now, if you're in London,
54:10you put your route, it will show you either the underground
54:12or the boat as well, at times that you can get somewhere.
54:15So it would be an interesting future here in Medway
54:17to see what transport would be looking like.
54:20But also, as mentioned, the theme of climate change was included.
54:23And not only how the future of Medway being built
54:27will help to try and reduce its impact,
54:30but also how to mitigate it.
54:32And I spoke with Councillor Simon Currie a little bit more about this,
54:35so we can just hear from him now.
54:37It's really important.
54:39This is kind of how we're dealing.
54:40I mentioned about the flooding issues.
54:41So we get these huge rainfall patterns happening now
54:44where water comes through.
54:45And in my own ward in Lewton, it gets flooded on a regular basis now.
54:48And how we deal with that is through how we design our homes,
54:52our roads and our infrastructure, stuff like that.
54:54It's about planting trees.
54:55Lots of trees are going to go in the ground in the next five years or so.
54:58We've got those plans in place already.
55:00And it's about how we then sort of deal with the heating
55:03that comes along with that.
55:04And again, trees do help a lot.
55:05But the design of buildings also matters a lot.
55:08And how we cool our urban centres is key.
55:10So there's a number of things that we know we have to build resilience in.
55:13But equally, we have to make sure that we contribute
55:15to reducing climate change as well.
55:18And tiny forests also coming up on the show.
55:20Yeah, so tiny forests are not actually that tiny.
55:23It's new plans for a food forest in Addington,
55:26which will adopt pioneering Japanese Miyake methods.
55:30And it's been announced by Maidstone Borough Council.
55:32I spoke with Councillor Stuart Jeffrey about why they've selected to do it
55:36and why in the area as well.
55:37So we can hear from him quickly.
55:39It's fairly sterile.
55:41You know, there's no excitement.
55:44There's no real depth of biodiversity.
55:46So having this forest around the outside
55:50means that kids can still play football in the middle.
55:54People can have picnics in the middle.
55:55But, you know, we'll have the wooded forest area around the outside.
56:00And as I say, it'll help with drainage when it rains hard.
56:04But it'll also cool the air temperature down as well.
56:09So trees can drop the temperature by, you know,
56:12between three and I think it's eight percent,
56:14three and eight degrees during a heat wave.
56:19So, you know, it really does help residents
56:22stay cool in the height of summer.
56:25Now, the method that I mentioned,
56:27it focuses on rapidly cultivating dense and native forests,
56:30transforming urban and degraded lands into vibrant green spaces.
56:33So it'll be exciting to see that happen.
56:34All that and more on Kent on Climate.
56:36Daisy, thank you very much.
56:38That's all we have time on Kent tonight.
56:40Do stick around for Kent on Climate.
56:41We'll see you for that in a few moments' time.
56:43We'll see you soon.
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