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Catch up with all the latest news in the County with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live
00:29here on KMTV. I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Friday the 31st of October.
00:36Dumping or donation? Kingshill Widow receives £300 fly tipping fine for donating her late
00:41husband's clothes. I've lived here for 18 years, I'm very law-abiding and I felt very, the fact that
00:49he said he was filming me straight away, I felt very harassed. More than a fundraiser, we hear from
00:54the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells radiologists making a statement after a devastating year for
00:59the team. Breast cancer is part of our everyday life and obviously it has touched quite a few of
01:04our team. And House of Horrors, Halloween is upon us and we're finding some fright in Favisham.
01:10I'm here outside the Gannon House to celebrate the spooky season.
01:13But first tonight, a grieving widow from Kingshill says she's been treated like a criminal. This is
01:29after being fined £300 for placing her late husband's clothes by a donation bin that was full. Sophie Scott
01:35took the clothes to the Salvation Army charity bin in the local Asda car park. They were full when she
01:40arrived and she was then approached by a warden after putting her bags down next to them, as
01:44Chloe Brewster can tell us more about.
01:46We're all for not littering, we're all for not fly tipping, but this is neither and they're
01:51just trying to make a quick buck I think.
01:54We've all looked to old clothes and put off finally finding a new home for them. There
01:58was Sophie Scott from Kingshill, it was the act of giving that gave her the most trouble after
02:03she returned home with a hefty fine.
02:05They were completely full and there was other bags all around here and over here and I left
02:10mine neatly just there. And as I drove away, a warden told me to slow down and said that
02:15he was going to find me for fly tipping and it would be £300. I was very distressed because
02:21I'm about to have the funeral for my husband who passed away very recently, so it's been
02:25an incredibly difficult time. And I was visibly very, very upset and told him that my mind was
02:32elsewhere, I hadn't seen any sign, I would never fly tip, I'm incredibly upset and he
02:37did absolutely nothing, he just said he was filming me and that I needed to take it up
02:41with the council. I simply can't afford a £300 fine, I have one income now and just awful,
02:49awful behaviour.
02:50The fine enforcer was part of a third party company called Kingdom, hired by Tombridge
02:54and Mauling Council. Following the ordeal, Sophie rang the council, who she says was sympathetic
02:59and offered to freeze the fine while they looked into the incident. But for Sophie, she
03:03says her experience is just the tip of the iceberg.
03:06I'm not the first complaint they've had so I think this is just the start of something.
03:11I just hope this really helps everybody else who's received fines and I really hope that
03:16it doesn't deter people from giving to charity. But yeah, I hope this can be made an example
03:23really for everybody else and the council finally wake up and see what's actually happening here.
03:29A spokesperson for third party enforcement company Kingdom said, while it is correct that,
03:34under current legislation, this may be classified as fly tipping, we encourage our officers to
03:40consider all available evidence at the time of assessment.
03:43A spokesperson for Tombridge and Mauling Borough Council said, we are currently in contact with
03:48the residents concerned and understand that this incident occurred at a difficult time
03:52for her. The fixed penalty notice was issued in line with our standard policy and the signs
03:57displayed at the recycling site. Both parties have encouraged Sophie and those in a similar
04:01situation to begin an appeals process.
04:04Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Kingshill.
04:07Next, six burglars who stole more than £300,000 worth of cars, quad bikes and valuables have been
04:14imprisoned for a combined total of more than 36 years. Paul Bristow, William Adams, Reece Smith,
04:21Jamie Knight, John Adams and Paul Cash carried out the month-long climb spree between March
04:26and April of last year. The burglaries took place in Ashford, Ramsgate, Hawkehurst, Raynham
04:31and Staplehurst and the investigating officer, DC Lottie Bishop, said she was pleased with the
04:36hefty sentences and hopes it serves as reassurance to the public.
04:41Now CCTV footage has been released by Kent Police investigating the cause of a fire on North Fleet
04:45High Street.
04:47Kent Police were called to the incident at the Portlands building at around 11.30pm last
04:51Sunday evening. Investigators say they are now in position to release footage of two
04:55men they believe may be able to assist them in their enquiries. Earlier this week it was
04:59confirmed that asbestos was found within the debris of the fire and residents of Factory
05:04Road were previously told to stay inside with their doors and windows closed and Lawn Primary
05:08School has been closed since.
05:112.2 billion pounds into the economy and hundreds of jobs created. That's what's been claimed
05:17will be the impact of the potential return of international train services to Ashford and
05:21Emsfleet. This comes 24 hours after the Office of Rail and Road granted operator Virgin trains
05:26access to Temple Mills Railway Storehouse. This effectively ending Eurostar's hold on the service.
05:33Virgin have yet to confirm whether Kent will be on their route map. Ashford MP Sojan Joseph
05:38said it could be transformative for the county.
05:41You may be seeing the recent report by Good Growth Foundation who identified a 2.2 billion
05:49could be generated over a five-year period if international trains return to southeast. So
05:55it is quite clear so many businesses moved in in the past to Ashford and surrounding areas
06:02because of that connectivity. So it is a huge impact economically for the region and nationally.
06:10But on its own, the Virgin is going to invest 700 million to get this service, for this service,
06:18and going to create so many new jobs as well. We don't want to politicise this. It's not about
06:26a political win. It's a win for Ashford and Kent. So I think more joined-up work. We need to continue
06:35with this more joined-up work.
06:38Next, Kent residents have been reacting to the news that the king has stripped his brother,
06:42Andrew, of his prince title and will leave his Windsor mansion. This follows weeks of intense
06:48scrutiny over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He will instead now be called
06:53Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Andrew gave up his other royal titles earlier this month,
06:58including the Duke of York, after facing further questions about his private life,
07:02including allegations he has always denied. Well, we took to Gillingham High Street
07:06to ask shoppers what they thought of the announcement.
07:09Royalty or titles shouldn't come into question with law, simply that. So if we're talking about,
07:16you know, we're all equal on the ground. So if he's guilty, that's it, play the crime.
07:26I think that anyone who has this degree of sort of evidence of wrongdoing and things that have
07:33happened shouldn't have the right to hide behind royal titles and periods and things like that.
07:38So I'm perfectly happy with him to be stripped of all the sort of titles.
07:40Yeah, I think that is the least that should happen to him. I think he should probably have been
07:49in prison, but that's a different, that's a different matter. Yes, I think that's the correct
07:55thing to do. I'm not really into the royal family anyway. I think he should be stripped of everything
08:00from what he's done. It shows that nobody's above the law, I think. So that should be a very nice thing.
08:05And I think it's also, it's like a form of example to other lawmakers or other,
08:12I'll call them, leaders that nobody's above the law.
08:16Now, after another tumultuous week for Reform UK at Kent County Council,
08:20one former member of the party has broken ranks to announce the start of a new group.
08:25Speaking on the Kent politics show earlier, Councillor Bill Barrett outlined plans for a new
08:29independent reformers party. Council leader Lyndon Kemkeran has said she doesn't fear any
08:34challenge to her authority. Well, to explain a little bit more about this on the eve of Reform's
08:39first six months in charge at Kent, I'm joined by our local democracy reporter, Oli Leda. So, Oli,
08:45break down a bit of the context for anyone who doesn't, isn't aware of what's been happening.
08:50Look, this isn't how I would celebrate my six month anniversary if I was in charge at Kent County
08:54Council. It's been tumultuous since May. The party came in, Reform UK, promised to make all these
09:01savings and cuts. The last few weeks they've been doled with accusations of infighting following a
09:07leak from The Guardian showing Lyndon Kemkeran, the leader of the council, clashing with her
09:14backbenchers. Since then, there's been suspensions and expulsions, including from Ashford councillor
09:21Bill Barrett, who now wants to set up his own party, the independent reformers, to give these
09:27expelled councillors a voice within the council. Here's what he had to say earlier today on The
09:33Kent Policy Show. We need to create a viable and safe place for the expelled members of Reform
09:40to feel they have companionship, the opportunity to speak their mind at KCC and, most importantly,
09:46to hold the executive to account. In simple terms, that is it. But there is also the aspect here that
09:53if we just sit on the back benches as independents, the constitution offers us no safe haven, no
09:59protection. We have no appointments on committees and we really will struggle to influence the outcome
10:06of future decisions at KCC. From my perspective, it was a no-brainer to do this.
10:14What's been the response from Reform UK? Well, we know that Lyndon and Bill have never
10:19always seen eye to eye. He used to be in the cabinet, was sacked pretty quickly into their term
10:25in power. And I spoke to Lyndon and Karen about this yesterday. In fact, what she makes of the new
10:33party. Here was her response. The independent reformers being led by Bill Barrett. Any thoughts
10:41for this new party? Any worries that some of your back benches may want to jump ship? No, not really.
10:46Why is that? Because we are united and we are strong and we are determined to carry on
10:53the good work that we are doing for the people of Kent.
10:58Not much from Lyndon and Karen. They're quite short answers. Quite frankly, it appears that
11:03you don't seem that worried about this new group that threatens to become a force within Kent County
11:10Council, according to Bill Barrett. This could become a new home for what he's referring to as the
11:15Maidstone 6, those expelled councillors that we've seen being booted out of the party essentially over
11:21the last week. Now Reform UK says that they brought the party into disrepute. They claim they've done
11:27nothing wrong. The devil will be in the detail in the coming weeks. Will we see any of the evidence?
11:33That's time. We'll probably tell on that one.
11:35Absolutely. Thank you so much for bringing us this news, Ollie.
11:40Now it is time for a quick break. We'll be back in just a few minutes with more news from around the
11:46county. See you in just a sec.
12:16.
15:16Now, many of us across Kent will know someone who's been affected by cancer, but for the
15:20breast radiology team at the Maystone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, it has struck more than most.
15:26After losing one of their mammographers to breast cancer last year, three more members
15:30of the team have since been diagnosed with the disease.
15:34Samantha Barber, the assistant general manager for breast radiology, shaved her head today
15:38in solidarity with those battling cancer.
15:41Sam and her colleague Sally joined us in the studio earlier.
15:43So, Samantha, it must be a difficult atmosphere at the moment for yourself and your colleagues
15:51like Sally.
15:52What drove you to take this step today?
15:54Well, it was just after Christmas.
15:57We'd gone into work and Sally pulled me into a room and then said she'd found something
16:03on her chest.
16:05So, it was from there quite scary, to be fair.
16:09And it was all quite quick, wasn't it?
16:12I had your surgery.
16:14Yeah.
16:14And then chemo wasn't supposed to be on the cards.
16:16And then it was coming part of the discussion.
16:20And I said, if you have chemo and lose your hair, that's what she was worried about the most.
16:24I said, I'll shave mine.
16:24And then chemo came along.
16:27Yeah.
16:27So, I did radiotherapy.
16:28Yeah.
16:29And here we are.
16:30You stuck to your word.
16:31Yeah, stuck to my word.
16:33But probably a couple of weeks after you were on your journey through, Dad had a stroke.
16:40So, obviously, that solidified it.
16:41I needed to do something as well for him, try and raise some money and some awareness.
16:46But, obviously, we work with him breast.
16:49So, breast cancer is part of our everyday life.
16:51And, obviously, it has touched quite a few of our team in the past few years.
16:54So, I just wanted to try and bring a bit more attention to it and do something radical.
17:01Absolutely.
17:01Which we've done this morning.
17:02Yeah.
17:02And it was, yes, it was only just today.
17:04And, Sally, tell me a bit about what your reaction was when you first heard from Sam that she'd be doing this for you.
17:11Well, I was blown away.
17:13I was actually quite emotional when she told me she was planning on shaving her head when she obviously found out I was going to start chemo and lose my hair.
17:24I was absolutely really, really proud of her to raise.
17:31I mean, she's already raised nearly £4,000, which is amazing.
17:36She's done so well.
17:37She's had so much support.
17:38And it's, I mean, we're all saying it's a very brave thing for Sam to do.
17:45And Sam's saying she's not brave.
17:47It's only hair.
17:48But I know what it's like to lose hair.
17:51And it is a big deal.
17:53But you didn't have a choice.
17:54I didn't have a choice.
17:55But you've raised so much money.
17:59It's an amazing achievement.
18:02Absolutely.
18:02And tell us, what was the atmosphere like today when you were actually having your hair shaved?
18:07Does it all feel a bit surreal or sort of like there's been a lot of build-up to the moment and then actually happened?
18:11Or talk us through it.
18:12Well, I've obviously decided to donate my hair to Little Princess Trust.
18:16So obviously when you have it cut, you can't have any product on it.
18:20And obviously I've got naturally curly hair.
18:23So having to wash and dry it this morning with no serums and oils made it like a fluff ball.
18:28Yeah.
18:29So I was quite happy to get rid of it, to be fair.
18:31Everyone else around me, the team, were a bit tearful.
18:36They were all like, I can't believe you're doing this.
18:38Like, we feel stressed for you.
18:40But I was quite chilled, wasn't I?
18:41They were all so supportive.
18:43Took it in my stride.
18:44Quite a big crowd, didn't we?
18:45Yeah.
18:45That's good.
18:46Lots of members of the team.
18:47Yes.
18:47Was that all from the breast radiology department or is it members from?
18:51Yeah.
18:52So it must be quite a tight-knit community in there.
18:55Yeah.
18:55Very much so.
18:55Very good team.
18:57And my surgeon cut one of your locks off to the breast cancer nurse.
19:02Some of the radiographers, some of the radiology assistants.
19:05That's amazing.
19:06I suppose it speaks to that togetherness and the unity in the team there.
19:09And Sally, what was it like for you in that moment?
19:13Um, quite emotional.
19:16Um, also a little comical to watch.
19:25Yeah, they enjoyed it.
19:26Amazing.
19:27We've been talking about it for quite a while now.
19:30So for actually, for us to get to that moment today, it was great.
19:35And it went so well.
19:36Had a good reaction.
19:40And someone, some lucky little girl or boy will have a nice wig now.
19:43That's true.
19:44So all for a good cause.
19:46And we haven't got very long left, but tell us, uh, Sally, what would you say to anyone
19:51who maybe might be worried to go to the doctors if they suspect something or who might be struggling
19:56with cancer at the moment?
19:58What would you say to them?
19:59Um, if they're worried, go to the GP straight away.
20:03Um, we're a very friendly unit.
20:06Um, you know, if they're in our area, we always put patient first.
20:10We've got a fantastic team, so they must go to the GP.
20:16To sport now, and Chatham Town are facing an FA Cup first round challenge for the first time
20:21in almost a century this Saturday.
20:2497 years ago, the Chats faced Norwich City at this stage of the competition.
20:28Tomorrow, Kevin Haake's side will play Buxton Town, while Gillingham head to Newport County
20:32and Ebbsfleet face off against Grimsby.
20:34We heard from a very excited Kevin Haake earlier today.
20:37It's the greatest cup competition, um, in the world, and to be a part of it is, is something
20:44you want to be part of as a player, as a manager, as a supporter.
20:48There's a certain magic about it, and, um, we've had a few games which, um, have been a
20:52bit closer, you know, but to get us to this point, um, it's just, um, it's unbelievable.
20:57I think we're going to be taking over 500 people to, to Buxton, which is unheard of, and
21:01I think there's a lot of EFL clubs who'd like to take that to away games.
21:04I appreciate it's the magic of the FA Cup that's taken them there, but look,
21:07hopefully we won't have to wait another 97 years to get there.
21:11Kent Cricket has confirmed that batting all-rounder Jack Leaning will leave the side after six
21:16years with the county.
21:18The 32-year-old has joined Sussex with immediate effect on a three-year deal, following a mutual
21:23agreement to release him from his Kent contract one year early.
21:26He spends his time in Canterbury with 5,842 runs in 176 all-format appearances for Kent,
21:33including helping the team to Vitality Blast victory in 2021.
21:37Kent's director of cricket, Simon Cook, thanked Leaning for his service and said his departure
21:41will now provide new opportunities to develop the side to younger members.
21:44And one of those younger members is 19-year-old Ollie Curtis, who signed his first professional
21:50deal with the county, lasting two years.
21:53The all-rounder made his professional bow in this year's 2025 One Day Cup against Somerset.
21:59So far, he's scored 625 runs in just 12 appearances, impressing with two centuries.
22:04Director of cricket, Simon Cook, says after Curtis' season-ending injury in 2024, he's shown
22:10great resilience, dominating at both club and age group level cricket on his return.
22:16And now it's time to take a look at the weather.
22:24And this evening we'll see some cloudy skies with temperatures reaching highs of 15 degrees
22:28across the county, lows there of 14.
22:30Then into tomorrow morning, temperatures dropping slightly, lows of 13 over Ashford and some light
22:34rain.
22:35And into the afternoon now, Margate and Canterbury will see some sun peeking out through the
22:39clouds, with highs of 14 degrees there, sorry, lows of 13 across the board.
22:44And here is your outlook for the coming days.
22:46Expect some light rain on Sunday, with highs reaching 12 degrees.
22:50Monday, things slightly warmer, highs of 16, and then the clouds continue into the next
22:54day, where temperatures drop.
23:00And finally, ghosts, ghouls and glowing pumpkins are lighting up Kent, as everyone prepares to
23:06go all out for Halloween.
23:07With thousands heading out to trick or treat, and the county home to the most haunted village
23:12in the UK, Kent knows how to ring in spooky season, as Kristen Hawthorne is finding out
23:18right now in Fabersham.
23:20Well, Kristen, it looks amazing.
23:22Tell us a bit about the atmosphere down there at Gannon House.
23:25Yeah, so, I mean, I don't know if you can tell, but there are so many people around me, and
23:31as I've been stood here for the past 20 minutes or so, more and more people have been coming
23:35down.
23:35This house is award-winning.
23:37For the past, I think it's a couple of years now, they have won awards for the amount
23:40of decorations that they've put outside.
23:42And last year, I believe that they had over 700 people just on Halloween night, just on
23:47Halloween night, sorry.
23:48And, I mean, stood here today, I feel like we've already surpassed that number.
23:51The amount of effort that's went into this decoration is absolutely remarkable, and the
23:57person who's done all that effort is actually here with me now.
23:59This is Joe.
24:00Hi, how are you?
24:00So, I mean, tell me a bit about it.
24:03How long did this all take to set up?
24:04Oh, so we start on the 1st of October, building it all, but, I mean, I start planning in January.
24:10I mean, I've already got next year's theme, I think, in my head now, so I'll be looking
24:14pretty much tomorrow for new things.
24:17Yeah, and, I mean, where do you get it all from as well?
24:20So, a lot of it comes from America, because America's massive on Halloween, so we ship
24:24a lot of it over, and I'm working out the cost, and I'll look at it and I'll go, I like
24:29that one, and I'll develop my theme off what I can get.
24:33And, so you get a lot of inspiration from America then?
24:36Yeah, definitely, a lot of inspiration comes from America, because that's where it all
24:39is, there's not much like it over here.
24:42And how many people are you expecting tonight?
24:44You told me that last year you had 400 bags for trick-or-treaters, this year how many
24:48have you got?
24:48Last year we did 400 bags, thinking it would be enough.
24:52We've done 800 this year, because last year they all went in two hours, so we're sweeping
24:57the shelves, getting more sweets.
24:59But we're hoping 800's going to be enough, but we have got an overflow if need be.
25:03Yeah, and I mean, you told me that you'd go to college to do all this sort of thing,
25:08so tell me why you're so passionate and how long have you been doing this for?
25:11Yeah, so Halloween, my mum started it a little while ago when we was kids, and then a couple
25:16of years ago, I sort of took it over, and it just got bigger and bigger, and that's where
25:22it is at the minute.
25:23It's just gotten massive.
25:24I just buy it all now, ship it over, and put it up, and I love it.
25:28Brilliant.
25:29And if you can see behind us, you've got this massive stave huff.
25:32How big is that, and where did you, I mean, you got it from America, didn't you?
25:35We got it from America, so he's 25 feet tall.
25:39He's a quarter of the size of the movie one.
25:41We nearly did get the 50 foot, but we thought that would be a little too big.
25:46So we've settled with the small 25 foot one.
25:49And we're scared of it flying away as well.
25:50We're scared of it flying away with the winds, but hopefully the weather will stay all right
25:54for the rest of the evening.
25:55Yeah.
25:56So this theme is Ghostbusters this year.
25:58Last year it was Pirates.
25:59Yeah.
26:00How do you decide the themes?
26:01Is it random?
26:02It's random.
26:02It's just what I'm thinking at the time, to be honest.
26:05There's only so many things you can do, so I'll let you in on a little exclusive.
26:09I'm thinking of circus theme next year.
26:11Oh, that'll be good.
26:12So hopefully I need to look into it all, but that is my plan for next year.
26:16And then people might be wondering as well why you've got this tablet with you.
26:19Tell me a bit about that.
26:20Yeah, so we've got the iPad here.
26:22And the iPad, most of the lighting and the smoke is all linked up to the iPad,
26:26because that's what I do in college.
26:28It's probably not going to connect now because there's so many people out here
26:31and I'm not close enough.
26:32But when I click buttons on here, the lights will trigger and smoke will go off.
26:37Excellent.
26:37It's just great.
26:38Excellent.
26:38Well, if you're out and about tonight, you will be able to come down, do some trick-or-treating.
26:43There should be lots of bags left, but the more I stood here, the more scared I get,
26:46so it's definitely worth coming down.
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