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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Gabriel Morris.
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00:00And here we are at the end of the week.
00:25Welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Gabriel Morrison. Here are your top stories on Friday, the 22nd of August.
00:3411 hours to extinguish. Suspected arson devastates rural Tunbridge home.
00:41Do you expect to see these sort of things happening in Marden?
00:45And then, no, not at all. It's not common. The odd barn fire, perhaps, but nothing serious.
00:51Heathlands havoc. Third councillor quits over Maidstone's controversial housing plan.
00:56Moving from a village to an actual town. It's set to a small town.
01:02And the atmosphere is completely going from here.
01:06They're down below me. Amazing.
01:09And Birthday Channel Swim. Herbe Man crosses the English Channel with the surprise guests.
01:16First tonight, just outside a village of Marden in Tunbridge, a suspected arson attack gutted a house.
01:33Fire crews worked tirelessly for 11 hours, deploying 11 engines and multiple emergency vehicles to finally bring the fire under control.
01:41Tim McDermott joined us earlier from Battle Lane, standing outside for scorched remains of the property.
01:46Battle Lane is a road cutting straight through the rural heart of Tunbridge.
01:51And it's only a few minutes' drive away from the small village of Marden, normally a very quiet and peaceful area.
01:57But in the early hours of Wednesday morning, that quiet was disturbed by the sounds of sirens.
02:01And the air was filled with thick black smoke, as a home in the area caught alight along with several other outbuildings.
02:09The incident took 11 hours, 11 fire engines, two bulk water carriers and a technical rescue unit to be able to fully extinguish the fire.
02:17The result is, as you can see now, a shell of a house with only bricks, beams and rubble remaining.
02:22A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue said that the property was vacant at the time of the fire and no injuries have been reported.
02:30But the cause is believed to be deliberate.
02:33We spoke to locals in the village of Marden to get a sense of whether or not a fire of this scale is normal, especially in such a small rural pocket of Kent.
02:42Do you expect to see these sort of things happening in Marden?
02:46And then, no, not at all. It's not common.
02:49The odd barn fire, perhaps, but nothing serious.
02:51No, not really, I mean, I mean, many years ago, I mean, the old fish and chip shop, years ago.
02:59Yeah, oh yeah, fish and chip shop.
03:00That was years and years ago, that was.
03:02Yeah, that was in the 70s, really.
03:06Apart from that, ain't nothing, was it?
03:07No, no, no.
03:08No, sir. No, no, no.
03:10Very strange that happened. We don't have fire like this.
03:15So, I've only really lived here for about six months, and to be honest, it's the first time I've heard of a fire.
03:20Yeah, sometimes on the train line, when I'm going towards Tunbridge, I've seen a few fires around the fields around there, but other than that, I haven't really seen any fires on there.
03:29Kent police have since released a statement about the incident on their website, and they say that detectives are appealing for more information after a house in Marden was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.
03:39The vacant Battle Lane property was reportedly set alight, along with outbuildings, during the early hours of Wednesday, the 20th of August.
03:47Kent Fire and Rescue Service was called at around 12.40am, and the extensive fire was brought under control and extinguished several hours later.
03:55Police officers also attended to assist with the scene, and there were no reported injuries.
04:00They also mentioned that an investigation is currently underway, and officers are urging anyone with any relevant information to contact them.
04:06And with Kent police's investigation still ongoing, the family and locals in the village hope that answers can be found to this unexpected incident.
04:16Finn McDermid for KMTV in Marden.
04:19Now for some news in brief.
04:23If you've been driving around Kent, you might have noticed road markings and roundabouts have turned into St George's flags.
04:31Red lines now run through pedestrian crossings, mini roundabouts and give way markings, creating the famous English flag.
04:38The trend really took off during the Lionesses' Euros run earlier this summer, and it's now sparked mixed reaction.
04:44Some people say it's a great way to celebrate heritage and community, while others feel it's provocative at a time of heightened debate around immigration and identity.
04:54Kent County Council, which oversees the highways in Kent, has been contacted for comments.
05:00An 81-year-old grandmother says she was left in tears after being surrounded by three council wardens and threatened with a £100 fine at Folkestone's Lower Lees Coastal Park.
05:10Wendy says she felt intimidated after being accused of breaking new dog control rules, brought in earlier this August under an updated public spaces protection order.
05:20She says she was walking her Labrador on a lead when wardens claimed she'd previously let it off in a restricted area.
05:26Folkestone and Hife District Council says the changes were made after complaints about fouling and out-of-control pets.
05:32But it's now investigating the incident following a formal complaint.
05:35And a £20 million revamp of Tide's Leisure Centre in Deal has been given a go-ahead by Dover District Council.
05:45Instead of refurbishing the old pool, the council says it's more cost-effective to build a brand new one.
05:51The plans include a six-lane swimming pool and a new gym, but not everyone's happy.
05:55More than 50 people have objected on the council's planning portal.
05:59But Councillor Michael Neve says the investment will do exactly what it says on the tin.
06:05And now, Kent Ukrainian community is marking the 34th anniversary of their country's independence this weekend.
06:13To celebrate, the charity Canterbury for Ukraine has organised a full day full of festivities on Saturday.
06:19The event comes as peace talks continue in the hope of ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
06:24But here in Kent, it's all about honouring the Ukrainian identity.
06:27Well, I'm pleased to say I'm joined now on the line by Alina Nizalova, a trustee of the Canterbury for Ukraine,
06:33and Marina Poltavska, a volunteer with the charity.
06:36Welcome to you first, Alina.
06:38What will you be getting up to on Saturday and how can people get involved?
06:43Hello, Gabriel.
06:45We will have a full schedule of event for the day.
06:50It will start with the information stand in the city centre near Canterbury Library at the Beanies from 11 to 3.
07:00And then we will gather and go for a walk, an Independence Day solidarity walk, as we've done in the past years, every year.
07:11We'll go from the St. Peter's Methodist Church to the Umbrella Centre.
07:17And then at 3.30, we will have a symbolic planting of the Kalina tree.
07:23Kalina is the red viburnum, which is the symbol of Ukraine.
07:27And as a thank you to the British community here, which opened their hearts and homes to Ukrainians,
07:36we would like to present this tree for it to grow and, you know, please the eyes
07:42and be a reminder of Ukrainian community, heartfelt things.
07:49And Marina, we'll come to you now.
07:50What's the significance of these cultural activities?
08:00I think we're having some difficulties on Marina's line.
08:02I don't think your microphone's coming through clearly.
08:06I'm not sure that's on our end.
08:07Marina, can you hear us at all now?
08:08Hello.
08:09There we go.
08:09We can hear you now.
08:10Tell us a little bit about the cultural significance of some of these activities which are taking place this weekend.
08:16Thank you so much for having us.
08:18Yeah.
08:18Hello.
08:19And as a refugee coming to the UK as the war started, I can't really say enough thank you for the community that welcomed us here
08:30and supports every initiative we have.
08:36And this means all the events we are having here and the choir and the youth hub and everything, it is well attended,
08:47as well as attended by local councillors, Canterbury City Council representatives and Ukrainians as well.
08:56And it's a great way to celebrate our unity and to show the solidarity and continue to show that Ukrainians and the British have very many things in common.
09:13And we are very grateful to the community that is hosting us.
09:17Well, it's been over more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
09:22And there have been recent talks of a Ukraine-Russia summit to discuss peace terms.
09:28Do you think the situation at an international level will affect the celebrations in any way at all, Marina?
09:35No, I don't think so.
09:39I mean, yeah, Ukrainians are very upset about what is going on and about all the uncertainty and unfairness, I would say.
09:51But still, the spirit of Ukraine is so strong.
09:56And we do want to show that he'll stand as one.
10:01And we do celebrate our country-rich history, heritage and great spirit.
10:11And, Alina, there's been a lot in the news lately, particularly with Trump and Putin meeting at the peace summit last week.
10:19What's the local reaction with Ukrainians who have come here to Canterbury been on these recent talks?
10:26I would echo Marina in saying that the Ukrainian community is kind of upset with the unfairness of the suggested terms and discussions.
10:39However, we have been reassured with the solidarity that the European leaders, including our prime minister, UK prime minister,
10:49showing such great support and standing by Ukraine, that this gives us hope.
10:56The Independence Day for us is really not just a celebration.
11:01It is way more than that, because independence for us means survival, survival of the nation.
11:09We know that if we surrender, then we will most certainly face, you know, butcher-style atrocities and extermination of our nation, of our people.
11:21So, we are very thankful to the European leaders, to the UK government, for supporting Ukraine, for standing next to our president and being united, being in solidarity as a whole European continent.
11:38Well, thank you both for your time.
11:41I'm afraid we're going to have to leave it there, so we've got to go to a break.
11:43But the event's tomorrow, so thank you so much, and we'll send our viewers down there to that.
11:47Well, it's time to take a quick break, but we'll be coming back in a few minutes with more news made just for Kent.
11:52We'll be right back in a few minutes.
12:22We'll be right back in a few minutes.
12:52We'll be right back in a few minutes.
13:22We'll be right back in a few minutes.
13:52We'll be right back in a few minutes.
14:22We'll be right back in a few minutes.
15:06Welcome back.
15:13A third councillor has quit Midstone Borough Council this week over a controversial new development plan.
15:18Independent Councillor Cathy Cox resigned just days after fellow ward councillors Tom and Janetta Sam stepped down, all citing concerns over the Heathlands Garden Settlement Scheme.
15:29Our reporter Anthony Rowe has more.
15:31In this tranquil field outside Lenham, trouble is brewing.
15:36In order to meet the government's housing targets, a vast stretch of land between Lenham and Charing is set for development.
15:43Maidstone Council promises to build 5,000 new homes in this area and promises to create 5,000 jobs, a new railway station, schools and plenty of other facilities.
15:55Now, although the development project was only meant to begin in 2030, it's already been met by fierce local opposition due to, amongst other things, it running heavily over budget already.
16:06And now several local council people have had enough.
16:10Husband and wife Tom and Janetta Sams have been councillors for the Hurtsham, Lenham and North Downs ward for decades.
16:17But, after seeing the supplementary planning document for the Heathlands development, they decided to resign.
16:24Lots of the things seem to be not costed.
16:27The railway is budgeted to cost 13 million, the rail station, which we know it will be 30 or 40 million.
16:36The transport annex that has been produced, again, doesn't fit.
16:45The A20 is already very blocked. It's going to be gridlocked all the time.
16:51I think the problem is that the people who have designed this won't be living here.
16:56Our residents will be living here and they're going to be left with an infrastructure that won't fit the package.
17:03In their stand against the plans, the Sams have been joined by fellow councillor Cathy Cox, who tendered her resignation this week.
17:12Cathy's only been around a short while, but she's been very active within the community, particularly Hollingbourne, which is where she lives.
17:22And we're really sorry to see Cathy go.
17:25Though refusing interview, council leader Stuart Jeffery said in a statement,
17:28Cathy has served with dedication and professionalism and her departure is a significant loss to both the council and the community.
17:36We are grateful for her service and wish her well in the future.
17:39While the current administration did not support the original creation of Heathlands, we remain focused on delivering a sustainable development that benefits the borough.
17:46The resignation of all three of the wards councillors has triggered a triple by-election with the date yet to be announced.
17:53But what remains clear is that the Heathlands garden scheme continues to divide local residents.
17:59I think it's quite a nice little town. I think by adding more houses, you're definitely going to bring some riffraff.
18:04I think it'd be great for local businesses as there are, there's quite a few businesses here, so we can always benefit with more customers.
18:12When you're taking away the structure of the village, it's moving from a village to an actual town, it's set to a small town.
18:20And the atmosphere is completely going from here.
18:24Alfie Rowe for KMTV in Lenham.
18:26Yeah, that has been controversial for some time, hasn't it?
18:31Anyway, this next story will put a smile on your face this Friday evening.
18:36A Herne Bay man has completed his second English Channel swim to mark his 60th birthday.
18:41Paul Parrish plunged into the waters at 2.30am from Dover, emerging more than 14 hours later, exhausted but triumphant.
18:50He battled fatigue and even considered giving up, but along the way some special guests helped keep him going.
18:58Our reporter Christian Hawthorne met Paul in Herne Bay and has this story of a man fuelled by adrenaline and a little help from his animal friends.
19:06Now, not many people are able to swim at the English Channel, let alone do it twice.
19:11But I'm here in Herne Bay today, where Paul Parrish lives, and you've done this twice, and I mean, what made you decide to do that?
19:17Well, in 2014, I did swim the English Channel as part of something called the Arch to Arc,
19:23which is this insane triathlon where you run from Marble Arch down to Dover, then you swim the English Channel, and then you cycle to the Arc de Triomphe.
19:32And it was wonderful that I'd done it, but I wore a wetsuit.
19:35And official channel rules means that if you have any aid at all, as in a wetsuit, it doesn't count as an official crossing.
19:42Now, at the time, I didn't care. I was just ecstatic to have done what I'd done.
19:47But over the years, it kind of began to niggle at me that I'd never done it properly.
19:51So I'm 60 this year, and I just thought, I've got to stop this thing eating away at me.
19:56I'm going to give it another go and just do it in a swimming costume, a hat and goggles, and try and get an official channel swim.
20:05And so, I mean, you had your partner and the crew alongside you in the boat, but you did have a bit of extra help. Can you tell me about that?
20:12I did have some extra help, yeah. I was struggling.
20:16It's like 11 hours, 11 and a half hours into swim, you're really starting to feel it. It's really biting.
20:20And I looked up and I could see everybody on the boat suddenly getting all with their cameras out.
20:27And I kind of thought, what's that? And I looked up, and as I looked up, this dolphin just broke the water in front of me, you know, right close up to me.
20:35And then I could see them all below me. They'd come back and swam below me.
20:39And they were just there. And apparently, according to everybody on the boat, there'd been loads of them all playing around, all on my side of the boat.
20:46And I kind of think they were just there, because it gave me such a lift. I felt so amazed that they'd done it.
20:53And apparently, my speed picked up everything.
20:57And, you know, you said that since then, people have been sending you a lot of information about dolphins, saying that they're quite empathetic.
21:02Do you feel like there was a reason why they joined you?
21:04Yeah, I think they knew. I think they knew that I was struggling.
21:07And I just think they're that kind of animal. There's so many stories about them really giving people a lift, getting in between.
21:14I know one swimmer who said that they were around him when there were some sharks around, that they've got this kind of way of empathising with us, giving us a hand.
21:23There's so many stories about it.
21:25And I kind of like to think that might have been the case with my little poor pod of dolphins.
21:29And no less, you did this all for charity. So you had this extra help, but you have been helping people yourself.
21:35Can you tell us a bit about that and why you chose this charity?
21:38Yeah, well, I'm actually the fundraising and marketing director of a charity called Aspire, and we're there to help people who've sustained a spinal cord injury.
21:45There's no cure for it, but we help them go from injury to independence.
21:49Over the years, we've been really good at fundraising through open water swimming.
21:53I think we're unique in the charity world in terms of the kind of program that we've got.
21:58So that's been a big part of my life in terms of my professional life.
22:01But also personally, you know, it's helped, you know, I've got very involved in it myself.
22:05And I thought it was a really good way to kind of raise money for the charity, say, you know, I don't just talk the talk.
22:12I can try and walk the walk. And I'm also retiring from the charity.
22:15So in March, and I thought it'd be kind of a really lovely farewell thing for me and to try and raise a load of money before I go.
22:24Excellent. And how much have you raised so far?
22:26So at the moment, it's just over £14,000.
22:30In fact, it's about 60 and a half with gift aid. So yeah, so it's a good chunk of money.
22:35So I'm really, really, I mean, people have been so kind, so lovely.
22:38I think they just want to see me go. I think it's something like that.
22:41But they have been so lovely. So got a lot of people to thank.
22:43So you've managed to raise all this money. You've managed to swim with dolphins.
22:47Does that encourage you to do it again, maybe for your 70th?
22:50No, never again. That's it. That's me and Channel swimming over.
22:55But it's been an absolute blast and it's been a real adventure.
22:58Excellent. Well, if you're planning on swimming with dolphins this year on your holiday,
23:04you might not need to travel as far as you think.
23:06Kristen Hawthorne for ChemTV in Heron Bay.
23:08Extraordinary that, especially those dolphins. How magical that all was.
23:15Well, finally, as we enter the August bank holiday, what's going on in Kent remains a hot topic,
23:21whether that's an event on your doorstep or beyond.
23:24Layla joined me earlier with a helpful roundup.
23:27And Layla, what's the first event you have for us this bank holiday weekend?
23:32So I think a standout event, possibly on a national as well as a local level,
23:37is the Hever in History event taking place at the famous castle.
23:42So they'll be hosting some live battle re-enactments as well as the return of the Knights of Royal England
23:47for a jousting tournament, which sounds fun.
23:50And also lots of opportunities this weekend for families as well to go out and about.
23:55Absolutely. So another option is the Military Odyssey happening in Detling near Maidstone.
24:01So that's kind of set to be a very immersive showcase of scenes from the British trenches as well as the home front.
24:08I believe there'll be some wartime aircraft there as well as some jive dancing as well.
24:14So definitely one to watch for.
24:17Yeah, they have lots of trenches there, which always surprises me.
24:19I know one of our reporters, Finn, spent an evening in those trenches.
24:23You can watch that full report on our website, kmtv.co.uk.
24:27And, of course, lots of foodies. I'm myself a one.
24:31For people like us, what can they get up to this weekend?
24:33Well, I'm pleased to say as a fellow foodie, there's lots to enjoy this weekend.
24:38What does spring to mind is the We Love Heif Life Food Festival, which comes back to the coastal town this year.
24:47And that's set to have more than 70 stalls offering a wide range of food.
24:52I believe it's from local produce to spicy street food.
24:55And I believe as well this year we're set to have some nicer weather, some sunny spells, according to the Met Office,
25:01versus the rainy scenes we saw last year.
25:05Well, we'll get a full weather forecast in just a moment.
25:08But what about traffic? Because we always hear that the bank on a new weekend can be particularly busy.
25:12And here in Kent, of course, we've got a port as well.
25:15Of course. Yeah. I mean, as always, increased pressure is expected on the M20,
25:20especially towards Dover and Folkestone.
25:23But some positive news.
25:24There aren't any planned works on any of the major routes across Kent this weekend.
25:29So looking like a smooth picture at this stage.
25:33Well, thank you for bringing us all those details.
25:37Well, let's have a look what's in store with the weather this bank holiday weekend.
25:42Tonight is looking rather cloudy with temperatures around 16 degrees, 15 down in Ashford and Tunbridge Wells.
25:55Into tomorrow morning, partly cloudy weather to start the day with temperatures of 17 degrees.
25:59Low wind speeds along with it into the afternoon.
26:02Highs of 20, slightly cooler in the south.
26:05More clouds covering for county.
26:07And for your outlook, highs of 21 on Sunday.
26:10Scattered clouds.
26:11And Bank Holiday Monday brings highs of 24 degrees.
26:14Clear sunny skies.
26:16There we go.
26:17How often does that happen on the bank holiday?
26:24Well, it looks like you're in for a treat this bank holiday Monday.
26:27If you have it off work, well, some of us do have to come into the office.
26:31I'm included on that.
26:32So we'll be back with you on Monday at 5.30 for a slightly shorter Ken tonight.
26:37But we'll be here with you bringing you the latest news from the bank holiday.
26:41Have a lovely weekend.
26:42Whatever you're up to, we'll see you on Monday.
26:57Through the progress.
27:16Oh my.
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