- 6 months ago
Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Gabriel Morris.
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00:00Well, here we are again.
00:28Well, there's no really easy way of saying this.
00:48He's a hermaphrodite, and that means he's got both male and female sexual organs.
00:58The coffee roastery rises from the ashes after devastating fire.
01:02It's going to be a rough ride.
01:04It has been a rough ride already, but time, effort and a bit of luck, and I think we'll
01:11be back to where we were.
01:13And Whitstable comes alive.
01:15Town honours horror and legend Peter Cushing at its 128th Carnival.
01:21He was a very well-known Whitstable character, and you'd see him around the town if you're
01:26old enough to remember.
01:28And good evening.
01:37First tonight, a Rochester family has exhausted their insurance and now faces a £12,000 bill
01:43to fund life-changing surgery for their dog.
01:46Lincoln, a Boston Terrier, was born with hermaphroditism, a rare condition where he has both male and
01:53female reproductive organs.
01:55It's caused serious health issues, including hernias and cysts, that are rare for dogs at
02:01his age.
02:02Well, Finn McDermid reports.
02:05To the naked eye, Lincoln would seem like most dogs.
02:09He likes playing in his garden in Rochester, shaking hands for a treat, and a bit of tug-of-war.
02:14But Lincoln isn't actually like most other pets.
02:17He's very, very rare.
02:19After multiple health issues, scans and surgeries, experts realised he's actually a hermaphrodite.
02:25The discovery was made after Lincoln had multiple health issues, like a cyst, hernias, and even
02:30a parasitic infection, some of which are especially rare for younger dogs.
02:35And when a specialist centre performed a CT scan, they found he even had ovaries and a
02:40womb.
02:41She goes, every single vet has been to see Lincoln.
02:44It's like, right.
02:45I said, what's up with him?
02:47She goes, well, there's no really easy way of saying this.
02:50He's a hermaphrodite.
02:51And that means he's got both male and female sexual organs.
02:56He has two ovaries, a womb.
02:59He did have testicles.
03:00They've been removed.
03:01Yeah.
03:02And he's actually got both genetic sides of being a male and a female dog.
03:07But we need to do a hysterectomy.
03:09And, well, I actually started laughing because this is bizarre.
03:12This is a male dog having a hysterectomy.
03:14Thus the two words don't go together.
03:16She goes, no, he's fine.
03:17It's just that if in later life this is going to become an issue.
03:22Now, as you can see, Lincoln is a very energetic dog.
03:25But he's also a very rare one.
03:27The last known recorded case of a dog being a hermaphrodite was actually all the way back
03:31in 2017.
03:33Now, Lincoln will be having a hysterectomy to remove the female organs.
03:36But because of this and previous scans, the Golding family have burnt through their insurance
03:41and have had to dip into their savings instead.
03:43The insurance got wiped out on the Monday.
03:47This is on a Thursday.
03:48We have no insurance.
03:50And they were really good, the vets.
03:52They know that we haven't got any insurance and we're paying for it.
03:55And it's just eating our savings.
03:57But what do you do?
03:58It's part of the family.
04:00I don't think I could live for myself saying that, you know, I can't afford it.
04:06We have to find the money.
04:08To help with the £12,000 bill, they've set up a GoFundMe page and say that any of the
04:13money that goes over that number, they'll donate to dog charities.
04:16Now, Lincoln might seem energetic, but his health complications could get worse if the
04:21hysterectomy isn't performed.
04:22And Mark says they'll do anything to make sure Lincoln stays the happy hound they know
04:27and love.
04:28Finn McDermid for KMTV in Rochester.
04:31All right, Finn joins me in the studio.
04:34Now, Finn, really rare.
04:35I haven't heard of a dog having such a condition like this before, at least locally.
04:40What more can you tell us about the medical side of things, or veterinary side of things,
04:43shall we say?
04:44Well, you wouldn't be alone in having never heard of cases like this.
04:48In fact, there's even been reports of vets having never heard of cases like this.
04:51I believe one veterinary expert stated they'd never seen this in 19 years of practice.
04:57And in another report, I've been doing some research, says there's only ever really been
05:00about 15 cases in total, the last one being in around 2017.
05:05And, I mean, we can see Lincoln there.
05:08Very energetic, as always.
05:10But he has had some health issues.
05:12You mentioned hernias, cysts.
05:14He contracted an infection called lungworm, very briefly, not related to the hermaphroditism.
05:22But it also gave him urinary issues.
05:24And even the fact of having these extra organs inside you can really push on your other organs,
05:30giving you these extra issues.
05:31And, unfortunately, for Lincoln, he was no different.
05:34But hermaphroditism does occur naturally in some instances.
05:38Many plants, especially flowering ones, sorry, can experience this.
05:42And many animals, too, like barnacles, various fish, amphibians.
05:47But, yeah, for Lincoln, unfortunately, it has led to these health complications,
05:51which has been quite tough on the family.
05:53Yeah, you don't often hear about it in dogs.
05:55And £12,000 needed.
05:57They've got to go fund me going.
05:59Are they getting close to that target?
06:01If they don't get that, how are they going to fund it?
06:04Well, unfortunately, they are about just under £200, I believe, on that target.
06:08Quite a while.
06:09Quite a while away.
06:10And they have said they are dipping into their savings.
06:12But they said it doesn't matter.
06:14Whatever it takes, they will help Lincoln.
06:17Because they just want to see their dog as happy and energetic as they.
06:22And now I know them to be.
06:24Finn, thank you for bringing us these details.
06:26Finn for David.
06:27Now for some news in brief.
06:30Police are appealing for witnesses after a motorcyclist in his 20s died
06:34in a crash in Bulting near Hearn Bay.
06:37His blue Yamaha MT-10 left Rocolva Road
06:41and smashed through a fence into a bungalow's front garden
06:44just after midnight on Saturday morning.
06:47Officers are keen to trace a light-coloured car seen in the area.
06:51The bungalow's owners said they were asleep and only found out
06:55when police rang their doorbell.
06:57Dozens of floral tributes, as you can see on the screen now,
07:00now cover the area.
07:02And a family of a 91-year-old pensioner killed in a collision
07:06is devastated by delays to his alleged murderer's trial.
07:10James Blackwood, a great-grandfather, was allegedly hit by an electric bike
07:16on a Rochester pavement in July 2023 and died three months later.
07:22A judge has set a provisional trial date, but the earliest it can be heard is August 2028.
07:28His daughters say the five-year wait is heartbreaking
07:32and fears her mother may not live to see justice done.
07:36Mr Blackwood, a former Royal Engineer, is deeply missed by his family.
07:41Now, two Kent nurseries have been forced to close
07:46as Ofsted investigates serious safety concerns.
07:49Abacus Nursery on South Fleet Avenue near Longfield
07:52is at the centre of complaints over poor childcare, staffing issues
07:56and lack of proper supervision.
07:58After ongoing inspections, Ofsted flagged nine urgent failings
08:02and suspended the nursery's registration.
08:06Its sister site in Waterslade is also under investigation
08:09after inspectors found it wasn't meeting essential childcare standards.
08:13In a statement, the Waterslade nursery said they're working to maintain
08:16continuity for parents but face tough decisions ahead.
08:23Now, a coffee business in Sittingbourne is slowly building itself back up
08:27after a fire destroyed their businesses back in April,
08:31leaving the owners heartbroken.
08:33Now, they say the business was able to quickly secure a new home
08:37after the fire and now has four coffee roasters up and running again.
08:43The roastery has seen huge amounts of support from the local community
08:47and other local organisations who have helped to get them back on their feet.
08:52Well, Etelie Reynolds has this report.
08:55In April, Hormozy Coffee was left in ashes
08:58after a devastating fire broke out in their unit at the Eurolink Industrial Estate.
09:03This resulted in the business losing a significant amount of equipment.
09:07Due to the severe damage, firefighters were unable to be certain of the cause of the fire
09:13but believe it may have been the result of an electrical fault.
09:16We needed a space. We had to start ordering things again and we had nowhere for it to go.
09:22The business had been running for over 25 years and was set to lose around £500,000.
09:29But nearly four months on and with help from the local community,
09:34the business is slowly building itself back up.
09:37Thankfully, firefighters were able to rescue some of the coffee shop's most expensive equipment.
09:42This included two roasters, which are an integral part of the day-to-day running of the roastery.
09:47After a bit of repair, they were back up and running.
09:51Financially, I don't think I would have been able to buy both of these roasters again.
09:57One maybe. One with all the support we had, one we could have pushed through,
10:01but both would have been difficult.
10:03So it would have been a decision of do we continue with wholesale, do we continue with retail?
10:08Thankfully, we were able to continue with both.
10:11The business has also seen incredible support from the community.
10:15A GoFundMe was set up shortly after the fire, which ended up raising just under £10,000.
10:21Thanks to everyone, really. There's just so many people. I can't list everyone.
10:26But thanks to everyone. The community, I can't believe what they've done for us.
10:32We couldn't have done it without them.
10:33With large amounts of support from businesses and community alike,
10:37the roastery has been able to build itself back up to where it is today.
10:41I'm very happy to be back to roasting.
10:43This is what I love and I'm just very grateful to be here still.
10:49Where we're going to be in a couple of years, I hope back to where we were,
10:54it's going to be a rough ride. It has been a rough ride already, but time, effort and a bit of luck,
11:02and I think we'll be back to where we were.
11:05Despite a rough road back to building up, Hormozy Coffee is slowly getting back to business as usual,
11:11whilst highlighting how a community can come together to help one another out.
11:16All righty, it's time to take a quick break.
11:24But coming up, we hear more about the government's plan to crack down on migration,
11:29particularly illegal migration to the Kent Coast.
11:32And we take a look back at Whitstable's 128th Carnival,
11:37which pay tribute to many, including their former Carnival secretary and, of course, a local icon.
11:44All that and more after this very short break.
11:48You won't want to miss it.
12:14Be a big mache unit.
12:18Bye.
12:19Okay.
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15:55firstly looking to introduce this because so far in 2025, we've seen more than 25,000
16:03immigrants coming in from the small boats. This is a record for this point of year, so
16:09they're certainly wanting to crack down on that. They also say that Albanian smugglers
16:15who use social media promote package deals for accommodation. They would also be in that
16:21scope for imprisonment and fines, which offers, you know, things like jobs, visas, different
16:29things like that. Ministers are seeking to create, it's not only, so it's also the fact
16:36that it's fake passports as well, visas, like I've said, these package deals. So it's all
16:40these different things and around 80% of migrants arriving to the UK by small boat told officials
16:46that they use social media during their journey. So they're just really wanting to crack down
16:51on this use of social media, China, that promotes really a safe crossing that is not so safe
16:58and has caused many deaths. And it has seen some backlash from the Tories, hasn't this?
17:04So the Conservatives, in response, have said that it's too little too late, that it's sort
17:09of like a last-minute appeal from the Labour Party. They said that their only proposal to
17:16automatically deport people who enter Britain by unauthorised routes can tackle small boat
17:22crossings. So they don't think this, at this stage, with the amount of migrants coming in,
17:26they don't think that it's enough. The Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Phillips, said Labour still
17:31has no clear plan to deter legal entry, no effective enforcement and no strategy to speed up removals.
17:37And they say it's a panicked attempt to look tough after months of doing nothing. So it's certainly
17:41something that's being discussed. But now it's just a matter of time to see if it works or if it does nothing.
17:46Well, thank you, Kristen, for bringing us those details. These crossings do seem to be becoming
17:52a big talking point and probably will dominate the next election, as they did with the last
17:57Kristen Hawthorne. Thank you so much for bringing us those details.
18:00Now, staying with the government, but in a slightly different way, staff at a Kent Currie house say they
18:06had their day to remember after welcoming none other than Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a meal.
18:12Take a look at this. He dined at the Turmeric Square in Kings Hill, where he posted for photos with the
18:19team and praised their food. The restaurant called the visit unforgettable and thanked him for showing
18:25support. Turmeric Square opened in 2021 during the pandemic following three months of takeaway trade.
18:32The owners are known for launching restaurants during tough times and were thrilled to host
18:37the Prime Minister. Well, it wasn't just him who made a visit to the county over the weekend.
18:43An ice cream shop in Whitstable also had an unexpected brush with frame when Harry Potter
18:49star Rupert Grint dropped in for a sweet treat. Let's take a look at this. Well, the actor best known
18:54for playing Ron Reasley visited Bear's Ice Cream Imaginarium over the weekend with his family.
18:59Founders Phil Harrison and Vera Fondalortria said their visit took them by surprise and their staff
19:06were thrilled to meet them. They added Grint was their first celebrity guest at their family-run
19:12seaside branch, which also has a sister shop in London. And now take a look at this. A schoolboy from
19:20Ashford has designed his own Metro map for the town he lives in. Chester Chan, a pupil at Wise School,
19:27turned his passion for cartography into a detailed guide for Ashford, hand-drawing landmarks before
19:33digitalising the final design. There are 39 stops and five service lines imagined on this design,
19:39highlighting places like Victoria Park and the designer Outlook. Chester moved to the UK from Hong Kong two years ago
19:45and says the Metro maps remind him of being back home. And don't forget you can keep up to date with all your
19:55latest stories across Kent by logging on to our website kmtv.co.uk. There you'll find all our reports,
20:02like this one, about the former Tottenham Hotspur players playing in a charity match in Whitstable.
20:08At Whitstable Football Club, players were warming up and stands were filling up with excited fans who are
20:15anticipating not your ordinary football match here in Kent.
20:19Despite a rainy start, this has not deterred the spirits here at Whitstable FC. A very special charity
20:36match is happening, with the Herne Bay Vets playing a team made up of Tottenham Hotspur legends to raise
20:42awareness and money for the suicide prevention charity Legend on the Bench.
20:47The charity was set up by ex-professional Mickey Hazard and his sister following his nephew's passing.
20:53Its aim is to set up benches across the UK that provide information and support to those who may need it.
21:00Over the past few years, the charity has seen incredible growth.
21:04It makes me feel proud that despite the devastation that our family suffered, rather than wallow in self-pity,
21:14we did something about making sure that other families don't suffer the same devastation that we suffered.
21:21And it's gone remarkably well. It's becoming really, really big. It resonates with so many people.
21:28Mickey Hazard wasn't the only legend playing. Mark Falco, David Howells and ex-captain Gary Mabbott were there
21:35to play and support the event and to help raise money for charity.
21:40That's fantastic. I've been very lucky in my career. I was at Spurs for 16 years and I was a captain for 11 years.
21:46So I've done a lot of these events around the world, basically. And it's always great to be involved in charity and charitable events.
21:52And today's one of course is for legends on the bench. And we're hoping to raise a lot of money so that hopefully
21:56well, they just can be put in the parks, put in the areas where youngsters go to, and hopefully it will have a serious impact on helping people to be able to just reach out.
22:07Despite being one goal up at half-time, ultimately the match went to the legends and the Herm Bay Vets lost 4-1.
22:15Despite this, they say they're very honoured to have been a part of the match that is raising awareness for such an important cause.
22:22It was an unfortunate loss. I mean, we played very well. You know what I mean? It was a disciplined performance.
22:27I told them just to sit back and let them have the ball because they would just play around you for fun.
22:33We knew they were going to be a bit stronger in the second half and obviously with the legs getting tired and that.
22:38What a brilliant experience for the blokes really, so yeah.
22:41The match was organised by the East Kent Spurs Supporters Club. And all the money raised from the match will go towards helping putting benches around the county.
22:50I think we probably went a long way to doing that today. We were really sort of the figures in due course.
22:56But yeah, it's been really great to know that we can actually sort of do something with the community and put something back in there.
23:02Despite a rocky start with the rain, the sun finally came out to shine a light on the charity and the match.
23:09Italy Reynolds for KMTV in Whitstable.
23:13And now Whitstable has celebrated its 128th Carnival with this year's event playing tribute to legendary local actor Peter Cushon.
23:22Famous for roles such as Doctor Who and Star Wars and of course Frankenstein.
23:26Well, our community reporter Henry Luck went down there this weekend to see what it was all about.
23:32The Tardis, Garlicks and Hammer Horror icons flooded Whitstable for the town's 128th Carnival.
23:41Rest assured, there were no exterminations as this year's theme was about iconic local actor Peter Cushing.
23:51Famous for his roles in Doctor Who, Star Wars and many monster classics.
23:57He used to live here before he died.
24:00So he was a very well known Whitstable character and you'd see him around the town if you're old enough to remember him.
24:06It's lovely, particularly this year, to see some of the stuff that the children have made, Daleks and things like that.
24:12It's been really great.
24:14But yeah, just to see everyone happy and smiling is wonderful.
24:17Behind me is the house that Peter Cushing and his wife Helen lived in whilst they were in Whitstable.
24:25Originally bought as a holiday home, the couple moved here permanently following Helen's deteriorating health whilst they were in London.
24:34The organisers were also paying tribute to one of their own this time, Jane Bowell, who was the festival's secretary before she passed away last year.
24:46She was our secretary and a stalwart at the carnival.
24:50And whenever she signed her letters to people, official letters to anybody, the last word before she signed her own name was hurrah.
25:00So she would always write hurrah.
25:02She loved horses, she loved the carnival, she was very artistic, she was a photographer, she was a very good photographer and was very significant.
25:14Of course, there were prizes for the most creative floats, and one group of winners even came right from the Mushroom Kingdom.
25:23It was a big shock because it was so like, this is the last winner.
25:27Yeah, that's it.
25:28It was like last week.
25:29There was lots of good ones.
25:30That's it, there's lots and lots and lots of good ones.
25:34That's it, yeah.
25:35Lovely surprise.
25:36However, the main purpose of the carnival was to celebrate the legacy of one of Whitstable's most famous residents.
25:47Community spirit, it's amazing.
25:49Yeah.
25:50All taking part.
25:51In Whitstable, every year, the carnival just brings its authenticity back a little bit.
25:57My favourite part, erm, I think going on the floats, yeah.
26:02So it looks like this event was a real monster mash.
26:06Henry Lapp, the KMTB in Whitstable.
26:14Brilliant stuff there.
26:15Well, let's take a look at the weather for the coming days.
26:18Well, going into tonight brings clear night skies with temperatures around 16 degrees, 17 over by the coastline.
26:30Then in the morning, sunshine to start the day with some scattered clouds in Dartford.
26:34Temperatures pretty much the same.
26:36Then heading into the afternoon, temperatures rising to highs of 23 Celsius with wind speeds picking up to 11 and 14 miles per hour.
26:44And this is your outlook.
26:46Wednesday brings sunny skies and highs of 23 degrees with Thursday and Friday looking the same with highs of 25.
26:52Partly cloudy weather to be expected.
27:00Now time for a very short break, but we'll be back in just a few minutes.
27:14Come here.
27:16Alright, well.
27:18Let's continue to see what happens just below.
27:19We'll be at the GPA during the week after we Then, can we conduct a level of our吃 price?
27:25Yes, it will, can we get
27:37Good Molitora by Ashvin Okay.
30:09Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live here on KNTV.
30:16Now let's take a look back at your top stories today.
30:20It's Monday the 4th of August.
30:52The Rochester family has exhausted their insurance and now faces a £12,000 bill to fund life-changing
31:01surgery for their beloved pets. Lincoln, a Boston Terrier, was born with hermaphroditism,
31:07a rare condition where he had both male and female reproductive organs. It's caused serious
31:13health issues, as Finn Badermid has been having a look.
31:17To the naked eye, Lincoln would seem like most dogs. He likes playing in his garden
31:21in Rochester, shaking hands for a treat and a bit of tug of war. But Lincoln isn't actually
31:27like most other pets. He's very, very rare. After multiple health issues, scans and surgeries,
31:34experts realised he's actually a hermaphrodite. The discovery was made after Lincoln had multiple
31:39health issues like a cyst, hernias and even a parasitic infection, some of which are especially
31:45rare for younger dogs. And when a specialist centre performed a CT scan, they found he
31:50even had ovaries and a womb.
31:52She goes, every single vet has been to see Lincoln. It's like, right. I said, what's
31:57up with him? She goes, well, there's no really easy way of saying this. He's a hermaphrodite.
32:03And that means he's got both male and female sexual organs. He has two ovaries, a womb. He
32:11did have testicles. They've been removed. And he's actually got both genetic sides of being
32:16a male and a female dog. But we need to do a hysterectomy. And well, I actually started
32:22laughing because this is bizarre. This is a male dog having a hysterectomy. The two words
32:26don't go together. She goes, no, he's fine. It's just that if in later life, this is going
32:32to become an issue.
32:32Now, as you can see, Lincoln is a very energetic dog, but he's also a very rare one. The last
32:39known recorded case of a dog being a hermaphrodite was actually all the way back in 2017.
32:45Now Lincoln will be having a hysterectomy to remove the female organs. But because of this
32:48and previous scans, the Golden family have burnt through their insurance and have had
32:53to dip into their savings instead.
32:54The insurance got wiped out on the Monday. This is on a Thursday. We have no insurance.
33:02And they were really good, the vets. They know that we haven't got any insurance and we're
33:06paying for it. And it's just eating our savings. But what do you do? It's part of the family.
33:13I don't think I could live for myself saying that, you know, I can't afford it. We have
33:18to find the money.
33:19To help with the £12,000 bill, they've set up a GoFundMe page and say that any of the money
33:24that goes over that number, they'll donate to dog charities.
33:28Now Lincoln might seem energetic, but his health complications could get worse if the
33:32hysterectomy isn't performed. And Mark says they'll do anything to make sure Lincoln stays
33:37the happy hound they know and love.
33:39Finn McDermid for KMTV in Rochester.
33:44And as always, don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest stories across
33:47Shaw County on our website. It's kmtv.co.uk. There you'll find one like this one, about five
33:53Bakerwood's special needs school in Maidstone that treated their students to a big movie-themed
33:58festival. Take a look.
33:59Rolling out the red carpet for its students and music talent across the UK and beyond,
34:05Five Acre Wood in Maidstone has celebrated the end of the school year by bringing the magic
34:12of Hollywood to its grounds. And is an event that's been taking place for 15 years now.
34:19High Bakerwood in Maidstone have brought the magic and excitement of a music festival to its students.
34:27Woodstock 2025 was created to allow students to experience the excitement of a music festival,
34:35something many are likely to face challenges witnessing because of neurodivergence.
34:42This is our annual music festival where we bring all the elements of a traditional music festival
34:49to Five Acre Wood School, which enables our pupils who are described as having profound,
34:53severe and complex learning needs to access a real deal music festival.
34:58However, not even a sudden downpour was enough to stop everyone from singing in the rain.
35:05It's brilliant. I mean, when it first started, we had a very small affair where we had children
35:13from local schools singing on the stage. And it's grown and grown and grown to the size it is now,
35:21where we have fun fairs, where we have famous people come and sing, and lots of different
35:26things for our young people to do. What's your favourite thing?
35:30Mine is probably the only thing that comes down and sings for us.
35:35Mine is probably a bit of everything. My favourite one is probably the Bunfield.
35:42And of course...
35:44Well, you can watch the rest of that report on our website, kntv.co.uk.
35:47Well, now to one of our other main stories tonight. And it's a coffee business in Sittingbourne,
35:53which says they're slowly rebuilding themselves back up after a fire destroyed their business in
35:59April, leaving them heartbroken. Well, thankfully, the business was able to quickly secure a new home
36:06after the fire and now has four coffee roasters up and running again. The roastery has seen huge
36:12amounts of support from the local community and businesses who have helped them get on their feet.
36:18Etterley Reynolds has been speaking to the owners of this business to find out what it was like to
36:25have that fire and how quickly they could be back to where they were. And could they even be bigger than before?
36:32In April, Hormozzi Coffee was left in ashes after a devastating fire broke out in their unit at the Eurolink
36:41industrial estate. This resulted in the business losing a significant amount of equipment. Due to the severe
36:47damage, firefighters were unable to be certain of the cause of the fire, but believe it may have been the
36:53result of an electrical fault. We needed a space. We had to start ordering things again and we had nowhere for it to go.
37:01The business had been running for over 25 years and was set to lose around £500,000.
37:09But nearly four months on and with help from the local community, the business is slowly building
37:14itself back up. Thankfully, firefighters were able to rescue some of the coffee shop's most expensive
37:20equipment. This included two roasters, which are an integral part of the day-to-day running of the
37:25roastery. After a bit of repair, they were back up and running.
37:29Financially, I don't think I would have been able to buy both of these roasters again. One, maybe.
37:37One with all the support we had, one we could have pushed through, but both would have been difficult.
37:41So it would have been a decision of, do we continue with wholesale? Do we continue with retail?
37:47Thankfully, we were able to continue with both.
37:49The business has also seen incredible support from the community. A GoFundMe was set up shortly after the
37:56fire, which ended up raising just under £10,000.
37:59Thanks to everyone, really. There's just so many people. I can't list everyone. But thanks to everyone.
38:08The community, I can't believe what they've done for us. We couldn't have done it without them.
38:11With large amounts of support from businesses and community alike, the roastery has been able to
38:17build itself back up to where it is today. I'm very happy to be back to roasting. This
38:22is what I love and I'm just very grateful to be here still. Where we're going to be in a couple of
38:30years, I hope back to where we were, it's going to be a rough ride. It has been a rough ride already,
38:37but time, effort and a bit of luck and I think we'll be back to where we were.
38:43Despite a rough road back to building up, Hormozy Coffee is slowly getting back to business as usual,
38:50whilst highlighting how a community can come together to help one another out. Etterley Reynolds for KMTV.
38:59Now, Mum from Margate says she is in a nightmare eviction battle to remove a tenant from her house
39:06she rents out. This comes after her plans to sell the property to get money to fund
39:11cancer treatment for her sales, but she says the legal fight to evict the tenant has delayed the
39:16sale of the house and worries that time is only running out. Well, Daisy Page joined me earlier
39:22to tell me more. Kelly Eastland, as we can see here, she's currently battling stage four cancer
39:28and she needs £60,000 to pay for a pioneering therapy in Germany. Kelly said that she thought
39:35they'd be able to sell their property, which is a two-bed property, and get the treatment. However,
39:39there's been a delay in the house sale due to a legal fight to evict their current tenant. Kelly
39:45says that the tenant has racked up more than £15,000 in rent and the house has been overrun by dogs. They
39:52began renting this for £900 a month to a man that they met while walking their dogs, who moved in
39:59on a 12-month tenancy. Initially, things ran smoothly, but in January this year, the kitchen
40:04ceiling in the basement flat beneath the property collapsed. A builder sent to investigate found
40:10multiple dogs were being kept upstairs, more than four than the tenant had declared, and suspected dog
40:15urine had reportedly soaked through the bathroom floor above causing the damage. The couple's insurance
40:21claim was rejected on the grounds that fouling by animals was not covered under accidental damage,
40:27forcing the landlord of the basement flat to claim on his insurance. And the legal challenge now?
40:32Well, the couple told the tenant in March 2024 they intended to sell the property and asked him to
40:38leave. They arranged viewings and quickly accepted the offer, which was below the house's valuation,
40:43hope of a fast sale. They served the tenant with a Section 8 notice, a formal legal document used to
40:50start the process of eviction on specific grounds, arguing he allowed the property condition to
40:55deteriorate, although they gave the tenant three months to find alternative accommodation. It's
41:01claimed he stopped responding to their correspondence and refused access to surveyors. They went to court
41:06in December and were granted a possession order giving the tenant 14 days to vacate, but after discovering
41:12he had not given them his real name, the order was ruled invalid and was dismissed by the court in February.
41:18Since a second Section 8 notice was served, this also citing non-payment of rent at a hearing in May,
41:25the case was complicated further when the tenant filed a counterclaim alleging the landlord had failed
41:31to deal with multiple maintenance issues. So far, Kelly is worried that the time is running out and
41:37started a GoFundMe. All right, time for a quick break now, but coming back we will be speaking to
41:44the man who swam across the English Channel, all to raise money for Canterbury Food Bank. You
41:49want me to meet that discussion in a few minutes' time. See you then. Bye-bye.
42:07Bye-bye.
42:37Bye-bye.
43:07Bye-bye.
43:37Bye-bye.
44:07Bye-bye.
44:37Bye-bye.
45:07And welcome back to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV. Now, our next guest has raised
45:17fountains of pounds for Canterbury Food Bank after swimming across the English Channel in
45:22an incredible 18-hour challenge. Martin Johnson battled rough seas and even jellyfish stings
45:28as he made his way from Dover to the French coast. A lifelong swimmer says the idea began
45:34while standing on the white cliffs of Dover wondering if he could make it to France. Well,
45:39Martin Johnson joins me in the studio now. Martin, thank you so much for joining us.
45:44I guess not an easy challenge, swimming across. Tell us a little bit about it. Talk us through
45:48what you did.
45:49Well, it really began about two years ago with all the training. So training during the winter
45:57and then in the summer in the sea and then building up to this year. Started in April in the sea.
46:05Swimming at the weekends and in the pool in the week.
46:08And then my swim was due to start at the end of July, but I was called early because of good
46:15weather. And so we started during the night. My swim started about 9pm and I swam through the night
46:23and into the following day.
46:25How long did it take overall? We could see some brilliant photos there. You obviously had to go
46:29across what I believe is the world's busiest shipping lane as well, but how long did it all take you?
46:33It took about 18 hours, just over 18 hours in total.
46:37Any rest?
46:38You're not allowed to touch the boat. There's quite strict rules for cross-channel swimming.
46:44No, you stop for a drink. That's it. You get a timed break for a drink for a couple of minutes.
46:52That's it. And then you have to keep going.
46:55And was anyone else in the water with you?
46:56No, only me.
46:57All on your own?
46:58All on my own. Yeah, that's right.
47:01A lot of time to go through some thoughts, but I'm sure from the pictures you must have had a
47:06support boat or something.
47:07Yeah, you swim alongside the boat. So the boat's about 5 to 10 metres away and you basically just
47:13follow the boat. The boat's on autopilot and you follow it and just keep going. It was reasonably
47:21calm until I got near the French coast and then it got fairly rough, which is quite usual. So I was
47:29battling through the waves and then eventually arrived in the afternoon on the French coast.
47:35What do you do about passport control? Do you have it on the boat and just show it on the beach?
47:38No. You have to send a copy of your passport to Border Force about 48 hours before,
47:48but they know where you are because they're constantly on the VHF radio. So they can see the boat anyway.
47:59And it's a busy area, the Channel, cross-channel ferries, going backwards and forwards.
48:04And we've been talking about it on tonight's programme and small boat crossings as well.
48:07I mean, how busy was it when you're out there?
48:09Ah, it's very busy. It's very busy, but the boats have special permission to cross the
48:15shipping lanes and the Coast Guard warns them on the radio. So it's pretty good actually,
48:22keep well out of the way. Small boats, yeah, there were small boats. Luckily I didn't see any,
48:26but there's drones flying overhead from the Coast Guard looking at them. So you should just try and
48:33keep well away from them really. And jellyfish things. I heard you got a lot of those.
48:37Yeah, jellyfish. There are quite a lot of jellyfish stung on the legs and the face,
48:43but you get, you know, you have to accept that really.
48:47I mean, I don't know if I could, so well done. Kudos to you for doing that.
48:52Is that part of the training?
48:53Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, when you're training normally at the weekends,
48:57sometimes we do a seven hour swim on a Saturday and a six on a Sunday, and then
49:04you're bound to get stung by jellyfish. So you have to get used to it.
49:07Um, otherwise you, you, you're not going to swim the channel.
49:09I suppose 18 hours is a long way. It must be very tiring.
49:13So at one point where you thought I'd just give up or do?
49:16Uh, no, not really, because I've been training for two years. So you, you know,
49:21you're not going to give up easily. Um, it did get quite tough near the French coast,
49:26because it gets quite rough and the current is very strong. They're pushing you sideways.
49:30Um, so that was hard, but I just kept, you know,
49:33trying, if you do enough training, then you're going to make it really. So, um,
49:38and of course you're doing this all for charity. You raised thousands of pounds,
49:42and I believe, uh, people can still donate to the Canterbury food bank.
49:46Tell us why that charity in particular.
49:48Uh, it's a local charity. I've known, I've known them for a while, um,
49:52done some other work with them before. Um, and I just thought it was a good cause.
49:56They're, you know, there's people needing food, um, and it's quite local to where I live.
50:02And I thought, you know, that'd be a good thing to do. Um, and you know,
50:06if I could help someone, then, um, it would benefit quite a lot of local people, really.
50:12And people can still, um, donate, I believe, directly to the food bank.
50:16Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They, they've, uh, got it on their Facebook and Instagram sites,
50:21so they can, uh, still donate for that. Yeah.
50:24Oh, brilliant. Now, so you've done the English channel now. What's next for you?
50:28Oh, no, I'm just having a calm period at the moment. So I don't think, uh,
50:32I don't think I'm doing any more long swims. I've done a lot, a lot of swimming recently,
50:37so I need to spend a bit of time with my family and, uh, do all the things I should have been doing
50:43at home. Um, so nothing really planned at the moment, but I'm sure there'll be something in the future.
50:48Martin, thank you so much for joining us this evening.
50:50Thank you very much.
50:50Um, and well done once again for doing that monumental effort there.
50:54Lovely to meet you. Thank you. That's right.
50:56Now, Whitstable has celebrated its 128th carnival this year, with paying tribute to the legendary
51:04local actor Peter Cushion, famous for roles in Doctor Who, Star Wars and, of course, Frankenstein.
51:09Community reporter Henry Luck found out more.
51:11The Tardis, Daleks and Hammer Horror icons flooded Whitstable for the town's 128th carnival.
51:21Rest assured, there were no exterminations, as this year's theme was about iconic local actor,
51:29Peter Cushing, famous for his roles in Doctor Who, Star Wars and many monster classics.
51:37He used to live here before he died. So he was a, he was a very well-known Whitstable character
51:43and you'd see him around the town if you're old enough to remember him.
51:46It's, it's lovely, yeah, particularly this year to see some of the stuff that the children have made,
51:51Daleks and things like that, it's been really great. Um, but yeah, just to see everyone happy
51:56and smiling is wonderful.
51:57Behind me is the house that Peter Cushing and his wife, Helen, lived in whilst they were in Whitstable.
52:05Originally bought as a holiday home, the couple moved here permanently,
52:10following Helen's deteriorating health whilst they were in London.
52:14The organisers were also paying tribute to one of their own this time,
52:19Jane Bowwell, who was the festival's secretary before she passed away last year.
52:26She was our secretary and a stalwart at the carnival and whenever she signed her letters to people,
52:34official letters to anybody, she'd always, the last word before she signed her own name was
52:39hurrah, so she would always write hurrah. She loved horses, she loved, um, she loved the carnival,
52:47she was very artistic, she was a photographer, she was a very good photographer and was very significant.
52:54Of course, there were prizes for the most creative floats and one group of winners
53:01even came right from the Mushroom Kingdom.
53:03It was a big shock because it was so, like, this is the last minute.
53:07Yeah, that's it, it was last week.
53:09There was lots of good ones, there's like...
53:12That's it, there's lots and lots and lots of good ones.
53:15That's it, yeah, lovely surprise.
53:17However, the main purpose of the carnival was to celebrate the legacy
53:23of one of Whitstable's most famous residents.
53:27Community spirit, it's amazing, yeah, all taking part.
53:32In Whitstable, every year, carnival just brings its authenticity back a little bit.
53:37My favourite part, um, I think going on the floats, yeah.
53:42So it looks like this event was a real monster mash.
53:45Henry Luck, the KMTB in Whitstable.
53:53Brilliant event for an amazing actor there.
53:55Well, time to take a quick look at the weather for the coming days.
54:03Tonight brings clear night skies with temperatures around 16 degrees, 17 over by the coastline.
54:11Then into the morning, sunshine to start the day with some scattered clouds in Dartford.
54:15Temperatures pretty much the same.
54:17Then heading into the afternoon, temperatures rising to highs of 23 degrees,
54:21with wind speeds picking up to 11 and 14 miles an hour.
54:24Rather cloudy and your outlook.
54:25Wednesday bringing sunny skies, highs of 23.
54:28Thursday, Friday looking roughly the same highs of 25, but some more clouds around.
54:34And it's nearly the end of Kent tonight.
54:43But straight after this programme, we have another episode of Invictus Sports.
54:47And joining me on the sofa is a brand new host of it, Finn McDermott.
54:50Finn, thank you.
54:51New host of Invictus Sport.
54:52Big shoes to fill from Bar Funimie Hall, of course.
54:55What's on the show tonight?
54:56I definitely do have some big shoes to fill.
54:58And you can't really say the same for Gary, sorry, Gary Ironsworth.
55:02He took over, obviously, from John Coleman.
55:04And we're starting to see the first sort of signs of him having his first full season
55:09with the Gills, rather than taking over midway.
55:12So we can expect to talk about that Gills result.
55:16But even more interesting, I think, is looking at Dartford versus Ebbsfleet.
55:20These are some of the goals.
55:22Obviously, Ebbsfleet National League South, they were relegated last season.
55:28Dartford also, sorry, they are Itzmin League Premier, and they just missed out on the playoffs.
55:34So we're seeing sort of the two ends of our football pyramid almost,
55:38battling it out.
55:39And Dartford did very well to manage to secure the draw there against a higher league opposition.
55:44We're going to be discussing that.
55:46We'll also be dabbling into other sports, as we always do.
55:49Looking a bit of American football, a bit of motorsport.
55:52We're also looking at quite an interesting sport.
55:54I don't know if you've ever heard of bike polo before.
55:56No, I haven't heard of bike polo.
55:57I can sort of imagine what it is, but I've never heard of it, no.
56:01Well, here it is now.
56:02It's basically, imagine your regular old polo, but instead of a horse, you get a bike.
56:07And Joe, sorry, our friend over at Kentonline, Joe Crosley, had a go.
56:12You can see he's not picked it up naturally, but I'm sure it's a difficult one, having a go there.
56:18But yeah, do you think you could do it?
56:21I mean, I'm watching this here.
56:22Give it a go, Joe is doing a brilliant attempt at it.
56:25You know what? I think I could do it.
56:27I loved, as a teenager, on the bike all the time.
56:31I might have to go and give it a go one day.
56:32Finn, thank you for bringing us details.
56:34The show is on in just a few minutes' time, so don't tune your channels over.
56:38Stay with us for a few more minutes.
56:40Finn and David, half hour of sport news just for you in the county.
56:43But that's it from us for Kentonline.
56:45See you soon. Good night. Bye-bye.
56:46The end.
57:01Bye-bye.
57:03The end.
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