- 10 hours ago
Catch up with all the latest news across the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:35Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
00:38I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are your top stories on Thursday the 19th of February.
00:44Deliberations done.
00:46Drunk driver who killed a four-year-old boy in a high-speed collision has been found not guilty of
00:51murder.
00:52The jury agreed this was a deliberate act and the passenger, Patrick, intentionally encouraged his son to drive this way.
01:00Both men must now face the consequences of their actions.
01:03Safer Seas, Folkestone Beach to receive more frequent water quality checks.
01:07I think there's still a gap between policy and real world experience because I think people are still having to
01:15cancel their swims.
01:17And Yards for Yarn, an Ashford resident's mission of breaking the record for the longest scarf knitted whilst running a
01:24marathon.
01:25Yeah, I'm knitting the longest scarf while running a marathon.
01:39Well, first tonight, a driver who admitted the manslaughter of a four-year-old boy after ramming a vehicle off
01:45the road has been found not guilty of murder.
01:48Owen Mahon and his father, Patrick, had been drinking heavily at the pub for six hours before getting in the
01:54car and colliding with the vehicle on New Barn Road in South Fleet in June last year.
02:00After fleeing, both were arrested within days and will now be sentenced at a later date.
02:05Here are the full details.
02:07A drunk driver who deliberately rammed a vehicle off the road at 60 miles an hour, killing four-year-old
02:14Peter Maughan, has been found not guilty of murder.
02:17Owen and Patrick Maughan have today been convicted of causing the death of four-year-old Peter Maughan and seriously
02:23injuring his father, Lovell.
02:24For reasons we may never know, Owen deliberately rammed their vehicle off the road before he and Patrick fled the
02:31scene, showing no regard for the devastation they had left behind.
02:35The jury agreed this was a deliberate act and the passenger, Patrick, intentionally encouraged his son to drive this way.
02:42Both men must now face the consequences of their actions.
02:45Owen Mahon had already accepted responsibility of the child's manslaughter, following the high-speed collision on New Barn Road in
02:53South Fleet on 1st June last year.
02:55But after more than 17 hours of deliberation, a jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared the 27-year-old of
03:03murder, accepting that he did not intend to cause serious harm.
03:07His father, 54-year-old Patrick Maughan, who was in the passenger seat at the time of the crash, was
03:12also cleared of murder.
03:13However, he was found guilty of Peter's manslaughter and of causing grievous bodily harm to the boy's father.
03:20The court heard father and son had been drinking heavily for hours, before pursuing the family's Ford Ranger along the
03:27A2.
03:28Persecutors said the pair were in a fury before Owen Maughan used his vehicle as a weapon, ramming the truck
03:34and causing it to roll several times.
03:36Four-year-old Peter, who had been sitting in the rear, was thrown from the vehicle and died from what
03:42were described as severe and unsurvivable injuries.
03:46His father, Lovell Mahon, was also ejected from the vehicle and suffered life-changing injuries, leaving him unlikely to ever
03:54walk again.
03:54The jury heard that in the moments before the collision, a phone call captured Owen Maughan, saying,
04:00I'm going to ram them.
04:01But in evidence, he told jurors he only intended to nudge the vehicle and denied meaning to cause catastrophic harm.
04:09After the crash, the pair drove away from the scene, before abandoning their damaged vehicle several miles away.
04:16Both were arrested within days.
04:18Judge Oliver Saxby, KC, told the defendants they now face lengthy prison sentences.
04:24They will be sentenced at a later date.
04:27Kristen Hawthorne, KMTV.
04:30Next, Sangate Beach in Folkestone is set to become one of the UK's newest designated bathing spots.
04:37The move means it will receive regular water quality testing to deem it safe for swimmers.
04:42It comes alongside the growing issue of water pollution, which has left several beaches around Kent regularly experiencing toxic levels
04:50of sewage.
04:52Chloe Brewster headed down to Sangate to find out more about the water pollution and whether this move will bring
04:57a greater sense of security to bathers there.
05:01Last year, raw sewage was dumped into UK waterways almost a million times.
05:06Surfers Against Sewage reported that in 2024, they received 1,853 sickness reports because of infected water, reflecting nearly half
05:16a million pounds in lost productivity due to sick days taken.
05:20But pollution has an impact not only on the economy, but for nature and people's well-being.
05:26Sangate Beach here in Folkestone is set to become one of the UK's newest bathing spots.
05:31Should beaches really be ruled in as safe rather than being ruled out as unsafe?
05:35I've grown up in Sangate and I've always been in the sea, loved the water.
05:40I just started swimming every single day since 2019.
05:44And then in 2021, I started a swim coaching business.
05:48I suffered a lot with anxiety years ago and since going in here every day, I've become much more calmer.
05:54The label of designated bathing spot essentially means the waterway will receive regular quality testing throughout the bathing season, which
06:01is May through to September.
06:03But Sangate Beach is the only beach in Kent set to become a new designated bathing spot.
06:08You know, that huge amount of awareness and publicity has brought this to fruition.
06:14And I think that's huge.
06:16But I think there's still a gap between policy and real world experience because I think people are still having
06:25to cancel their swims and change their routines.
06:27And it has a massive impact on people's health and well-being.
06:30I've seen a real growth in open water swimming.
06:33You know, it wasn't a thing that people did really before the pandemic and it has grown so much.
06:39But I've seen the numbers decreasing in the last couple of years since the awareness has been brought up, which
06:44has been wonderful.
06:45But it's certainly put people off going in the water.
06:48The Environment Agency say the consultation comes alongside of reform of the water system, with the Water Special Measures Act
06:55introducing tougher enforcement powers.
06:57That includes criminal liability for water bosses who cover up illegal sewage spills and the power to block bonuses.
07:04Last year, £4 million of bonuses were prevented from reaching bosses' pockets.
07:09More needs to be done to clean up our waterways.
07:12A total transformation of the system, of the water system, needs to be implemented.
07:17Currently, the government and their recent white paper isn't doing enough to do that, especially in relation to public health.
07:23We need a regulator that enforces the law.
07:26Swimming in our rivers, lakes or beaches is so proven to be good for our physical and mental health.
07:32It's also in terms of those seaside towns.
07:36It's great for the local economy.
07:37So having clean water benefits people, business and just, you know, nature.
07:44I think the knock-on effects of more bathing waters, there'll be co-benefits to cleaning up our waterways to
07:50improve the environment and nature as well.
07:53Back on the beach, Kirsty kindly offered to coach me to become a sea swimmer.
07:58But I think it's a little bit too chilly for me to get my costume on just yet.
08:02Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Sandgate.
08:05No, no, no, no. Not for me.
08:09Great report there from Chloe.
08:10But to add to that, we now have Tony Vaughan, the MP for Folkestone and Hyde, to chat to us
08:15a bit more about those plans.
08:17So, Tony, thank you so much for joining us this evening.
08:20What does it mean to you and your constituents to have a Sandgate on the consultation to be a designated
08:27bathing spot?
08:30Well, I think it's a really brilliant initiative and it was all spearheaded by Sandgate Parish Council, who did the
08:35hard work to gauge public support for this, to collect public support and to actually get the application in, which
08:41I was very happily supported and have been pushing for behind the scenes.
08:46But I think it would be absolutely brilliant to have this particular area designated as a bathing water because it's
08:53really where all the swimming happens in the summer.
08:55I mean, there's a bit that happens up and down, but there's a designated bathing water some way up the
09:00road that people don't really swim in very much.
09:02And so it makes sense to have this area as a bathing water because the big reason why you want
09:07that is so that the Environment Agency can conduct their regular official testing to improve the database that we've got.
09:15Because Sandgate Parish Council have been commissioning their own testing, which is absolutely brilliant.
09:20But we need the Environment Agency to be doing the official testing there so we've got a completely full picture
09:27or fuller's picture as we possibly can about whether it's safe to swim or not.
09:30And how important is this? I mean, how can it help the people of Folkestone and in the surrounding area
09:36and also for tourism as well?
09:40Well, having another, there's six officially designated bathing waters in Folkestone and Hithe.
09:46Unfortunately, two of them have no swim advisories. They're in the Romney Marsh area.
09:53But to have another one in the kind of Folkestone and Sandgate Hithe area that is designated bathing water and
10:01I predict will have a good rating because, I mean, in general terms, the water is good there.
10:06I mean, I used to live on that stretch for many, many years and used to swim in it very,
10:11very regularly.
10:11And to have a good quality water, you know, beach on another one in Folkestone and Hithe will perhaps offset
10:20a little bit some of the negative effects of the two that are on Romney Marsh where there's a negative
10:26designation.
10:26But I think it's so important to just lift, you know, confirm to the local community and to tourism that
10:32this is an absolutely brilliant area to come.
10:36Spend your money, get in the sea, row, paddleboard, swim.
10:40There's so much going on in Sandgate and I just think it'll be a great, another reason for you to
10:46come and visit.
10:47Yeah, ready for the summer as well.
10:50Nancy, it's great that Sandgate is going to be having these checks, but other people on the coast may be
10:55wondering why their local beaches aren't getting the same checks.
10:58Now, I know you're from Folkestone and Hithe, but what are the government doing, the Labour government doing to improve
11:02water quality for everybody in Kent and across the UK?
11:05Yeah.
11:07Yeah, and it's really, as I said, really important for Romney Marsh beaches as well, which do have negative, no
11:14swim advisories in place at the moment.
11:15I mean, the big thing that has come in with this Labour government is the Water Special Measures Act, which
11:21essentially says to water bosses, if you're going to continue persistently to pollute the waters with sewage, then you personally
11:28will be at risk of criminal liability.
11:31And I think it was not having that very clear individual risk of prosecution for water bosses before that really
11:41meant there was no real incentive to get their act together.
11:45I mean, Southern Water was fined about £91 million within, I think, about five years ago for water, for sewage
11:53spills right across the country, particularly in Kent.
11:56And I think this particular act is really, really important to get the incentive structure right.
12:03Thank you. Time for a break.
16:16And we are going to bid alongside Bristol, Portsmouth, Southampton, Swindon, Reading, Blackpool, Wrexham, all kinds of places.
16:24We are bidding to be the city of culture for 2029.
16:29Which would be very exciting indeed.
16:31And how would it benefit the area and the community?
17:03And when we started talking to people about why we should do this?
17:06People were so excited across the island.
17:08Because we know we've got an enormous amount of culture.
17:12We've got a really important and precious place in the story of this country.
17:17Because the Romans arrived here.
17:21The Vikings arrived here.
17:22St. Augustine founded Christianity in England here.
17:26It's a really special and precious place.
17:29It's not just about the past, though.
17:31It's about the future.
17:32It's about the fact that we've got an enormous amount of creative energy across the community in Thanet.
17:39And we want to be able to bring that together.
17:40We're not achieving as much as we should do.
17:43We're less than the sum of our parts.
17:45So what we want to do is to connect our creative energies and our creative communities together
17:50to demonstrate how much culture we have across Thanet.
17:56Because our culture is different from those big cities.
17:59Our is a culture of nature and health and well-being.
18:03It's a culture of leisure.
18:06And when we've been talking about defining it,
18:08because sometimes people think that culture is a bit like, it's not for me.
18:12You think about it.
18:13Culture is the things that we do when we're not at work.
18:15So that includes sport.
18:17It includes all kinds of recreation.
18:19And that means that we can bring our communities together
18:22and make sure that we are more than the sum of our parts.
18:26And so if Thanet was crowned the City of Culture,
18:29you would receive some funding.
18:31What would you be able, or what would that go towards, really?
18:35Well, the City of Culture, or as we will be the Isle of Culture,
18:40will receive £10 million if we're lucky enough to win.
18:44And that can be invested in parts of the community that currently we don't have
18:49in order to be able to strengthen our cultural offer.
18:52So what I want to make clear is that that £10 million
18:56may well be spent on a cultural programme,
18:58but we've already got enormous amounts of cultural activity.
19:01We've got 27 festivals already happening in Thanet.
19:05So it will be more about bringing them together
19:07than it will be about separating them.
19:09So with all of this in mind,
19:11do you think that the Isle of Thanet has often been
19:14underestimated by the rest of the UK, maybe?
19:18A lot of people don't.
19:19When I say that I represent East Thanet,
19:20they don't even know what I'm talking about.
19:22But the three towns, and if you expand it out to the whole of Thanet,
19:26people get really excited about our story.
19:29And that's what we need to start to do.
19:31And even if we don't win that £10 million
19:33and the title of Isle of Culture,
19:35even going through the process will mean that
19:38we're bringing our communities together,
19:40celebrating our past and our heritage,
19:43not just the Vikings, the Romans and St Augustine,
19:45but Van Gogh, Turner, Dickens,
19:48and our agricultural past.
19:50There is so much going on.
19:52The fact that we are basically the first seaside resort
19:55in Margate for working class people
19:57coming out of London for the weekend.
19:59Those things are really special and precious.
20:02And we have something to show the whole country
20:04about what culture can be
20:07even if you don't live in a big city.
20:10Very exciting.
20:11But now, don't forget, you can keep up to date
20:12with all our latest stories across Kemp
20:14by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
20:18There you'll find all our reports, including this one,
20:21about an English ash tree in Hoo
20:22that has been cut down
20:24after previously being exempt from being felled.
20:28It's a clear view to ongoing developments in Hoo
20:31which only last week were obscured
20:33by a large English ash tree.
20:35Now, all that remains is sawdust
20:37and a reminder of the tree's middle age.
20:40And you can see the remnants of the tree behind me,
20:43an ash tree estimated to be at least 50 years old.
20:46Originally, the plan included felling the tree,
20:49though Michael successfully lobbied to have the plan
20:52explicitly say that it wouldn't be chopped down.
20:55However, why has the tree been felled?
20:58It seems to have left residents distressed and stopped.
21:01I couldn't believe it the other day
21:04when I heard the noise of the chainsaws
21:06and I looked out the window
21:07and they were demolishing the tree.
21:10And I literally, I was in tears watching it happen.
21:14And it's heartbreaking.
21:15When I first came down here 10 years ago,
21:18it was a lovely little village.
21:20Then it's become a town
21:21and now it's going into a city.
21:23And it's frightening.
21:24I came up and questioned them about, you know,
21:27who'd given the order to do this.
21:29And they said, well, it's on the plan.
21:31Now the plan that was approved
21:33was the one that was agreed that the tree would stay.
21:36And so a second plan has been developed,
21:39which has got the tree circled.
21:41We're all up in arms about this tree being cut down
21:43because it was promised that it wouldn't be destroyed
21:46and just the countryside just being decimated.
21:50The planning application for development stated
21:53that the existing mature tree on Stoke Road will be spared.
21:57But when we contacted Jones Homes for comment,
21:59they explained that the tree had ash dieback
22:02and therefore needed to be cut down
22:04to limit the spread of disease.
22:06They claimed that this was approved by Medway Council
22:08and 116 new trees are part of Abbots Grange Development
22:12in recompense.
22:14But correspondence between independent group Councillor Michael Pearce
22:18and Medway Council planning officers cited difficulty
22:22with drainage requirements and internal roads
22:25as the reason the tree couldn't be retained.
22:27No mention of a disease.
22:29I think it's an absolute disgrace.
22:31ICE booked Michael at the site
22:32and he joined me later when different explanations came to light.
22:36Well, this is a week after the tree was felled.
22:39And like you say, we've got two stories which are not adding up.
22:44We've got the council saying the tree was felled
22:47because of the road layout and drainage
22:49and Jones Homes saying that it had to be felled
22:52because it was a safety concern and the tree was diseased.
22:55Although when I was there on site, it didn't look diseased to me.
22:58So, yeah, both stories not adding up.
23:01All I do know is that residents are absolutely furious
23:03that this tree has been felled.
23:05When I asked Medway Council for comments,
23:08they confirmed the tree was cut down
23:09due to drainage requirements and internal roads.
23:13And while the tree may be gone forever,
23:15all Michael and his residents can do
23:17is route for more trees being planted in the future.
23:21Megan Shaw for CAME TV in who?
23:25Now, time to take a look at all the sports news
23:28from across the county with Leila Sparrow.
23:38First up, Ashford United smashes in the goals,
23:42scoring a whopping 7-0 against East Grinstead.
23:45The nuts and bolts showed no mercy for the Wasps
23:47as manager Craig Stone admits that he didn't feel sorry
23:50for the brutal win.
23:51To top things off, new signing Jed Brown scored his debut goal
23:55for the team.
23:56Stone said Brown looked lively and bright on the left-hand side.
23:59He's going to add to us for sure.
24:02Ashford now sits 12th in the league
24:03after their biggest win of the season.
24:05Their next game is with the relegation-threatened
24:08Ear of Town on Saturday at 3pm.
24:10Can they keep this up?
24:12Swerving over to motorsports,
24:14Dover's very own Jake Dixon is set to begin
24:16an exciting new chapter in his racing career this weekend.
24:20Dixon will be debuting in the Superbike World Championship
24:24with Honda in Australia.
24:26After 7 successful years and even being branded
24:29as one of their best riders,
24:31Dixon has swapped Elfmark VDS Racing
24:33for the full works experience with Honda Down Under.
24:36It will be a fresh start in a new championship
24:39with Dixon saying that he truly believes
24:422026 will be a year of learning and growth
24:44and I know the team will help me develop step-by-step.
24:47With experienced names around him,
24:50including six-time world champion Jonathan Rea,
24:53in a test role,
24:54the 30-year-old has a strong backing
24:56as he takes on his latest challenge.
24:58For Dixon, it's full throttle into the future.
25:01Next up is Chatham Town Women
25:02as they are entering the fifth round of the FA Cup
25:05for the very first time.
25:07The team's boss, Keith Boanis, is proudly saying,
25:10I don't think the wider football world in the UK
25:12has quite grasped what we have done.
25:14The team is full of real people,
25:16according to Boanis,
25:18and it's been real difficult for them,
25:19but it makes the achievement that much better.
25:22The underdogs will hopefully come out celebrating
25:24after playing Birmingham City this Saturday,
25:27who are flying high in their own division.
25:29And finally,
25:31Dillingham's Invicta Dynamo's head coach,
25:33Carl Lennon, has praised Mads Thune
25:35for scoring a hat-trick in the NIHL South Division 1 win
25:39against Streatham Red Hawks.
25:42Following two great games,
25:43the praised player hit a loss last Saturday
25:46with an 8-2 loss against Chelmsford Chieftains,
25:49but they were missing some of their best players.
25:51The team are fourth in the league,
25:53but are hoping for a redemption
25:54when they play against Solent Devils this Saturday.
26:05And now, let's take a look at the weather for the coming days.
26:14Tonight, we'll see clouds across the county
26:16with temperatures staying between 5 and 6 degrees.
26:18Wind speeds of 9 miles per hour in the west
26:20and 10 in the east.
26:215 miles...
26:24What's that?
26:255 degrees across the board,
26:264 there and then 6 in Dover.
26:28Into the afternoon, then 10 across the board,
26:31but 9 there up in Margate.
26:3317 and 20 miles per hour of wind speeds.
26:35Then we've got cloudy skies on Saturday,
26:38clouds with rain on Sunday,
26:39but partly cloudy skies on Monday.
26:4114 and 13 degrees across.
26:49Bit of a tongue twister sometimes, that weather,
26:51but that's all that we have time for
26:53in the second part of the show,
26:54but we have much more coming up,
26:56so don't go anywhere,
26:58and we'll see you in a few minutes.
26:59Bye-bye.
27:07Bye-bye.
27:08Bye-bye.
27:20Bye-bye.
27:42Bye-bye.
28:15Bye-bye.
28:46Bye-bye.
29:15Bye-bye.
29:45Bye-bye.
30:06Bye-bye.
30:07Bye-bye.
30:07Bye-bye.
30:13Bye-bye.
30:14Bye-bye.
30:14Bye-bye.
30:15Bye-bye.
30:34Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
30:38I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are your top stories on Thursday the 19th of February.
30:44Deliberations done, drunk driver who killed a four-year-old boy in a high-speed collision
30:49has been found not guilty of murder.
30:52The jury agreed this was a deliberate act and the passenger Patrick intentionally encouraged
30:57his son to drive this way. Both men must now face the consequences of their actions.
31:02Safer Seas, Folkestone Beach to receive more frequent water quality checks.
31:07I think there's still a gap between policy and real world experience because I think
31:14people are still having to cancel their swims.
31:16And Yards for Yarn, an Ashford resident's mission of breaking the record for the longest scarf
31:22knitted whilst running a marathon.
31:38But first, a look back at our top story this evening.
31:41A driver who admitted the manslaughter of a four-year-old boy after ramming a vehicle
31:46off the road has been found not guilty of murder. Owen Mahon and his father Patrick had been
31:52drinking heavily at the pub for six hours before getting in the car and travelling on the A2 which
31:58then collided with the vehicle on New Barn Road in South Fleet in June last year. After fleeing,
32:04both men were arrested within days and will now be sentenced at a later date. Here are the full details.
32:10A drunk driver who deliberately rammed a vehicle off the road at 60 miles an hour killing four-year-old
32:16Peter Mahon has been found not guilty of murder. Owen and Patrick Mahon have today been convicted
32:22of causing the death of four-year-old Peter Mahon and seriously injuring his father Lovell. For reasons
32:28we may never know, Owen deliberately rammed their vehicle off the road before he and Patrick fled the
32:33scene, showing no regard for the devastation they had left behind. The jury agreed this was a deliberate
32:39act and the passenger Patrick intentionally encouraged his son to drive this way. Both men must now face
32:46the consequences of their actions. Owen Mahon had already accepted responsibility of the child's
32:51manslaughter following the high-speed collision on New Barn Road in South Fleet on the 1st of June last year.
32:58But after more than 17 hours of deliberation, a jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared the 27-year-old of
33:05murder, accepting that he did not intend to cause serious harm. His father, 54-year-old Patrick Mahon,
33:12who was in the passenger seat at the time of the crash, was also cleared of murder. However,
33:17he was found guilty of Peter's manslaughter and of causing grievous bodily harm to the boy's father.
33:23The court heard father and son had been drinking heavily for hours before pursuing the family's
33:28Ford Ranger along the A2. Persecutors said the pair were in a fury before Owen Mahon used his vehicle
33:35as a weapon, ramming the truck and causing it to roll several times. Four-year-old Peter, who had been
33:41sitting in the rear, was thrown from the vehicle and died from what were described as severe and
33:47unsurvivable injuries. His father, Lovell Mahon, was also ejected from the vehicle and suffered life-changing
33:54injuries, leaving him unlikely to ever walk again. The jury heard that in the moments before the
33:59collision, a phone call captured Owen Mahon saying, I'm going to ram them. But in evidence,
34:05he told jurors he only intended to nudge the vehicle and denied meaning to cause catastrophic harm.
34:12After the crash, the pair drove away from the scene before abandoning their damaged vehicle
34:17several miles away. Both were arrested within days. Judge Oliver Saxby, KC, told the defendants they now
34:25face lengthy prison sentences. They will be sentenced at a later date. Kristen Hawthorne, KMTV.
34:32Now, one of the county's biggest musical events is now coming to a sudden end. Leeds Castle, which has
34:39been hosting its classical music concert since 1978, has announced it will no longer be running after this
34:45year. Fiona Pollard of Heritage Events says hosting the event has been a real honour and their focus is
34:52to make sure this final event goes out with a bang. We are joined by our community reporter, Henry Luck,
34:57to find out more. So Henry, why is this event suddenly coming to an end? Well, Kristen, it's coming to
35:04an end
35:04because the staff at Leeds Castle want to focus on more live music experiences. So I doubt this will be
35:13the
35:13end of this sort of programme, but it could be a sign of things to come because the music and
35:21the audience
35:21landscape has been changing over the years and Leeds Castle have got to take all those things into careful
35:29consideration going forward. And you went down to the event last year. What was that like? I think maybe are
35:35these some of the pictures that you got that were on screen? Yes. In fact, it was my first time
35:39being there and it was
35:41absolutely packed. We, of course, had the fireworks. Is that your footage there? Yes, it is. As you see,
35:47we've got the massive orchestra, got people waving the Union Jacks, enjoying a glass of Pimms, no doubt.
35:54And as you can see on screen, there's the Spitfires right now, which is always a staple with these events
36:01and the cannons as well. And of course, the firework display. Wow. Truly a brilliant evening that was last year.
36:08Yeah, it looks like a fun packed event for sure. Have any, have costs got anything to do with the
36:14announcement? Well, we haven't seen anything related to cost yet, but no doubt we will find this out
36:22further down the line. And then just quickly, what are the plans for the future?
36:28The plans for the future? Well, for this year's theme, it's all going to be a tribute to the event,
36:34just to celebrate all the music memories and fun that people who've gathered from all across
36:41Kent have come to enjoy. And the final day of the concert, the day of the concert is on Saturday,
36:49the 11th of July. So that'll be the perfect time to make some summer memories with them before it
36:56goes and something else takes its place. Yeah, certainly. And hopefully we'll see you at that
37:00event as well. But now it's time for the Business Roundup with Daniel Udomayo.
37:12First on today's Business Roundup. A 35 million pound university library is said to be partially
37:19leased to a private firm after a drastic dip in student use has left parts of the building redundant.
37:24Canterbury Christchurch estimates it's only using 15% of the space inside Augustine House,
37:29as shown by the numbers dropping dramatically since 2019, as physical book borrowing has fallen by
37:34more than 75%, while the number of visitors have dropped by 56,000. Now, accountancy firm,
37:40Burgess Hodgton, hopes to take space on all four floors of the landmark building,
37:45occupying large sections of the top three levels under a proposed 20-year lease.
37:49A family-run garage has put one of its sites on the market, as its owners prepare to step back
37:54after nearly 25 years in business. Orchard Garage Limited has listed its site on Park Road just off
38:00the A296 interchange for a guide price of £795,000. Owners Pam and Jeff Manwaring have reiterated that
38:08the move is not a closure and that its other branch on Heath Lane will remain open with jobs protected.
38:14Their children, Jane, Adam and Max, all work for the award-winning business, with Pam stating that,
38:20we want it to carry on through to the next generation, but we personally want to spend a little bit
38:24more
38:25time seeing our friends, travelling, just doing all the stuff we've not had time to do.
38:30Lastly, plans have emerged for a largely car-free town centre development including homes, shops and
38:35a potential cinema. Darkford council aimed to regenerate the former co-op building, which is
38:39sat empty for the best part of two decades between Spittle Street and Hithe Street. The council acquired the
38:45land on behalf of the public, stating its ambition to create a high-quality, mixed-use neighbourhood
38:50that serves local people and enriches the town centre. If approved, up to 69 high-quality residential
38:56homes will be built across a series of one- to four-storey buildings, arranged around new
39:01new Mews streets and a small public square.
39:10Daniel Odomayo there, giving us the business round-up. But now, knitting might be a relaxing
39:16hobby for many, but for Ashford resident Simon, he's setting out to break records. He's set to
39:22run the London Marathon, wool in hand, and knit the longest scarf knitted during the 26.2 miles,
39:28raising money for charities close to him. Megan Shaw went down to meet him and see if his challenge
39:33is set to have him in stitches.
39:36Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's not Superman, but it does come pretty close. Ashford resident,
39:45Simon Fannin, is out to break records at the London Marathon this year. Now, it's a sunny
39:51half-term morning, but there's no rest for Simon, who's still continuing to train, knitting in hand as
39:57part of his nine-month plan that he started last summer.
40:00So, I'm completing the London Marathon in April. It was initially going to be just a normal
40:08completion of the run, and then, yeah, I'm knitting the longest scarf while running a marathon.
40:14Morning, almost seven o'clock. I've got my knitting.
40:16And he's documenting his journey on his social media.
40:19It's raining cats and dogs!
40:20The army veteran might be used to running long distances, and his appearance on the game of wool
40:26might ensure he won't get his needles in a twist, but putting them together is a new challenge in
40:32aid of a cause close to his heart. So, the two causes I'm running for are Huntington's disease
40:37association, which is an amazing charity who help out people with Huntington's disease,
40:42which is a rare neurological condition. My mum's got Huntington's disease, so that's what I know
40:48about the charity, and they do really good outreach work for people. A real charity,
40:52which is a charity which is based around mental health for veterans and frontline services,
40:59and they do that through movement.
41:01The previous record holder of the longest scarf made during a marathon is David Babcock,
41:06who knitted a 3.7-metre garment whilst running the Kansas City Marathon in 2013.
41:14The Knitting is obviously, for me, it's really, I've been doing it for 10 years,
41:18so it's quite easy, and running as well is quite easy, but when you mix the two,
41:22the things I didn't expect were, you've got to keep your upper body really still,
41:26so you can't drive with your arms, and quite a lot of power when you're running is caused,
41:30it's taken from your upper body, so because you've got to keep that really still,
41:35it's really like all legs, basically.
41:38While he might have his work cut out, if his training in Victoria Park is anything to go by,
41:43he certainly proved that knitters aren't quitters. Megan Shaw for KMTV in Ashford.
41:50Be great for your brain that, wouldn't it? Knitting and running at the same time.
41:54Well, I'll have to think about that over the break, as it is time for a quick break for a
41:58few minutes,
41:59but we'll be back in just a few minutes to speak to Chris D.C.
42:29So, he's been headin' to understand this yang quickly.
42:48A great calming feeling about the落 body really helps us,
42:51if we haven't sustained și felli,
42:51in one moment to constructive impact as we go through the limit.
42:51for any of the outcomes.
42:51We'll be back in just a few minutes.
42:52When I didский derived to the anthropology,
42:52we did not repeat that the anthropology brain gegen a path in strong possession.
42:53WI consists of new evidence that eventually會
42:59go ahead and contribute to the puzzle to theξ
Comments