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00:30Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:34I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Thursday, 26th February.
00:39Sitting-born sentencing.
00:41We hear the result of a manslaughter case at Maidstone Crown Court today following a guilty plea.
00:46A rollercoaster of emotions.
00:49Margate protesters hold demonstration to stop the closure of Dreamland's scenic railway.
00:54And reuse, repair, re-bock.
00:57We take a look at the Gillingham Shoe Repair Company that fixes hundreds of designer shoes a week.
01:02I cleaned a few of my own shoes, a few of her shoes, and then told a few friends.
01:07And then a few friends wanted their shoes cleaned.
01:09And it just escalated from there.
01:21But first tonight, a man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter at Maidstone Crown Court today
01:27following the death of a man in Sittingbourne last August.
01:3043-year-old Chris McLean pleaded guilty to the charge after threatening Jay Gerrit with a knife, causing Gerrit to
01:37fall from a wall onto the path of an incoming car.
01:40Police and emergency services were called to the scene where Gerrit was pronounced dead.
01:44Tim Forster is live outside Maidstone Crown Court with the story.
01:48So, Tim, what can you tell us about this sentencing?
01:54I'm here outside Maidstone Crown Court where Chris McLean was sentenced to 16 years in prison following the death of
02:01Jay Gerrit in August last year.
02:03McLean, a 43-year-old with a history of violent behaviour, was facing a charge of manslaughter.
02:09After the court heard how he chased the victim with a knife, causing him to fall from a 13-foot
02:13embankment into the path of an oncoming car.
02:17He reportedly yells, I've got a surprise for you, as he swung his knife at Gerrit and wanted to teach
02:22Mr Gerrit a lesson over a drug dispute.
02:25Prosecutor Ryan Richter told the court that it was the action of swinging the knife that caused Mr Gerrit to
02:30run and thus caused his tragic death.
02:34I see. And for people who haven't been following this story, can you give us some background details?
02:40Yes, on the 2nd of August 2025, Jay Gerrit, a 32-year-old scaffolder from Chelmsford, was reportedly buying cocaine
02:48when he was threatened by McLean.
02:52CCTV captured the moment that McLean chased Gerrit, causing him to fall into the road, into the path of a
02:58car on St Michael's Road in Sittingbourne.
03:00The driver of the car called police and they arrived on the scene where Gerrit was pronounced dead.
03:06McLean was initially arrested on a charge of murder, along with two other individuals, Jack Hunt and Daniel Martin.
03:14During McLean's arrest, police found a quantity of cocaine, leading to a further charge of possessing a Class A drug
03:20with the intent to supply.
03:22The trial was set to begin on Tuesday, however, McLean later pleaded to a manslaughter, which was accepted by the
03:29CPS only after it was reviewed at the highest possible level, with the family being consulted as well.
03:36The two other defendants were cleared of the charge of murder, though Hunt will face a charge in May for
03:42supplying cocaine.
03:43And Martin was later cleared, formally, of a charge of perverting the course of justice.
03:50The sentencing took place on the day before what would have been Gerrit's 33rd birthday.
03:56Full tributes were laid across St Michael's Road, with one reading,
04:01Special Partner, Forever and Always in My Heart, I Love You.
04:05A number of statements from the family were also read in court, with one describing Gerrit as full of life,
04:11full of love and always close to his family.
04:15That was Tim Forster there outside of Maidstone Crown Court.
04:19Next, a man in his 50s has died after a fatal collision near Sittingbourne.
04:25The crash took place yesterday around 10am yesterday morning in Swale Way in Kemsley.
04:30A red Ford Fusion had been heading across Swale Bridge towards the A249 when it crossed onto the opposite carriageway.
04:37It then struck a white Mercedes lorry going in the opposite direction.
04:40Police, paramedics, an air ambulance and firefighters were sent to the scene, but the man was pronounced dead.
04:46The road was closed for around nine hours following the crash.
04:50Next, nearly 2,000 homes in Lamberhurst and Horsmunden had their water supply restored following a major outage earlier today.
04:57The disruption began at around 4am when a technical issue at the Buell Water Treatment Works caused water storage tank
05:04levels to plummet.
05:05Residents in Lamberhurst and Horsmunden were left with little to no water throughout the morning, as southeast water conducted unexpected
05:11emergency repairs.
05:13Engineers resolved the fault by the early afternoon, with supplies confirmed as fully restored by one in the afternoon.
05:20Next, homelessness charity Porchlight has warned that rough sleepers in Kent and Medway have risen by 17% from last
05:26year.
05:27They have called the rise a serious and urgent crisis, with 174 people sleeping rough on a single night last
05:33autumn.
05:34The highest numbers of recorded rough sleepers at that time were in Thanet, Canterbury and Folkestone.
05:38The figures were published today in the government's annual Rough Sleeping Snapshot for England.
05:43While the national figure was 4,793, a 3% rise, Kent is showing a greater increase.
05:50We spoke to Sarah Mills from Porchlight earlier on today about the issue.
05:54We work with people that become homeless or have issues around housing.
06:01There's a number of reasons that lean into that.
06:03Over the last year, the primary reason that we've seen for people becoming homeless is about family breakdown.
06:10So people just not being able to live in the home that they currently were.
06:13You know, that can be for a number of reasons.
06:16A slightly lesser percentage we're seeing, but I think a worrying number is people that are becoming homeless in relation
06:23to falling behind in rent or mortgage payments.
06:26And I think, you know, we hear a lot about the cost of living and increasing pressures.
06:32And I think we're really seeing that as a key reason why some of the people we're working with are
06:37being homeless or being made homeless.
06:41But I think, you know, to narrow it down to one reason, Kate, it's really difficult because it's actually complex.
06:47It's often multiple reasons.
06:50Next, debates around the future of the scenic railway at Dreamland have raged on in Margate as locals and councillors
06:57appeal for answers.
06:58It comes after the park's operator announced it would be closing the Grade 2 listed roller coaster after 105 years
07:04earlier this month.
07:06But the closure has raised questions.
07:08This is all over the future of Dreamland and the park's ownership.
07:13Now, we have a quick recap of everything we know so far.
07:17Let's take a look.
07:18Brought to you actually by Chloe.
07:20Chloe's going to give us that quick recap.
07:22Apologies there.
07:22She joins me in the studio now to tell us more.
07:24So, Chloe, what makes the scenic railway so special to the people of Margate?
07:29Well, anyone who lives in Margate will know and recognise the scenic railway.
07:33It's a wig wooden structure.
07:35It's very, very familiar to many, many people.
07:38Now, people love it because of how old it is.
07:40It's one of the only scenic railways in the country.
07:43It's the oldest roller coaster in Britain.
07:46People, their grandmas know the roller coaster.
07:49They've been on it.
07:49They've had a great time.
07:50Their parents, their kids.
07:52Yeah, it's really, really, really, really enjoyable for people.
07:57Now, when I was in Margate earlier this month, I saw the railway.
08:01That's when I found out that the scenic railway would be closing.
08:04People were telling me stories about it.
08:06They were coming up to me constantly saying how much fun it was, how gutted they are.
08:09Many of them knew the, because they actually, in the scenic railway, every single coaster
08:14had to have a driver actually driving each carriage.
08:17So people knew those people and it was, yeah, it was a really, really powerful thing for
08:21many people.
08:23It's embedded into people's childhoods.
08:26We can hear from a few people now just about what the coaster meant to them.
08:33Made of nine, I've been going on a scenic railway, enjoying the rattles, the noises, and just
08:40the general thrill of the roller coaster.
08:41It's just amazing.
08:41Not everywhere can go and ride a 102-year-old roller coaster.
08:45You know, it's special.
08:47It really is special.
08:48I always say that as a theme park, you could actually get rid of all the other rides as
08:53long as you had the scenic railway because of the heritage.
08:56And it's part and parcel of people coming on holiday, part and parcel of coastal history.
09:05So, Chloe, who's really leading the charge to keep the scenic railway alive?
09:09So that clip we just saw there, Nicholas Chamberlain, that's the first guy who spoke.
09:14He's really leading the charge.
09:16He was very, very vocal on Facebook about how much he wanted to keep the scenic railway
09:20around.
09:21When I was speaking to him, he was telling me memories of when he was younger with his
09:24family members, them taking him on the ride.
09:27He was backing a petition that got thousands of signatures to keep the scenic railway there
09:32and in progress.
09:33He seems to be front and centre in most of these protests.
09:36There was one earlier this month and there was also one that they were planning on going
09:42to today.
09:43That was at a council meeting where Councillor Rick Everett tabled a motion about the scenic
09:48railway's closure.
09:50And he was actually calling for Dreamland to work alongside the council and figure out
09:56a way to keep the scenic railway around.
09:57They wanted to see what the thinking process was at getting to the point of closure.
10:05They seemed to think there was more to this than what it seems.
10:09And he's also written to Historic England, that's Councillor Rick Everett, and the National
10:14Lottery Heritage Fund, asking them to share their correspondence on the subject to further
10:19understand their position on it.
10:20He also said that while he recognised that this was ultimately a commercial decision,
10:24unless the detail is sort of shared about how they came to that decision, that it's
10:29bound to be, it's bound to disappoint people.
10:31And very quickly, can you just tell us what Dreamland have said?
10:34So Dreamland said that this isn't the end but a new beginning for the ride, saying it
10:39was committed to developing a new long-term vision to showcase that listed structure.
10:43Brilliant.
10:43Thank you so much, Chloe.
10:45Now let's take a quick look at the weather.
10:53Well, tonight it doesn't look like we'll be treated to any of that nice sun we've been
10:57seeing recently, 11 and 12 across the board there.
11:00Some high wind speeds as we go into tomorrow morning, with the rain pouring down 15 in the
11:05west, 17 there in the east, 10 and 11.
11:07Now into tomorrow afternoon, that rain is starting to go away, staying there in Ashford, however,
11:12temperatures rising slightly to 11 and 12.
11:15And here is your outlook.
11:16Some sun on Saturday returning to rain on Sunday.
11:19Monday, more sun coming out, highs of 13.
11:29That's all the time we have for now.
11:32But coming up after the break, we'll be speaking with Connie Huck, who's inviting people to
11:35get involved with the National Innovation Challenge.
11:38She'll be judging young people on their ideas for the future, all with the theme of sustainability
11:43and AI.
11:44All that and more after this short break.
11:47See you in a few minutes.
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15:09Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
15:14Now, a higher than average number of adults in Kent believe AI skills are the most important skill for young
15:20people to learn.
15:2144% of all adults in the country think that adapting to new tech is a priority, with 6%
15:27more people in Kent in agreement.
15:29This comes alongside calls for students to get more real-world experience with AI and receive better education on it
15:35in schools.
15:36Our reporter Chloe Brewster spoke to Connie Huck, Blue Peter's longest-running female presenter, all about AI literacy and her
15:43creative challenge for young people.
15:45So, you talk a lot about, obviously, learning more about AI.
15:50You know, part of this is we were finding out that 50% of adults in Kent believe that adapting
15:55to AI and new tech will be one of the most important life skills for young people.
15:58Is that something that you agree with?
16:00I do definitely think the genie is out the bottle.
16:04And if you can't fight it, feel it.
16:05You're absolutely right.
16:07We did a survey and found that more than three-fifths of people agree that AI is becoming essential in
16:15the modern workplace.
16:16And so young people that understand it will obviously have a clear advantage.
16:20But we also want people to grow up having creativity and problem-solving skills.
16:26We want critical thinking because it's very important that we work with AI as a society.
16:32You need to understand something and be literate in it, essentially.
16:35And our survey found that nearly half of all people believe AI education should be introduced earlier in schools.
16:43But the flip side is nearly three-quarters of adults think that young people no longer have real-world experience.
16:49So we're living in really changing times.
16:52Everything's in a state of flux.
16:55What kind of things are you seeing AI being used for more and more in the workplace?
16:59I know you have a background in broadcasting.
17:01You used to present Blue Peter.
17:02Can you tell us a little bit about how AI impacts the workplace nowadays?
17:08Absolutely.
17:08So AI is everywhere.
17:11So, yes, in broadcasting, it's used a lot.
17:13People are worried that sort of writers will become redundant and scripts will be written.
17:18But with AI, I just did a stint on Pointless last week as the sort of quiz question person, essentially.
17:28And it's funny because a lot of the time when we don't know something, if it's facts or trivia, you
17:33know, in the old days, you might have to go to a library or whatever.
17:35Now you can just ask ChatGPT for the answer to almost anything and everything.
17:41So AI is something that is becoming a sort of easy substitute for us sort of doing groundwork ourselves.
17:48It could almost be seen as a bit of a lazy tool to use to get to your end products
17:55a bit earlier.
17:56And certain jobs like accountancy are already seeing lots of people being replaced by AI.
18:05So what this competition, the National Innovation Challenge, is all about is coming up with concepts or business ideas or
18:16prototypes on the theme of sustainability or AI that can help make the world a better place in the future.
18:23Because we are living in a totally changing world.
18:28So the challenge is open to secondary school students and above.
18:32But how much is AI currently being used in schools?
18:35Are students now well versed in AI?
18:38So I'd say where we're at at the moment, students and people in general are well versed in using AI
18:45as a shortcut to answer questions without having to maybe look up information.
18:50If students are doing a project, for instance, or doing their homework and they need the answers to questions.
18:56But slowly, as you realize, oh, this is an easy way to get to my solution, then people start maybe
19:03downloading the app and having a dedicated AI app on their phone.
19:07And then it can become a slippery slope.
19:09You think, oh, well, if AI can do that, then maybe it can give me advice on my boyfriend or
19:14whatever it is.
19:15And then, you know, before you know it, you have stories in the paper about people getting married to an
19:19AI.
19:20So, you know, it is in its early stages at the moment and young people aren't using it as much
19:27as I do see will happen in the future.
19:29But this competition is something that uses children's critical thinking, problem solving and creativity within the theme of AI.
19:41Now, don't forget, you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging on to
19:45our website.
19:46That's kmtv.co.uk.
19:48There you'll find all our reports, including this one about a beach in Folkestone that's set to have regular water
19:53testing to ensure locals can safely swim.
19:56Last year, raw sewage was dumped into UK waterways almost a million times.
20:02Surfers Against Sewage reported that in 2024, they received 1,853 sickness reports because of infected water,
20:10reflecting nearly half a million pounds in lost productivity due to sick days taken.
20:15But pollution has an impact not only on the economy, but for nature and people's well-being.
20:21Sandgate Beach here in Folkestone is set to become one of the UK's newest bathing spots.
20:26Should beaches really be ruled in as safe rather than being ruled out as unsafe?
20:30I've grown up in Sandgate and I've always been in the sea, loved the water.
20:35I just started swimming every single day since 2019.
20:39And then in 2021, I started a swim coaching business.
20:43I suffered a lot with anxiety years ago and since going in here every day, I've become much more calmer.
20:49The label of designated bathing spot essentially means the waterway will receive regular quality testing throughout the bathing season,
20:56which is May through to September.
20:58Sandgate Beach is the only beach in Kent set to become a new designated bathing spot.
21:03You know, that huge amount of awareness and publicity has brought this to fruition and I think that's huge.
21:11But I think there's still a gap between policy and real world experience because I think people are still having
21:20to cancel their swims and change their routines.
21:22And it has a massive impact on people's health and well-being.
21:25I've seen a real growth in open water swimming.
21:28You know, it wasn't a thing that people did really before the pandemic and it has grown so much.
21:33But I've seen the numbers decreasing in the last couple of years since the awareness has been brought up, which
21:39has been wonderful.
21:40But it's certainly put people off going in the water.
21:43The Environment Agency say the consultation comes alongside reform of the water system with the Water Special Measures Act introducing
21:50tougher enforcement powers.
21:52That includes criminal liability for water bosses who cover up illegal sewage spills and the power to block bonuses.
21:59Last year, £4 million of bonuses were prevented from reaching bosses' pockets.
22:04More needs to be done to clean up our waterways.
22:07A total transformation of the system, of the water system, needs to be implemented.
22:11Currently, the government and their recent white paper isn't doing enough to do that, especially in relation to public health.
22:18We need a regulator that enforces the law.
22:21Swimming in our rivers, lakes or beaches is so proven to be good for our physical and mental health.
22:26And it's also in terms of those seaside towns, it's great for the local economy.
22:32So having clean water benefits people, business and just, you know, nature.
22:39I think the knock-on effects of more bathing waters, there'll be co-benefits to cleaning up our waterways to
22:45improve the environment and nature as well.
22:48Back on the beach, Kirsty kindly offered to coach me to become a sea swimmer.
22:53But I think it's a little bit too chilly for me to get my costume on just yet.
22:57Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Sandgate.
23:00No, no, no, no. Not for me.
23:03Well, let's see if the weather is any better than it was for Chloe that day in Folkestone.
23:07Let's have a look.
23:13Well, this evening we're going to have some pretty high winds, 20 there near Margate, temperatures of 11 and 12.
23:20Some rain greeting us tomorrow morning, temperatures staying about the same, slightly lower.
23:27And high wind speeds staying, slightly slowing down for the afternoon.
23:32Temperatures raising up again a little bit, 11 and 12 across the county.
23:35Temperatures of 10 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
23:38Sunday bringing some rain with it.
23:40And the sun peaking out on Monday, 13 degrees.
23:50Next, a £15 million investment into a Eurohub freight terminal is predicted to have a great effect on Kent Road,
23:58potentially reducing the amount of large lorries on the roads by 140,000.
24:02The money would pave the way for freight trains to carry cargo and containers through the Channel Tunnel.
24:07I spoke with Kent Online's business editor, Chris Britcher, earlier.
24:12Well, thank you so much for joining me, Chris.
24:14First of all, can you summarise the £15 million investment?
24:17Where exactly is this going and how exactly could it benefit Kent's roads?
24:22Yeah, absolutely.
24:23Well, basically, it doesn't sound like it's very Kent related initially, at least.
24:27The money is going to go into what's known as the Barking Eurohub, which is a freight rail terminal just
24:34in the east of London.
24:35But basically, it's the only freight terminal that can link into HS1, which is obviously the high-speed railing that
24:42wishes through the Channel Tunnel.
24:44So the significance here is that, whereas it has been horrifically underutilised since it was first built,
24:52that the plan now is to shift more and more freight from the road onto trains, which can then travel
24:58from this point onto the continent.
25:02And obviously, the benefit for the people of Kent is that it should reduce quite dramatically the number of lorries
25:09on our roads.
25:10There is talk it could reduce it by as much as sort of 450,000 lorries movements a year, which
25:15is obviously significant.
25:17Absolutely.
25:19There's previously been criticism of sort of anti-congestion measures like Operation Brock for causing heavy congestion
25:28and for costing hundreds of thousands to deploy and maintain.
25:32So do you believe that more freight going on the rails could maybe see Brock deployed less?
25:38You would hope so.
25:39And certainly the hope is that is exactly what will happen.
25:42If there's a reduction in the number of freight, then there's not going to be that bottleneck every time there's
25:46ever any sort of delay at any of our port terminals.
25:49The only issue which I would guard against is that, as ever, as we progress, more and more lorries go
25:55onto our roads anyway.
25:56So it's a bit like building the Lower Thames Crossing.
26:00Yes, it will surely make a difference initially.
26:03But as traffic numbers grow, there is a danger that somewhere down the road before too long we'll be back
26:08in the same position.
26:09But it's certainly a very positive move in the right direction.
26:13It makes all the sense in the world, really.
26:15It's more environmentally friendly.
26:17And if it sort of stops our motorway network and the knock-on effect it has on local roads and
26:23so much the better.
26:24There's even talk that it will ease the pothole situation, which I suspect will remain to be seen because it
26:29is pretty dreadful out there at the moment.
26:31But it's another positive.
26:33Well, that's all the time we have for this part of the show, but we have plenty more coming your
26:38way.
26:38We'll be returning to our top story tonight about a man who died in Sittingbourne after a chase with a
26:44perpetrator today charged with manslaughter.
26:46All that and more after this short break.
30:22Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
30:26I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Thursday, the 26th of February.
30:31Sittingbourne sentencing.
30:33We hear the result of a manslaughter case at Maidstone Crown Court today following a guilty plea.
30:38A rollercoaster of emotions.
30:41Margate protesters hold demonstration to stop the closure of Dreamland's scenic railway.
30:46And reuse, repair, re-bock.
30:48We take a look at the Gillingham Shoe Repair Company that fixes hundreds of designer shoes a week.
30:53I cleaned a few of my own shoes, I cleaned a few of her shoes, and then told a few
30:58friends and then a few friends wanted their shoes cleaned and it just escalated from there.
31:13But first, our top story tonight.
31:15A man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for manslaughter at Maidstone Crown Court.
31:20This is following the death of a man in Sittingbourne last August.
31:2443-year-old Chris McClain pleaded guilty to the charge after threatening Jay Garrett with a knife, causing Garrett to
31:30fall from a wall into the path of an oncoming car.
31:33Police and emergency services were called to the scene where Garrett was pronounced dead.
31:37Tim Forster is live outside Maidstone Crown Court with the story.
31:41So, Tim, what can you tell us about today's sentencing?
31:45Yes, I'm here outside Maidstone Crown Court where Chris McClain was sentenced to 16 years following the death of Jay
31:52Garrett in August last year.
31:54McClain, a 43-year-old man with a history of violent behaviour, was facing a charge of manslaughter as the
32:00court heard how he chased the victim with a knife,
32:02causing him to fall from a 13-foot embankment into the road, into the path of a car on St.
32:08Michael's Road in Sittingbourne.
32:10He reportedly yelled, I've got a surprise for you, as he swung his knife at Garrett and had wanted to
32:17teach Mr. Garrett a lesson following a drug dispute.
32:20Prosecutor Ryan Richter claimed that it was this action with the knife that led to the victim's tragic death.
32:28I see. And for people who haven't been following this story, can you give us some more background information?
32:36Yes, on the 2nd of August, 2025, Jay Garrett, a 32-year-old scaffolder from Chelmsford, was reportedly buying cocaine
32:45when he was threatened by McClain with the knife.
32:49CCTV captured the moment that McClain chased Garrett into the road, where he, as we say, was struck by the
32:56car.
32:56Police were called to the scene by the driver of the car, where Garrett was pronounced dead.
33:02McClain was initially charged with murder alongside two other individuals, Jack Hunt and Daniel Martin.
33:09However, during McClain's arrest, I apologise, police found a quantity of cocaine, leading to a further charge of possession of
33:19a Class A drug with intent to supply.
33:22The trial was initially set to take place on Tuesday, the 24th of February.
33:26However, McClain pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
33:30This plea was only accepted by the CPS after it had been reviewed to the highest level and members of
33:37the family had been consulted.
33:39The two other defendants were cleared of the murder charge, though Hunt will face the courts in May over possession
33:46of cocaine and supplying cocaine to Garrett.
33:50While Martin was facing a charge of perverting the course of justice, this too has been cleared following a lack
33:56of evidence.
33:58The sentencing took place the day before what would have been Garrett's 33rd birthday.
34:04Tributes were laid across St Michael's Road with one reading,
34:09Special partner, forever and always in my heart, I love you.
34:14Thank you so much for bringing us all the latest details on that, Tim.
34:18Now, don't forget you can keep up with all your latest stories across Kent by logging on to our website,
34:23kmtv.co.uk.
34:25There you'll find all our reports, including this one about a Tunbridge Wells restaurant that's up for a national award
34:30for their burgers.
34:32What does it take to be a burger champion?
34:35Richard from Tunbridge Wells knows it all too well.
34:38Last year, his business Roddy Burger came second in the national burger awards, but this time around he's going for
34:44gold.
34:44Yeah, so we started during lockdown, we rented a pub kitchen.
34:49It was very much something to do to cover my mortgage effectively.
34:53And that went so well that we then, when we came out of lockdown, we rented another pub kitchen and
34:59that went really well.
35:00And then we opened here nearly four years ago.
35:02We've just got busier and busier, year on year, month for month.
35:05The community supported us really well here.
35:07Without them, we're nothing.
35:09So it's kind of testament to what we do, that people keep coming back.
35:12Richard is one of 16 finalists to make it to the National Burger Awards this year.
35:16And there, they will face off to see who can create the best burger.
35:20We've put the same burger in as last year.
35:22We've made a few small tweaks to it.
35:23It's called the Gaza, named after England footballer Paul Gascoigne, who scored my favourite goal.
35:29And yeah, fingers crossed.
35:31Richard gave me a peek at how he makes his signature burger.
35:34So the Gaza starts off life with a toasted demi-brioche bun and then our signature house sauce.
35:42So for the Gaza, we smash two patties into the grill, season with Maldon sea salt,
35:49with two rashers of smoked streaky bacon.
35:51And then we sandwich the bacon in between and then cover it with a cloche
35:57so that the cheese melts quickly rather than overcooking the burger.
36:01And then we have a bit more sauce on the top.
36:05And then we pick with our own onions.
36:10And there you go.
36:12The live final takes place next month, where participants will cook up their best in three rounds
36:17before being blind tested.
36:19I gave it a try myself.
36:22Let's give it a go.
36:24Well, my burger eating skills are clearly not award-winning.
36:27I'm wishing Roddy Burger the best of luck at next month's final.
36:30Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Tunbridge Wells.
36:35Next, did you know that according to National Literacy Trust data, only one in three children
36:40say they enjoy reading?
36:41That's the lowest level in 20 years.
36:44So with World Book Day fast approaching, we wanted to speak to a Kent author about how
36:48to get children engaged with reading again.
36:50Annabelle Steadman grew up in the Kent countryside, going to school in Canterbury before shooting
36:55to stardom with her Sunday Times and New York Times best-selling fantasy series, Scandar.
37:00And I'm pleased to say Annabelle joins us now live.
37:03Annabelle, thank you so much for your time.
37:05Now, first of all, in case our audience isn't familiar with your books, can you tell us a
37:09little bit about your works?
37:11Of course.
37:12So the Scandar series features unlikely heroes, elemental magic, and most importantly, bloodthirsty
37:18unicorns.
37:19And Scandar Smith, the main character, he grows up in Margate at the beginning of the book.
37:24So it is very Kent-based at the beginning.
37:27Brilliant, brilliant.
37:28And so did Kent really serve as a large inspiration?
37:31You mentioned there the main character being born in Margate.
37:34Tell me a bit more about that.
37:37So I think that because I'm from there, it's nice to kind of write a place that you know.
37:42But also it's really lovely actually returning to Kent now and meeting fans and young readers
37:49who I think they like to see themselves in books.
37:51I think it helps them to start reading if they can kind of recognise something in themselves
37:56and in the book.
37:57So it's really great to meet those fans and hear how much they enjoy the series.
38:03Absolutely.
38:04And as I mentioned earlier, children's interest in reading does seem to be dropping.
38:07Why do you think that might be?
38:10I think there are lots of distractions.
38:11I think that we can understand it as adults as well.
38:14I mean, I as an author also struggle to carve out that time to read, you know, that we're
38:19on our phones and we're maybe watching TV.
38:22There's lots of lots of other things that we're doing.
38:26And I think children struggle with that too.
38:28But I think that if we, for example, picked up a book rather than the phone sometimes and
38:32we modelled that for children, that could be a way to kind of bring back books and get
38:38them excited about it.
38:39Because unless they see us doing it, they're not going to do it.
38:42Absolutely.
38:42Now, can you tell me a little bit about what drew you into becoming an author?
38:47I think that I had always loved stories and I really, I liked going to the library with
38:55my grandma.
38:56I used to go to Deal Library kind of every week she used to take me and I used to
39:00borrow
39:00lots of books from there.
39:01And so I think having that choice, being able to choose a book, that was really important
39:06to me growing up and it let me find things that I like.
39:08And that's something that we really think is important for World Book Day as well.
39:13These kind of one pound books, you can swap for free with your voucher.
39:17You get to choose whichever one.
39:19You might not choose Skandar and the Secret Element, but you might choose a different one.
39:22And I think that that really made me want to become an author, that idea that I could
39:26write anything I wanted and my imagination was mine and I could put all those stories into
39:31my own story.
39:32Absolutely.
39:33You mentioned World Book Day there.
39:35When I was in school, I remember dressing up, becoming a different character, guessing who
39:39the teachers were.
39:40Can you tell me a little bit about, you mentioned their one pound book.
39:43Tell me a bit more about the plans for World Book Day.
39:47So I think that it's just the whole week, lots of children's authors go into schools.
39:51I'm going to be going into schools doing some visits because seeing an author in real life
39:56can really kind of bring stories to life that might get you to try something that you might
39:59not have wanted to before.
40:01And I think because they're so bite-sized, they're so short, and they're not very kind
40:08of intimidating to pick up.
40:09So if you want to try something, it's a perfect time to do that.
40:13And as you say, I think the costumes and the dressing up, that really puts books front
40:17and centre.
40:18So this year is the national year of reading as well.
40:20So if you're going to really try something new, try reading out.
40:24This is the week to do it as we head into World Book Day.
40:29Brilliant.
40:29And just before we go, I'm very curious, how do you sort of like to set up best with
40:35a book?
40:35A warm drink?
40:36Maybe is there like a reading nook?
40:37Tell me about your own ways of getting into the habit of reading.
40:41You know, this is going to sound really strange, but since I was quite young, I used to read
40:45on the stairs.
40:46I don't know why that was, but I used to sit halfway up the stairs and I would read on
40:50the
40:50stairs.
40:50I think it's because I felt like I wasn't sitting in a room with other people, but I
40:54could kind of hear what was going on in the house.
40:56It meant I could concentrate on the book and not get distracted.
40:59So you'll probably find me halfway up the stairs somewhere reading a fantasy book.
41:04Brilliant.
41:04Well, I'll have to give that one a try.
41:06Thank you so much, Annabelle.
41:07And yeah, thank you so much for joining us.
41:13Brilliant.
41:13Well, we have plenty more coming for you after this short break.
41:17We'll get a taster of the top stories on Kent Online right now.
41:20Keeping you up to date and in the loop with the key current affairs in the county with
41:24David Brooks Horsley.
41:25Any animal lovers, keep an eye out.
41:27We've got a story about a litter of 17 puppies.
41:30You'll also see a report I've done into a Gillingham independent business who's selling
41:34their cleaning skills to the masses, turning dirty designer shoes into sparkling clean kicks.
41:40I'll even have a go at some professional shoe cleaning myself.
41:43Fair warning, I probably shouldn't quit my day job.
41:46Well, all that and more after this short break.
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45:10hello and welcome back to kent tonight live here on kmtv now as always here in the garden of
45:16england there's plenty of news from across the county whether it's congestion in canterbury
45:20or demonstrations in dover today's news features a delay to an urban improvement project from poor
45:26weather a rebuild of one of kent's most popular play parks and a record-breaking litter of puppies
45:31in canterbury david brooks horsley joined me earlier to tell me more about the headlines
45:36well it's made the headlines because as i'm sure many of our viewers are aware there is a lot of
45:41construction happening in canterbury at the minute involving a lot of motorists now this project
45:48um is meant to be finished by april was the estimated time it's still going ahead for that
45:56time so fear not however the weather that we've been facing in january recently has had significant
46:03impact on the progress which um as i'm sure many are aware there is that one way traffic temporarily
46:11in this area which is causing a lot of carnage carnage so some some delays there for anyone
46:17yeah they can expect definitely and that was meant to have been sorted by february the end of february
46:24that now no longer can be possible because of that wet weather however uh canterbury city council are
46:32adamant that this will be completed by april as said okay brilliant brilliant well we've got a another
46:39story i believe you've got for us now this is one certainly for the animal lovers talk us through
46:44it how many puppies have been born and i believe it is record-breaking so tell us a bit more
46:48about that
46:48yes we have 17 irish doodle puppies as you can see on the screen and they are very adorable um
46:56yeah so
46:57on the 2nd of january at 11am marigold the mum of these puppies gave birth to her first one
47:05now as owner miranda says these they kept popping out um until midnight when the 17th one came about
47:15right wow well i see and what exactly uh is going to happen to the puppies they're going to find
47:22new
47:22homes yeah well tomorrow so friday uh miranda and her family will be taking the pup all 17 puppies to
47:29the vets for their immunizations and vaccinations uh the vets are very eager and excited for this to
47:36meet them all and then yeah miranda's looking at selling them for around 1300 pounds each right
47:44and there is a lot of interest i'm aware oh well yeah i didn't know that puppies could uh could
47:50go for
47:51that much well we've got one more story you've brought us all about a play park in folkestone so tell
47:55us what's the news about this play park well this play park as i'm sure again many of the viewers
48:01are
48:01aware of is one of the best in kent and has been for nearly two or over two decades one
48:07of the most
48:08popular i believe yes one of the most popular and in the end of last year it had to be
48:13shut due to some
48:15construction work surrounding the cliff area around it and the safety now luckily um we have here a new
48:24illustrated image of what this play park is going to turn into and yeah we'll be open for summer
48:31which i'm sure lots of families and kids are excited for for their summer holidays by the coast
48:37absolutely that is all the time we have david but thank you so much for bringing us all that latest
48:41news
48:43next for small businesses here in kent and across the country times are tough but one gillingham shoe
48:50repair store has stepped into a new office simply because of how busy they are sneakers prep work
48:55with designer brand shoes cleaning repainting and restoring the luxury brands but how is this so
49:01popular they oftentimes work with anywhere from 50 to 75 pairs of shoes at a time and it's not just
49:07shoes they work with hats bags even restoring sentimental items well to find out more and to
49:13have a go myself i went down to their new office at the historic dockyard chatham to find out more
49:20since 2018 sneakers prep have been putting one foot in front of the other building a shoe repair
49:25business in medway that serves kent and beyond and now business has gotten so big they've moved into a
49:31new premises in the historic dockyard in chatham that they had to transform into the office they have today
49:36but the idea for the business started in an unconventional way yeah so going back to 2018
49:43i used to chuck my shoes in the washing machine like most people and one pair came out looking a
49:49little worse for wear and i thought to myself there must be a better way and then that christmas
49:54my now wife sarah bought me a sneaker cleaning kit i cleaned a few of my own shoes a few
50:00of her shoes
50:01and then told a few friends and then a few friends wanted their shoes cleaned and it just escalated from
50:08there since then the shoes they repair tend to be luxury brands like gucci or eve saint laurent and
50:13unlike people might assume it isn't just a quick wash there's a lot of detail within the shoe that
50:18needs to be cleaned repainted or stuck back together now when you hear shoe cleaning you might just think
50:23of scrubbing or maybe even chucking in the washing machine but there's actually a lot more detail and nuance
50:28that needs to go into it especially when you're working with designer brand shoes some people
50:32assume it would take a matter of hours and just a quick bit of scrubbing but it can take up
50:35to a
50:36week to make sure that the shoes are as clean as when they were first in the box and it's
50:40not just a
50:41bucket of hot water and a scrubbing brush there's actually quite a few tools you might not expect
50:48so to show you that it's not exactly as easy as you might expect i thought i'd take a crash
50:52course
51:01well there you go not exactly brand new certainly a little bit better than it was but don't think i'll
51:06be opening up my own business anytime soon i reckon i'll stick to journalism while it might be the main
51:11part of their business it isn't just shoes they work on we have had some sentimental items in so
51:16we had a lady whose granddad passed away and we had his wallet to restore and we also had a
51:22lady
51:22whose brother had passed away and the shoes that she would like him buried in and she asked for them
51:28to be cleaned and restored as well so there is that element of things that are not expensive but very
51:33sentimental as well the building took a lot of work to be ready and it's even a grade listed property
51:38but for sarah and nick with more orders coming in from across the county it might be busy but it's
51:42just another step in the right direction finn mcdermid for kmtv in chatham yep definitely not quitting the
51:50day job there i'll have to stick to reading the news and reading the weather with that in mind let's
51:54have
51:55a look at our forecast
52:02and tonight it's looking quite mild to 11 and 10 degrees with some high wind speeds across the county
52:08into tomorrow morning now 10 and 11 degrees with rain pouring down slightly slower wind speeds
52:14across kent there now into the afternoon 11 and 12 across the county slowing down even more 11 and 15
52:20miles per hour 11 and 12 degrees and here's your outlook 10 degrees for saturday and sunday some
52:27light sun on saturday and monday rain on sunday raising to 13 degrees on monday
52:40and just after this we'll have kent film club where the show's presenter chris dc interviews those from
52:45the county all about their favorite films but before that i'm pleased to say he joins me here
52:50in the studio thank you so much for joining us as always on a thursday pleasure finn absolutely
52:56first of all talk us through some of the bafta's highlights there were a lot of films
53:01uh that were receiving awards but were there any that you felt were especially deserving of those
53:06uh acclaims well i swear was definitely a good outcome and it's always nice it was the same a few
53:11years ago when joanna scanlon won best actress for a british film she was up against hollywood royalty
53:17like lady gaga and it happened again this year with robert of mayo who uh is not a well-known
53:22actor
53:23outside the uk uh but beating the likes of timothy chamolet and leonardo dicaprio who were in the
53:29audience and who were perhaps more expected to win i mean that's the thing about the baftas
53:33there was a time it was quite famous with hugh grant back in the 1995 baftas when he won for
53:39four
53:39weddings in the funeral and actually made the point in his acceptance speech that you know he was more
53:44likely to have won than john travolta for pulp fiction who was in the audience because the
53:48baftas like to recognize homegrown talent but at the same time even at that ceremony samuel l jackson
53:54won best supporting actor for pulp fiction so it goes to show that they can sometimes make choices
53:59give awards um there have been occasions when someone like sam mendes for american beauty uh won
54:06the oscar he's a british director but he lost in the baftas just a month later so sometimes they do
54:12give
54:12you a better indication than some of the other award ceremonies like the golden globes as to what
54:17will do well in the upcoming oscars in the middle of march i see were there any films that you
54:23thought
54:23didn't get the recognition maybe they deserved i mean i've mentioned song sung blue on this before
54:27the neil diamond film i mean kate hudson was nominated uh for best actress um but when you look
54:34at films like one battle after another it's actually really quite satisfying because paul thomas anderson
54:39is quite an edgy filmmaker he made boogie nights and magnolia and phantom thread but has never really
54:45done that well in the award stakes i'm actually licorice pizza uh did get a bafta a few years ago
54:51but this although in the oscars sinners got more nominations one battle after another got more
54:58nominations in the baftas and came out trump's i think six nomination six wins with sinners on three
55:05the same number as frankenstein so i think if we carry that forward into next month's oscars my bet
55:12is on one battle after another winning so it was quite a satisfying win and sean penn perhaps the
55:17unexpected winner in the best supporting actor category absolutely you haven't got too much time
55:23left but i'm curious what you make of this i've heard speculation online that there's almost a kind
55:27of recency bias when it comes to some of these large award shows that films that came out later in
55:32the year closer to award season tend to do better what do you make of that uh that is true
55:36because
55:36the hollywood studios deliberately put out their best films uh by christmas day that's the deadline in
55:42america for awards consideration uh but erin brokovich classically 25 years ago was released in may
55:49sinners released in may last year and that's one of the favorites uh to win indeed as it was at
55:56the
55:56baftas and will be at the oscars so sometimes films do have longevity but i remember dunkirk when
56:02that came out in 2017 it was in everyone's minds in the summer when it came out and then i
56:07think by
56:08the time of the oscars the following year it had fallen away slightly from consciousness absolutely
56:13well thank you so much for joining us chris and our viewers can catch you just after this
56:18you've been watching kent tonight live here on kmtv as always there's more news made just for kent
56:24throughout the evening and don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news across
56:28your county by logging on to kmtv.co.uk you can also keep us on your social timelines by liking
56:34us on
56:34facebook and following our tiktok but that is all the time we have thank you so much for watching and
56:39we'll see you soon good night
56:54we'll see you soon good night
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