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Catch up with all the latest news across the county with Meghan Shaw.
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00:28Hello and welcome to
00:29Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
00:32I'm Megan Shaw and here are your top stories on Friday the 13th of February.
00:37Soldier attacker sentenced.
00:40Man sentenced to life in a psychiatric hospital after attempting to murder a man at Chatham Barracks.
00:46Knife attacks do not just impact the victim, they impact the families and communities where attacks occur.
00:53Budget blues as Reform UK pass their first Kent County Council budget.
00:58The budget already has got lots of cuts to services.
01:01I'm very worried that if these risks materialise, it will be quite devastating.
01:07And School of Rock.
01:10Lay-born primary schoolers get rocking and rolling with group band lessons.
01:15I want to be a singer in the future and I think this has really helped me.
01:19Like, because I was very shy before I started this and I'm very confident.
01:32Our top story tonight.
01:34A man from Rochester who attempted to kill a soldier in Chatham has been sentenced to life in a psychiatric
01:40hospital today.
01:41Anthony Ehsan will be detained at Broadmoor, potentially for the rest of his life, after stabbing a soldier outside Brompton
01:48Barracks in July 2024.
01:50Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teton had been walking home when Ehsan launched the unprovoked attack and he spoke outside court today
01:58to thank the CPS and emergency responders.
02:00Chloe Brewster was at Maystone Crown Court for the sentencing and here she is.
02:06Anthony Ehsan was plagued by murderous fantasies when he attempted to kill soldier Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teton in the summer
02:14of 2024.
02:15In the street outside Brompton Barracks in Chatham, Ehsan approached Teton asking for help before launching into a stabbing attack.
02:23Teton had been in his uniform and Judge Mr. Justin Pickens said he believed the attack was motivated by Ehsan's
02:30psychosis and grudge against the army.
02:33Ehsan had made Google searches about the killing of Lee Rigby, a British army soldier who was murdered by Islamic
02:39terrorists in 2013, ahead of carrying out the attack.
02:42We welcome the sentence that has been handed to my attacker today, as it reflects the incredible bank of evidence
02:49gathered by the police and presented by our barrister of the premeditation and planning involved in the attack against myself,
02:56an officer wearing British military uniform.
03:01Knife attacks do not just impact the victim, they impact the families and communities where attacks occur.
03:08We feel the pain caused by every knife attack that we see on the news and our thoughts will always
03:14be with those affected.
03:17The judge said that while Ehsan's schizophrenia and paranoid delusional beliefs did play a part, he made sure to make
03:23clear that Ehsan's grudge against the army and decision to kill a soldier was deliberate.
03:28Ehsan is an extremely dangerous man whose violence and unprovoked attacks so nearly caused Mark's death.
03:36He was intent on killing Mark and did not care what effect it would have on his family, his friends
03:42and everyone who witnessed this deeply distressing incident.
03:47Ehsan has provided no explanation or motive for his actions, but the evidence shows that he was intent on killing
03:54a uniformed soldier.
03:56I would like to pay tribute to Mark for his bravery throughout, as well as his wife, Eileen, who rushed
04:03out of their house to push Ehsan away from a uniformed soldier under attack before she even realised it was
04:11her husband.
04:12The judge said it was miraculous Teton did not lose his life.
04:16He had been stabbed 12 times and had life-threatening injuries before he was rushed to hospital where he stayed
04:22for several weeks.
04:23Ehsan has never explained why he committed the attack, but now, in a hybrid hospital order, he will spend a
04:31minimum term of seven years for the attempted murder as part of a life sentence.
04:36Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Maidstone.
04:40Next, an eight-year-old dog called Oreo had to be put down after it was attacked by an English
04:45Bull Terrier let off its leash.
04:4873-year-old Viv Collard, seen on the right in this coming-up picture, was walking the Shih Tzu Poodle
04:54and her mini Dashound Ralph along Calander Road in Lordswood when the loose hound attacked them, sending Collard to the
05:00floor.
05:00Bus driver Dave Brown witnessed the event, jumping in to try and stop the much bigger dog from causing further
05:07injury.
05:07Despite the best efforts from the vets, Oreo had to be put to sleep the following day.
05:12Collard blames the owner of the English Bull Terrier, saying,
05:15I'm just glad it wasn't a child.
05:18Next, tributes are being paid to Mary Oakley, the Ashford-based hairdresser who died last month after her long battle
05:25with cancer.
05:26Mary inherited her mother's salon, Irene's, after working there since she was only 11 years old.
05:32Irene's even caught the attention of royalty, with Patricia Mountbatten, third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, being a customer.
05:40After running the salon for five years, Mary sold Irene's in the early 2000s and became a support assistant at
05:46the John Wallace Church of England Academy.
05:48Mary's daughter, Lucie Breasley, has paid tribute to her mother, describing her as one of those people that,
05:53no matter who you were, she gave you so much time and I think she's changed a lot of people's
05:58lives without realising it.
06:02Next, opposition councillors have warned of extreme risk to Kent County Council's financial future as Reform UK passed their first
06:09budget.
06:09The administration says they're delivering for residents with a lower than usual council tax,
06:14as Olly Leader, our local democracy reporter, has been finding out.
06:18There will be tough decisions ahead, but for the first time in many years, this council is moving in the
06:26right direction.
06:28A lower than usual council tax rise and writing off millions in debt.
06:33Those are the things that have marked a historic day at Kent County Council in the eyes of Reform UK,
06:40as they set out their first ever budget for the local authority.
06:46It is a plan that secures stability now, prepares us for the future,
06:50and ensures that we remain focused on what matters most, delivering for Kent.
06:56When you have a look through the budget appendices, it's clear that this isn't just a historic budget,
07:02but a potentially risky one that could cost the council more than £410 million if things go wrong.
07:11If you've got more than £400 million of risk, but only £80 million in reserve, that's a perilous situation to
07:19be in.
07:20The budget already has got lots of cuts to services.
07:22I'm very worried that if these risks materialise, it will be quite devastating,
07:27and KCC will have to make big cuts to services or even sell off lots of assets.
07:34I really am saying the prayers that we don't get another pandemic like Covid,
07:40or we don't get another problem that comes along that nobody can foresee.
07:44It's the things that people don't know about that those reserves are there to cushion us against.
07:50Any reaction, Lyndon? Anything, Brian?
07:55We weren't able to ask the leaders of Kent County Council how they were planning on managing those financial risks.
08:03They declined our request for interviews.
08:06What we do know is that despite the balanced budget being passed here today,
08:11the financial pressure facing the council isn't going away.
08:15There will be plenty more long meetings here at Sessions House as councillors try to balance the books.
08:24Olly Lieder in Maystone.
08:28And I'm joined by Olly now.
08:31So, Olly, you were there yesterday.
08:33So, what was it like on the ground?
08:35Oh, Meg, it was a long, long meeting.
08:37Around eight hours.
08:39It started at 9.30, finished around 6.
08:41It was stiflingly hot in that room with all those members crammed in.
08:47No wonder the temperature of the debate was so high at points.
08:53People were very passionate about what this budget could mean for ordinary people in Kent.
08:58Now, it is a balanced budget signed off by officers at the authority,
09:03and it was passed 48 votes to 26, with one abstention.
09:10But there are concerns about this being one of KCC's riskiest budgets,
09:15with, as I said in my report, around £410 million on the Associated Risk Register.
09:23Some of that very likely to happen, rated likely four out of five by council officers.
09:29And, of course, every budget day, there's lots of numbers flying around.
09:33Sometimes it's difficult to keep up or understand what this might mean.
09:36So, going forward, what could we see?
09:38Well, the biggest thing for people at home is that lower-than-usual council tax rise.
09:44Most councils increase council tax by the maximum amount, by 5%.
09:49Reform UK have increased it by 3.99%.
09:52They said they didn't want to increase it at all, but they had no choice,
09:56given the financial situation the council is under.
10:00But that might save you a tiny bit of money if you were to ban D property.
10:05Perhaps not as much as a full cut to counter-tax would be.
10:09But it is something they're giving away to voters.
10:13There are concerns, though, that this is being paid off by taking money from reserves.
10:18That's a concern of the opposition.
10:20You look at the council papers, there's £16 million taken away from reserves.
10:25KCC say that wasn't earmarked.
10:28It's not for purposes going ahead as originally intended,
10:33as well as £9 million in assets being sold off.
10:37That's a one-time thing.
10:38You can only sell a building once, after all.
10:40But they say that's crucial to keeping the council liquid this year.
10:46Thank you so much, Oli.
10:47As always, and now the weather.
10:55Tonight, we'll see rain in Maystone, Ashford and Royal Tunbridge Wells.
10:58Cloudy elsewhere, temperatures reaching 5 to 6 degrees tomorrow morning.
11:02Cloudy weather across the county, sun breaking through in Dartford, Royal Tunbridge Wells.
11:07Temperatures a maximum of 5.
11:08In the afternoon, clouds across the county, temperatures remaining unchanged.
11:13No rain for Valentine's Day.
11:15And your outlook, we're rainy on Sunday, 8 degrees.
11:18Overcast, cloud behind the sun, Monday, Tuesday.
11:219 is your high on Monday, dipping down to Tuesday with 8.
11:32And that's all we've got time for on this section of Kent Tonight this evening.
11:37But please do stick around as we've got plenty more to look forward to.
11:41Chloe Brewster has been rocking and rolling at a school in Laidstown
11:45that are teaching their children how to rock out.
11:48All that and more after the break.
11:50We'll catch you later.
11:52Don't move.
12:20We'll catch you later.
12:32We'll catch you later.
12:59We'll catch you later.
13:01Bye.
13:01Bye.
13:02Bye.
13:06Bye.
13:15Bye.
20:17about it. I'm not next to everyone in class and I don't get to speak to them a lot but
20:22when I'm here
20:23I get to like speak to them and sort of like connect them with them. When I go to secondary
20:29school I really want to play the drums because it's just nice because I love how you can be
20:33really loud and really quiet at some times. It's a good excuse to be as noisy as possible isn't it?
20:42The group are preparing for an upcoming concert in front of the whole school.
20:45It's designed to inspire pupils who may have never learnt on an instrument if it wasn't through
20:51this opportunity. I think it's amazing for confidence. Lots of the children that are part of the Rocksteady
20:57band are those that are less confident in the classroom, maybe find academic subjects more
21:01difficult and it means that they can perform and do things that they would never realise they could
21:08do and it makes them realise there's possibilities for the future and that they can do all sorts of
21:12things. The concerts make the whole school realise what fun music can be. In fact we love it so much
21:18that we also have a staff band now because the staff wanted to get involved too so it we love
21:23Rocksteady
21:24at our school it's really fantastic. Rocksteady is really unique in that we teach full bands
21:29up to nine kids at a time and we want to teach everyone everything. I hope in 10 years there'll
21:35be many
21:35of these kids. I actually went to see a student I taught when she was six. She's 15 now and
21:41her band
21:42won Battle of the Bands last week so it was a really good full circle moment to see. Mick Jagger,
21:47David Bowie and Pink Pampherest are just some of the musical stars that have come from here in Kent
21:51but what if in Laybourne are the next generation of these same stars? Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Laybourne.
22:02And now it might be Valentine's Day tomorrow but Madeway Culture Club is celebrating a holiday of its own.
22:08The club is hosting a Mardi Gras event where children can create masquerade masks,
22:14craft decorations and take part in a parade at Mid-Kent College. Mardi Gras, known as Shroove
22:20Trove Tuesday or Pancake Day is about enjoying a variety of rich foods before fasting from these
22:27treats as part of a Christian tradition but it's also part of great celebrations across the pond.
22:33The club's founder joined me earlier to speak further about this. So thank you so much Camelia for joining
22:39us so first of all in case anyone at home is a bit unfamiliar can you tell us about
22:43the event that Medway Culture Club are putting on tomorrow? Yes of course tomorrow it's Valentine's
22:50Day but not only that we're coming up for what we know as Pancake Day over here but what we
22:57have to
22:57explore are different cultures and the similarities that we have so we thought it'd be fun to put on a
23:04session called the Magic of Mardi Gras. Essentially it's a big carnival celebration and what they're
23:10celebrating is it is a Christian festival essentially. It has origins within Europe and French culture which
23:19was brought over to Southern America, New Orleans and the first Mardi Gras celebration over there dates
23:25back to about 1703. So we thought we'd have a bit of fun with it because Medway Culture Club has
23:32a
23:32carnival every August and this August it will be on the 8th and we wanted to give a bit of
23:37a back story
23:38as to how people across the world celebrate and give a little bit of insight into the origins of
23:45carnival in different locations, different regions and by different cultures. So we bring it to Medway
23:52and hopefully the young people have a better understanding of what carnival really means.
23:58And of course New Orleans is quite a long way away from Medway so why is it important that
24:04this tradition is celebrated here in Kent? So I think it's less that it's celebrated
24:11as Mardi Gras here in Kent more of raising of an understanding of different cultures so that's
24:18what we try to do at Medway Culture Club we give a service of edutainment we are a social enrichment
24:24service and a cultural education service and we love to make sure that people have a better
24:30understanding of themselves each other and the wider world and so in drawing those similarities
24:36between things that are familiar things you learn on the national curriculum and things you celebrate
24:41year in year out like Pancake Day we thought we'd put a spin on it and Mardi Gras is also
24:47known as it
24:48translates as Fat Tuesday and as I said the similarity there is that in the Christian tradition for
24:55um Shrove Tuesday we we eat up the eggs the flour and the milk in preparation for Lent so tomorrow's
25:04fully booked and you won't be able to see it other than if you're following us on our social media
25:08channel on Instagram it's at Medway Culture or you can join our Facebook group which is Medway Culture
25:15Club and um the other place that you will see us parading will be on the 8th of August at
25:22Medway Culture
25:23Club's sixth annual carnival so that will be um this year and we will be parading TBC on the location
25:33but last year we had an amazing time at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham absolutely definitely
25:39something we'll be keeping our eye on um over here at Medway but this isn't your your only event of
25:46the
25:46year you hold them you hold them monthly don't you so let's say we missed out on this one but
25:50what's
25:50the next one we need to have our eye on yes Medway Culture Club happens every month and we have
25:57a
25:57different celebration a different culture a different appreciation of diversity within each month so if
26:03you've missed out on booking this session the magic of Mardi Gras the next session I've got a book here
26:10which was by the um designed by a lady called Esther Johnson who's an award-winning designer who will be
26:17joining Medway Culture Club on the 14th of March and the session is now live on our website www.medwayculture
26:25.club
26:26to book and we'll be exploring some Medway landmarks some history but also through fun puzzles and
26:34activities and each child will receive one of these activity books all about Medway well I'm afraid that's
26:41all we've got time for this evening on kent tonight live here on kame tv have a lovely weekend and
26:48we'll
26:48catch you later good night
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