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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV, I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are
00:28your top stories on Tuesday the 14th of October.
00:32I did nothing wrong, Kent County Councillor Robert Ford responds to suspension from Reform
00:37UK amid complaints from female members of staff.
00:40I've never had an issue, I've never known of an issue like this previously so it's just
00:47massively disappointing.
00:48The chats head to Derbyshire, Chatham Town's first FA Cup appearance in almost a century
00:54decided.
00:55We're delighted, so obviously the Northern team, we don't know much about them, however
01:01it's a good chance for us to try and get to the second round against the National League
01:05Northside.
01:06An unforgettable play, Maidstone's exhibition opens in memoriam of artist Tony Hart's
01:12would-be 100th birthday.
01:14It's a place where budding artists can come, they can hire a studio, they can work, then
01:19they can talk to each other, exchange ideas and a real launching pad for them.
01:24First tonight, Kent County Councillor Robert Ford has said, has had his whip suspended by
01:39Reform UK as an investigation has been launched into his alleged misconduct.
01:45The council heard complaints from multiple female members of staff that Ford had made
01:48lewd comments to them which Ford denies any knowledge of.
01:52Finn McDermid has more on the story.
01:55Kent County Councillor Robert Ford has had his whip suspended by Reform UK today while an
02:01investigation into his alleged misconduct continues.
02:04This all started when the now independent Councillor was accused of making lewd remarks by multiple
02:08female members of staff in a complaint to Kent County Council.
02:12According to a Reform UK Kent spokesperson, we have today suspended the Reform UK whip from
02:17Councillor Robert Ford pending investigation into his conduct.
02:21Last week, an unofficial complaint was made against Councillor Ford by several female members
02:24of staff.
02:25Despite being offered a meeting with the whip's office to discuss the complaints, Councillor
02:29Ford refused to engage with the process, which has now escalated into a disciplinary
02:33matter.
02:34According to Ford himself, he heard about them through a third party and said, I can categorically
02:39say that up until a few hours ago I did not know anything about this.
02:43He added, I have always made a point to treat everyone with respect, so I was surprised
02:47when this was announced.
02:48I would like to say that my colleagues work hard at what they are doing and I have the
02:50utmost respect for their hard work.
02:53But this isn't the first instance of a Reform suspension with Councillor Daniel Taylor's
02:57allegations he had threatened to kill his wife and his arrest in June, leading to his
03:00whip being withdrawn.
03:03We are surprised that yet another Reform councillor has been suspended for some kind of inappropriate
03:13behaviour relating to women, this time officers at the Council, which is really disappointing.
03:21I am not sure that I remember any kind of transgression like this in the previous term
03:27of the Council involving officers.
03:30Councillor Ford will continue to serve as an independent councillor during the investigation.
03:35Finn McDermid for KMTV.
03:37Next, signs around Darnth Valley Hospital in Dartford have been defaced with red spray paint
03:44appearing to resemble St George's crosses.
03:47It has been just a few months since the raising of the colours movement began, in which we saw
03:51flags, adorned windows and street lights across the county.
03:54We have our reporter Chloe Brewster with us now to chat about what she found.
03:58So you were down there today where they have these spray painted signs and stuff and this
04:03is one of the pictures you have taken.
04:04Can you tell us a bit about how you found it and what it was like down there?
04:07So we came across a post in a social media group which showed pictures of to face direction
04:12and street signs to the entrance to the General Hospital in Dartford.
04:17Despite having only been posted just this weekend, when we arrived, most of them had actually
04:21been completely cleaned with just a bit of colour remaining.
04:25We can see a before and after image of one of the signs next to the roundabout just there
04:29with crosses clearly covering hospital information.
04:32And do we know who cleaned it off? Was it a member of the council or a member of the public?
04:36So the original poster did say they reported the signs to Kent County Council, but as we
04:42discovered earlier today, it was actually a member of the public who took it upon themselves
04:46to remove the work. The hospital also told us they'd been aware of the signage but said
04:51it was out of their jurisdiction to do the removal. But it is clear that an upset resident
04:56did that themselves.
04:57And is it a standalone incident or have we seen other things throughout the week that
05:02maybe form part of a wider picture of what's happening?
05:05Well, it's been clear to many people that over the last couple of months, more and more
05:10of these flags have been popping up across the county. Just last week, a brick was thrown
05:15at a local Labour office and believed to be in response to Medway Council efforts to remove
05:20St George's flags from parks and from street lamps. We actually spoke to Alex Patterson,
05:24Councillor for Rochester and Borstall, who told us his thoughts on the incident.
05:27Although we don't know the identity of the culprits, if we do link this to some of the recent rhetoric
05:34that we've seen in response to Medway Council's policy on the removal of illegal flags from
05:39public spaces, then it's very clear that the individuals behind this so-called Raise the
05:46Colours campaign, both nationally and locally, are some quite unsavoury characters.
05:51Now, it's been found a random dog owner lied to police after a cockapoo attacked a young child in Myers Court.
05:59A random dog owner left the scene and then lied to police after her cockapoo attacked and seriously injured a young child.
06:06Mother of two, Tracy Inkpen, didn't leave her details with the girl's father after her dog, Reggie, bit his daughter's arm.
06:13When police went to her home after a tip-off, she then denied it was her pet which had caused the injury.
06:20However, when officers showed her the video footage someone had managed to capture at the scene,
06:25Inkpen then admitted it was her dog who caused the injury to the three-year-old Bunny Skinley.
06:30Now, Reynham, parents of a five-year-old who died from rare heart condition, has set up a fundraiser for her funeral costs.
06:40Weeks before his birth, Reece Bevan and Georgie Claxton from Reynham were told their baby George would not have long to live.
06:47George had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition where the left side of the heart was severely underdeveloped.
06:54His parents have paid tribute to their happy and smiley five-month-old boy who died just weeks after undergoing surgery for his heart condition
07:02by setting up a fundraiser to cover funeral costs and buy a headstone.
07:07Now, two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into cable thefts in Kent and Surrey.
07:13Police say large quantities of copper cabling were stolen from substations in Sevenoaks and Guildford over the past few weeks.
07:21Officers arrested a 23-year-old man in Ashford and a 40-year-old man in Dartford on suspicion of theft, conspiracy to steal and money laundering.
07:30A large amount of copper cabling was also seized from a scrap dealership.
07:34Both men have now been released on bail while enquiries continue.
07:38Police say, though, that thefts can cause a major disruption to phone and broadband services and put vulnerable people at risk.
07:45Here's the video from the police body cams now.
07:48You alright?
07:49Yeah.
07:50Yeah, yeah.
07:51I am going to arrest you, okay?
07:52So, I'm Sergeant Haybourne.
07:53Give me that phone.
07:54What?
07:55Who's calling on here?
07:56You are under arrest, mate, at this time for conspiracy to steal cable across the South East,
08:01for theft of cable, for money laundering and a shoplifting.
08:04So, you're under arrest on suspicion of all of those things at the moment.
08:07What?
08:08What?
08:09Now, a women's group from Gillingham have said the focus needs to be on relief efforts in Gaza, as huge uncertainty remains around the next steps in the peace protest.
08:25It comes a day after all living Israeli host hostages and around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released and world leaders signed a peace deal in Egypt.
08:38I spoke to Faiza Marza earlier today to discuss this.
08:45Can you tell us, first of all, a bit about your group?
08:48Yeah, so the Ahmadineh Muslim Women's Association in Gillingham has been set up here since about the 70s.
08:55We organize events for the women, both on a sort of religious level to increase understanding of our faith, and also to reach out to the community and build bridges, learn things more than just about yourself, but about how to live together and how to be a positive member of the society.
09:17With teaching things about that, do you feel like, you know, you had to teach a little bit about the conflict and maybe about how people could cope with that?
09:25Did you find that that was something that was quite pinnacle in those conversations?
09:28So, the Gaza conflict is something we've, in Palestine, issues around the war and the conflicts there that have been happening.
09:36It's something that we've sort of grown up hearing about, seeing the oppression, and it's always been very, very sad.
09:42But over the sort of last two years, it's escalated and it's been so painful because it's almost been live streamed, the whole genocide, and it's been very difficult to watch oppression against.
09:55It's not just against, oh, it's because it's Muslims, it hurts us more.
09:58Any oppression against any innocent people hurts Muslims in general.
10:02So, it has been very difficult to see it, but apart from praying for everyone and raising funds and trying to get support across that way, you know, we've just been waiting for some sort of breakthrough where people can go back to living a normal life.
10:18It's a conversation that happens all over the world and people not just in Gaza and Israel will be affected.
10:25Of course, communities here will feel that weight as well.
10:28How can people, you know, reach out for help or how can they support your group?
10:33We've been running all sorts of things throughout the last two years, especially.
10:39We've had bake sales raising money.
10:42We've had people donating.
10:44There are members who sponsor families, women who go crocheting items.
10:49So, all different ways to sort of get, do their little bit to try and help all our brothers and sisters out there who are being oppressed.
10:56And at the moment, one of our members is a founding member of the Medway Palestine for Women Action Group.
11:03And they've got a vigil being held on Saturday the 18th at the Rochester Cathedral.
11:10And it's going to be an eight hour vigil.
11:12And it will be remembering the 5,000 children under five that have been killed by Israel.
11:17So, we really do hope that people can go out and support that vigil and remember those that have been lost and look towards peace and progress together.
11:28Because only being together and working together can we actually get somewhere.
11:32Because we are a human race at the end of the day.
11:34We're not divided by religion and different viewpoints.
11:38We are, our main point is we are family.
11:40We are one united body.
11:42And we need to remember that.
11:43We need to protect those who are oppressed.
11:45We need to work together.
11:46And that's the only way we're actually going to get any peace.
11:49Thank you, Faiza.
11:51More after this short break.
11:58Thank you, Faiza.
14:59Hello and welcome back to KMTV live on, well tonight live on KMTV.
15:15I'm getting it mixed up.
15:17Now, play had to be paused during an under 10s football training session as armed police searched the area.
15:23The children and their parents were shocked to see the firearm officers near Heron Bay Sports Hub on Monday evening.
15:30The training session was put on hold while armed police dogs and a drone searched the area.
15:36Police say a 19-year-old man was later found with a BB gun and arrested after they were called to the scene with reports of a person behaving suspiciously with a suspected weapon.
15:47The man was issued with a community resolution and was warned about carrying imitation firearms in public.
15:53The BB gun was also seized for destruction.
15:57Next, a lioness rescued from Ukraine has undergone a huge operation lasting almost three hours.
16:04Lyra is a three-year-old living in the Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden and was rescued alongside her sister Amani.
16:12She had the surgery to remove a tooth infection, meaning the 140 kilogram animal was seized by the vets using a dart gun.
16:20The surgeon ended up removing the Big Cat's canine, which was eight centimetres in length.
16:25The Sanctuary's curator added that they were glad that they had booked Lyra in after noticing the small bump on her jawline, which was caused by the severe infection.
16:34Now, the first opponent for Chatham Town FC in the historic FA Cup appearance has been revealed.
16:41The Chats will head to Derbyshire to face National League Northside, Buxton, for their first FA Cup match in nearly a century.
16:49I went to Chatham Town's Ballville station last night to see how fans reacted to the draw.
16:54The first opponent for Chatham Town FC in the historic FA Cup appearance has been revealed.
17:10The Chats will head to Derbyshire to face National League Northside, Buxton, for their first FA Cup match in nearly a century.
17:17I went down to Chatham Town's Ballville Stadium last night to see how fans reacted to the draw.
17:22What starts out as a training day like any other is really anything but.
17:30Players calmly run through their drills, but fans can barely contain their excitement.
17:36It's probably the best day of Chatham Town Sporting Life.
17:39I've been grinning since five past five on Saturday evening.
17:42Chatham in the first round of the FA Cup, you cannot go wrong.
17:46As night falls over the stadium, attention turns to the big question.
17:50Who will Chatham Town play in the first round of the FA Cup?
17:55Crowds gather and the draw begins.
17:58Anticipation builds as fixture after fixture is announced.
18:02And then...
18:04National League North team, Buxton FC, are the chosen opponent.
18:10It was one of them we kind of wanted a big draw if we could in terms of from a revenue point of view.
18:16But from a winnable game, it's definitely achievable.
18:19Could have been better maybe in regards to bigger team, bigger club, bigger ticket sales and things like that.
18:25But yeah, more chance of probably getting through into the next round.
18:29And then maybe we'll meet a bigger team in the next round.
18:32I'm quite confident the boys will do it.
18:34It's a winnable game.
18:35Obviously, we would have liked a bigger team away for a good away day.
18:38But I think it's winnable.
18:39Get us through to the second round, I reckon.
18:41We're delighted.
18:42So, obviously, the Northern team, we don't know much about them.
18:45However, it's a good chance, obviously, to try and get to the second round against the National League Northside.
18:51Try and get to the second round.
18:52Obviously, the club hasn't done that for a lot of years.
18:54So, ideally, it's probably a really good opportunity to do it.
18:57And yeah, we're all really excited about the next game, really.
19:01Despite some reservations, fans are sure to get behind the team.
19:08And with the Chats faithful in the stands, all that's left is for the boys to finish the job on the pitch.
19:15Alfie Rowe for KMTV in Chatham.
19:21Staying with the FA Cup draw, several other Kent teams discovered who they'll be pitted against in the first round.
19:26Gillingham will travel to Wales to face fellow League Two side in Newport County.
19:31And finally, North Kent's Epps Fleet United will be making their third appearance in five years,
19:36and will be travelling north to face Grimsby Town.
19:39In other football, striker Danny Parrish has returned to Ashford United,
19:43re-signing after a brief stint at fellow Ithmian South East club, Sittingbourne.
19:48Parrish had previously released from nuts and bolts in January of last year
19:52in what was seen as a surprising move by ex-boss Kevin Watson.
19:56When he was last at Ashford, Parrish was the club's leading goalscorer, with 43 goals in 74 appearances.
20:02Speaking to Kent Online upon his return, Parrish said he couldn't be happier.
20:06It truly feels like I'm coming home.
20:08He added that he couldn't wait to get back to scoring for the side and playing in front of the fans again.
20:13Canterbury's Pippa Goddard paid tribute to our horse, PDV Constanza,
20:17after the duo won the senior newcomers' championship at the Horse of the Year show.
20:21Goddard and PDV beat out more than 35,000 competitors who took part in the newcomers' competition.
20:27The pair were jumping indoors for the first time together and topped the leaderboard with a time of 30.58 seconds.
20:35Less than a second separated the top three finishers.
20:39Goddard said PDV was great in the ring and she couldn't be more proud of her and delighted with her performance.
20:45Finally in sport, Upchurch River Valley Golf Club have won the GSR Junior Foursomes title at Rochester and Cobham Park.
20:52They secured a 2-1 triumph over Sid Cup and this win marks the junior section's first piece of silverware since restarting in 2024.
21:00Last year, the junior selection had high handicaps and hadn't played this type of team format.
21:05Their fortunes have been very different this time round, winning the most of their matches to top the East Kent table ahead of Tudor Park.
21:12Manager Paul Bidder said that when the club started last year, he couldn't imagine they would win such premier junior title so soon.
21:19And that's all your sporting headlines for now.
21:23Now it's time to take a quick look at the weather forecast.
21:36OK, some parts of Kent looks like they have clear skies tonight, but most areas will see cloud accompanied by a chilly breeze.
21:49Temperatures are expected to fall to around 11 degrees, particularly in Ashford and Royal Tunbridge Wells in the morning.
21:55As we move into the afternoon then, we've got 13 down in Ashford, 14 then in Margate, wind speeds of 14 miles an hour.
22:03Then the outlook, we've got 15 cloudy skies on Thursday, 14 cloudy skies on Friday and then thankfully clear skies on Saturday, 14 degrees.
22:11Now, normally teenagers are advised against handling heavy machinery, but Finlay Gallagher from Maidstone isn't like most teens.
22:27The 13-year-old is officially the UK's youngest qualified digger driver and is the subject of a special documentary appearing right here on KMTV.
22:35The story of digger Finn will be going out straight after Kent tonight, but now we'll be chatting to Finlay and his dad Stephen shortly.
22:43But first, here's a quick peek at the film.
22:46Finn's potentially going to be the youngest ever backhoe operator.
22:50He's been obsessed with diggers, tractors, any machinery, but at 13 we never thought we'd have the opportunity to do this.
22:59So you're here for two weeks for your 180 course.
23:02Where shall I put the mud?
23:04Put the mud this side.
23:05There's a lot to take in.
23:07You don't be pushed for time.
23:08Go ahead, shake it.
23:09Have you got to practice for it?
23:11Yeah, I thought you did.
23:17Excellent, isn't it? Thank you so much for joining us.
23:19What's it like watching yourself on the TV?
23:21It's a bit embarrassing sometimes because I felt like I could have done so much better, but as well it's quite cool seeing myself on the internet as well.
23:35And what must your friends think they must be super impressed?
23:38They kind of take the mick out of me sometimes, but I think most of the time they like it.
23:44Yeah, and so at what point did you realise that you liked diggers? I mean, was it from a young age?
23:51We had a machine over ours digging a pool, and my dad luckily let me drive it, so that kind of just got me into it.
24:05And then I started mowing the lawn, and then as I got older I could kind of go up the farm and sit in machines, and that grew my interest in the machines a lot more.
24:17And then, so you must have had a lot of trust in him to let him drive that machine, and you maybe already knew that he'd be quite good at it.
24:23I mean, has he always been really good at doing this sort of thing?
24:26Yeah, so he took to it pretty naturally to be honest, so I've always, yeah, like I say, was safety first, but had that trust in Finn.
24:34He's always shown a really careful hand, and he's always taken it very seriously, so that sort of helped me and gave me the confidence to believe in him a little bit more,
24:43and give him a bit more trust, and obviously seen how he developed and grew as he went along as well.
24:49And obviously you knew he would be a natural, and you knew he was quite good at it, but did you ever expect that he'd be certified at 13 years old?
24:55No, not at all, to be honest. It's probably been a rapid year, hasn't it? So it's probably about this time last year when it first really came up,
25:01and he's really gone from strength to strength, and just having that experience and opportunity, and he's really had to make the most of it.
25:08Did you have any challenges when you were completing the certification?
25:12Yeah, I had a few tests, the health and safety, which I had to do a lot of revising for that on an app, and with doing the theory test at the site,
25:24with the theory test you have to complete it to get out of the practical, and then the practical is the bit where you're in the machine, so yeah.
25:35And do you have to wait until you're 16, until you can actually work a job with it, or can you start now?
25:41No, he has to wait until he gets his full licence, and then obviously they've got age restrictions on sites as well, so be careful on that side.
25:51So it's just, it's really just practising principle at the moment, and just keep trying to pick up little bits along the way,
25:58and then really keep them in school until they're 18, to be honest. That's the plan.
26:02Excellent. So by the time you're right there, you'll be well experienced, and probably surprising everybody else there.
26:07Do you hope that maybe the documentary inspires other kids your age?
26:11I hope so, because quite a few kids at the plant work show I went to a week ago, they were coming up to me and saying,
26:21what's it like being the youngest, and they want to get into machines like me, not just Batcos, but any machine they can get their hands on really.
26:30Fabulous. Well, thank you so much for joining us, and I'm sure people watching at home will be very impressed.
26:35So good luck in your journey.
26:36Brilliant, thank you.
26:37Fabulous. So that's all we have time for in this part of the show, but coming up after the break, we'll have a recap of the top stories today on KMTV.
26:45All that and more after the break, so we'll see you then. Bye-bye.
30:00Well, hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
30:15Here is a reminder of the top stories on Tuesday 14th October.
30:20I did nothing wrong.
30:22Kent County Councillor Robert Ford responds to suspension from ReformUK amid complaints from female members of staff.
30:29The chats head to Derbyshire, Chatham Town's first FA Cup appearance in almost a century decided.
30:36And an unforgettable clay, Maidstone's exhibition opens in memoriam of artist Tony Hart would-be 100th birthday.
30:46But first tonight, Kent County Councillor Robert Ford has had his whip suspended by ReformUK during an investigation into his alleged misconduct continues.
30:56The council heard complaints from multiple female members of staff that Ford had made lewd remarks to them, which Ford denies any knowledge of.
31:03Finn McDermott has more on the story.
31:06Kent County Councillor Robert Ford has had his whip suspended by ReformUK today, while an investigation into his alleged misconduct continues.
31:14This all started when the now independent councillor was accused of making lewd remarks by multiple female members of staff in a complaint to Kent County Council.
31:23According to a ReformUK Kent spokesperson, we have today suspended the ReformUK whip from Councillor Robert Ford pending investigation into his conduct.
31:31Last week, an unofficial complaint was made against Councillor Ford by several female members of staff.
31:37Despite being offered a meeting with the whip's office to discuss the complaints, Councillor Ford refused to engage with the process, which has now escalated into a disciplinary matter.
31:45According to Ford himself, he heard about them through a third party and said,
31:49I can categorically say that up until a few hours ago, I did not know anything about this.
31:54He added, I have always made a point to treat everyone with respect, so I was surprised when this was announced.
31:59I would like to say that my colleagues work hard at what they're doing and I have the utmost respect for their hard work.
32:04But this isn't the first instance of a Reform suspension with Councillor Daniel Taylor's allegations he had threatened to kill his wife and his arrest in June, leading to his whip being withdrawn.
32:13We are surprised that yet another Reform council has been suspended for some kind of inappropriate behaviour relating to women, this time officers at the council, which is really disappointing.
32:32I'm not sure that I remember any kind of transgression like this in the previous term of the council involving officers.
32:42Councillor Ford will continue to serve as an independent councillor during the investigation.
32:47Finn McDermid for KMTV.
32:49Now, signs around Darrenth Valley Hospital in Dartford have been defaced with red spray paint,
32:56stripped on that a couple of times, appearing to resemble St George's crosses.
33:00It's been just a few months since the raising of the colours movement began, in which we saw flags adorn windows and streetlights across the county.
33:07Now, we have our reporter Chloe Brewster with us now to chat about what she found.
33:12So, you were there today, down at the hospital, looking at the different signs and you got this picture.
33:17Can you tell us where you got the story from and what it was like?
33:20Yeah, so we were on Facebook and we found a post in a social media group in Dartford that showed pictures of the face, direction and street signs near to the entrance of the general hospital.
33:29Despite having only been posted just this weekend, when we arrived, many of the crosses had actually been removed from the signs with just a faint bit of colour remaining.
33:38We can see a before and after image of one of the signs next to the roundabouts with crosses clearly covering the directions to the hospital.
33:45And do you know who cleaned it up?
33:47So, the original poster did say that they got in contact with Kent County Council, but we discovered earlier that a member of the public had actually taken the cleaning job into their own hands.
33:57The hospital also told us they had been aware of the work, but it was outside of their jurisdiction to act, so clearly an upset resident got there first.
34:06OK, and is this part of, I mean, is this an isolated incident or has there been more recently that's happened, making this a bigger picture?
34:14Well, many of us have seen how more and more of these flags are popping up across the country and the county.
34:19But just last week, a brick was actually thrown at a local Labour office, believed to be in response to Mumbai Council's efforts to remove St George's flags from parks and high streets.
34:31And we spoke to Alex Patterson, councillor for Rochester and Borstal, who told us his thoughts on the incident.
34:36Although we don't know the identity of the culprits, if we do link this to some of the recent rhetoric that we've seen in response to Medway Council's policy on the removal of illegal flags from public spaces,
34:50then it's very clear that the individuals behind this so-called Raise the Colours campaign, both nationally and locally, are some quite unsavoury characters.
35:01Now, a random dog owner left the scene and then lied to police after her cockapoo attacked and seriously injured a young child.
35:09Mother of two, Tracy Inkpin, didn't leave her details with the girl's father after her dog, Reggie, bit his daughter's arm.
35:16When police went to her home after the tip-off, she then denied it was her pet which had caused the injury.
35:22However, when officers showed her the video footage someone had managed to capture at the scene,
35:27Inkpin then admitted Reggie had been the dog that caused the injury to the three-year-old Bunny Skinley.
35:33Next, Reena and parents of a five-month-old who died from a rare heart condition have set up a fundraiser for funeral costs.
35:40Weeks before his birth, parents of Rees, parents Rees Bevan and Georgia Claxton were told their baby George would not have long to live.
35:49George had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, HLHS, a condition where the left side of the heart was severely underdeveloped.
35:57His parents have paid tribute to their happy and smiley five-year-old boy who died just weeks after undergoing surgery for his heart condition by setting up a fundraiser to cover his funeral costs and to buy a headstone.
36:10Now, two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into cable thefts in Kent and Surrey.
36:16Police say a large quantity of copper cabling was stolen from substations in Sevenoaks and in Guildford over the past few weeks.
36:24Officers arrested a 23-year-old man in Ashford and a 40-year-old man in Dartford on suspicion of theft, conspiracy to steal and money laundering.
36:32A large amount of copper cabling was also seized from a scrap dealership.
36:36Both men have now been released on bail while enquiries continue.
36:39Police say, though, that thefts can cause major disruption to phone and broadband services and put vulnerable people at risk.
36:46Here's the police's body cam footage of the day.
36:49You alright?
36:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
36:51I am going to arrest you, OK?
36:53So, I'm Sergeant Haybourne.
36:54Give me that phone.
36:55What's going on here?
36:56You are under arrest, mate, at this time, for conspiracy to steal cable across the South East, for theft of cable, for money laundering and a shoplifting.
37:05So, you're under arrest on suspicion of all of those things at the moment.
37:08A women's group from Gillingham have said the focus needs to be on relief efforts in Gaza as huge uncertainty remains around the next steps in the peace process.
37:21It comes a day after all living Israeli hostages and around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released and world leaders signed a peace deal in Egypt.
37:31But families of the deceased Israeli hostages have voiced anger that the bodies of up to 24 other hostages haven't been returned.
37:39And the Palestinian civil defence has said seven people have been killed by Israeli fire today.
37:45Faiza Maraza from the Abadiya Muslim Women's Group in Gillingham joined me earlier today to discuss.
37:54Yeah, so the Abadiya Muslim Women's Association in Gillingham has been set up here since about the 70s.
38:04And we organise events for the women, both on a sort of religious level to increase understanding of our faith and also to reach out to the community and build bridges, learn things more than just about yourself, but about how to live together and how to be a positive member of the society.
38:27With teaching things about that, do you feel like, you know, you had to teach a little bit about the conflict and maybe about how people could cope with that?
38:35Did you find that that was something that was quite pinnacle in those conversations?
38:38So the Gaza conflict is something we've, in Palestine, issues around the war and the conflicts there that have been happening.
38:46It's something that we've sort of grown up hearing about, seeing the oppression, and it's always been very, very sad.
38:52But over the sort of last two years, it's escalated and it's been so painful because it's almost been live streamed, the whole genocide, and it's been very difficult to watch oppression against.
39:05It's not just against, oh, it's because it's Muslims, it hurts us more.
39:08Any oppression against any innocent people hurts Muslims in general.
39:13So it has been very difficult to see it, but apart from praying for everyone and raising funds and trying to get, you know, support across that way, you know, we've just been waiting for some sort of breakthrough where people can go back to living a normal life.
39:29It's a conversation that happens all over the world and people not just in Gaza and Israel will be affected.
39:35Of course, communities here will feel that weight as well.
39:38How can people, you know, reach out for help or how can they support your group?
39:42We've been running all sorts of things throughout the last two years, especially.
39:49We've had bake sales raising money.
39:52We've had people donating.
39:54There are members who sponsor families, women who go crocheting items.
39:59So all different ways to sort of get, do their little bit to try and help all our brothers and sisters out there who are being oppressed.
40:06And at the moment, one of our members is a founding member of the Medway Palestine for Women Action Group.
40:13And they've got a vigil being held on Saturday the 18th at the Rochester Cathedral.
40:20And it's going to be an eight hour vigil.
40:22And it will be remembering the 5,000 children under five that have been killed by Israel.
40:27So we really do hope that people can go out and support that vigil and remember those that have been lost and look towards peace and progress together.
40:38Because only being together and working together can we actually get somewhere because we are a human race at the end of the day.
40:44We're not divided by religion and different viewpoints.
40:48Our main point is we are family.
40:50We are one united body.
40:52And we need to remember that.
40:53We need to protect those who are oppressed.
40:55We need to work together.
40:56And that's the only way we're actually going to get any peace.
40:59Thank you, Faiza.
41:01Time for a quick break now, but don't go anywhere as coming up.
41:05We'll take a closer look at Chatham Town FC as a historic FA Cup appearance was revealed last night.
41:12And then we'll look into an exhibition which is opened in Maidstone Community Arts Hub to celebrate the world,
41:18to celebrate the would-be 100th birthday of Tony Hart, the famous artist behind the cartoon characters Morph, who was born and raised in the town.
41:28But don't forget you can see the premiere of the documentary of the UK's youngest digger operator,
41:37who we spoke to in the last part of the show.
41:39And it was a lovely section, so I assume it will be amazing to see and I'll definitely be watching.
41:43But all that and more after that break.
41:46So we'll see you then.
41:47Bye-bye.
41:48Bye-bye.
42:18Bye-bye.
47:04Thanks.
47:08Have a good day.
47:11It's a good chance, obviously, to try and get into the second round against the National League Northside.
47:16Try and get into the second round. Obviously, the club hasn't done that for a lot of years.
47:19So, ideally, it's probably a really good opportunity to do it.
47:22And, yeah, we're all really excited about the next game, really.
47:26Despite some reservations,
47:30the fans are sure to get behind the team.
47:33And with the chats faithful in the stands,
47:35all that's left is for the boys to finish the job on the pitch.
47:39Alfie Rowe for KMTV in Chatham.
47:45Staying with the FA Cup draw,
47:47several other Kent teams discovered who they'll be pitted against in the first round.
47:51Gillingham will travel to Wales to face fellow League Two side in Newport County.
47:55And, finally, North Kent's Epps Fleet United will be making their third appearance in five years
48:00and will be travelling north to face Grimsby Town.
48:04In other football, striker Danny Parrish has returned to Ashford United,
48:08re-signing after a brief stint at fellow Ithmian South East club, Sittingbourne.
48:12Parrish had previously released from nuts and bolts in January of last year
48:16in what was seen as a surprising move by ex-boss Kevin Watson.
48:20When he was last at Ashford, Parrish was the club's leading goalscorer,
48:23with 43 goals in 74 appearances.
48:26Speaking to Kent Online upon his return, Parrish said he couldn't be happier.
48:30It truly feels like I'm coming home.
48:32He added that he couldn't wait to get back to scoring for the side
48:35and playing in front of the fans again.
48:37Canterbury's Pippa Goddard paid tribute to our horse PDV Constanza
48:41after the duo won the Senior Newcomers Championship at the Horse of the Year show.
48:45Goddard and PDV beat out more than 35,000 competitors who took part in the Newcomers competition.
48:52The pair were jumping indoors for the first time together and topped the leaderboard with a time of 30.58 seconds.
49:00Less than a second separated the top three finishers.
49:03Goddard said PDV was great in the ring and she couldn't be more proud of her and delighted with her performance.
49:09Finally in sport, Upchurch River Valley Golf Club have won the GSR Junior Foursomes title at Rochester and Cobham Park.
49:16They secured a 2-1 triumph over Sid Cup
49:19and this win marks the junior section's first piece of silverware since restarting in 2024.
49:24Last year, the junior selection had high handicaps and hadn't played this type of team format.
49:29Their fortunes have been very different this time round,
49:32winning the most of their matches to top the East Kent table ahead of Tudor Park.
49:36Manager Paul Bidder said that when the club started last year,
49:39he couldn't imagine they would win such Premier Junior title so soon.
49:43And that's all your sporting headlines for now.
49:46Great report there from Alfie Rowe.
49:59But now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all our latest stories across Kent
50:02by logging on to our website kmtv.co.uk.
50:06There you'll find all the reports, including this one, about Fannington residents saying
50:12new plans for a new park and ride over their local green space will rip out the heart of the community if given the green light.
50:19Hundreds of Fannington residents have gathered to show why this local green space matters to them,
50:29as the site could be concreted over to create a large park and ride space,
50:36following a proposal by Canterbury City Council for their local plan.
50:42If plans for the park and ride are successful, then this entire green space behind me will be taken up by a 900 space park and ride.
50:54For many of the guests here, they say the sports field has helped to shape their lives and others around them.
51:03Because of my time spent on this grass, that influenced the rest of my life, if I'm honest.
51:09It influenced my travelling, you know, all the sports that I got into as a result.
51:14And I strongly believe that without me growing up in Fannington and coming to this wreck probably every day for many, many years until it got dark,
51:24I wouldn't have achieved half the things I've achieved in my life.
51:29I believe this plan is unworkable, unsustainable and unjust.
51:34It's a concrete white elephant that will never be green again.
51:40My objection to the letter, sorry, the proposal to the council ends as to even consider this plan shows an unbelievable lack of imagination and insight.
51:53That we've had of helping young people from this district and this area move forward and take the steps that they want to take and travel the roads they want to show.
52:03So we've had CJ talk about her England career.
52:06We've got Charlie at the other end of it starting his journey.
52:10This is why we need Fannington wreck. This is why we need the resource centre. The two are side by side.
52:16However, Canterbury City Council have assured that the local plan is only in the draft stage and will be for almost the next two weeks.
52:28They are inviting as many people as possible to take part in the consultation before any final decisions are made.
52:38But the residents of Fannington are fighting to make sure this green space stays around for generations.
52:47Henry Luck for Kame TV in Canterbury.
52:55We were just talking about the sunset and that piece is absolutely gorgeous.
52:58So now that we're well into autumn, let's take a look at the weather forecast, see if we're going to get any more sunsets.
53:03Well, some parts of Kent will have clear skies tonight, but most areas may see cloud accompanied by a chilly breeze.
53:15Into tomorrow morning then, we'll have 12 degrees down in Ashford, wind speeds of 6 miles per hour to the east and then 13 to the west.
53:23Into tomorrow afternoon then, we have 14 degrees and 13 degrees across the board.
53:29Then on Thursday, we've got 15 degrees, cloudy skies. Friday, cloudy skies again, but 14 degrees.
53:35And then on Saturday, looks like we've got clear skies, 14 degrees.
53:38So Saturday might be a day before.
53:45And now, an exhibition has opened in Maidstone Community Arts Hub to celebrate the would-be 100th birthday of Tony Hart.
53:52The artist, famous for his educational television programmes and creating the cartoon character Morph, was born and raised in Maidstone.
54:00The exhibition aims to celebrate his work alongside bringing attention to the new art centre that offers events and artist studio spaces.
54:09Our reporter, Megan Shaw, went down to see it.
54:15A clay to remember, both a hallmark of the late Tony Hart and hopefully Maidstone's latest exhibition for several weeks.
54:24Maidstone Community Arts Hub are celebrating the would-be 100th birthday of the late Kent-born artist, Tony Hart.
54:33What a fantastic opportunity to be introducing the centenary exhibition for Tony Hart.
54:39Here we are in the creative Maidstone Hub, our three-month arts and culture baby in the town.
54:47It's been hugely exciting to have this landmark exhibition.
54:50Best known for his television appearances, Tony Hart's oeuvre is on display in Maidstone, his hometown, as an homage to a century of artwork.
55:00Curated by daughter Carolyn Ross, the exhibition displays plasticine to watercolour to charcoal, allowing attendees to step right into his world.
55:10It might be more of that you recognise most, but really, Tony Hart's artistry spans genres and mediums.
55:17The people who do know Carl, who grew up with his paintings, I think, will be surprised at some of the stuff that we've got on show here.
55:26And will say, you know, well, I know he could do that, but I know he could do this.
55:29So that's always good. And the different mediums as well.
55:33We've got crayons of crayon, we've got watercolour, the extraordinary Pollock picture, which he referred to as action art.
55:45The Art Hub opened just three months ago and received government funding to establish a permanent creative centre in Maidstone,
55:53putting on events and offering studio spaces for artists.
55:57Tony Hart means a lot to the people at Maidstone. He was very special to us.
56:03One of our fair number of artistic figures associated with Maidstone, of one type or another, but perhaps the most famous.
56:13Well, that's it for this evening. You've been watching Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
56:17But if you want to know any more about the kind of things that Chloe was talking about earlier,
56:23you can watch our reports from last week that have been, I mean, we've done it well into the past few months.
56:28You can look at that on our website, kmtv.co.uk.
56:31And we've also got the documentary after the break, I'm being told in my ear.
56:34Don't forget about that. It looks to be absolutely amazing.
56:37So all that and more after the show, so you can't be bored.
56:41Well, thanks so much for watching and we'll see you later on. Bye bye.
56:53Bye bye.
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