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00:37Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KNTV.
00:40I'm Naila Mohamad and here are your top stories on Monday 27th April.
00:45One month on, hundreds still affected by Age UK centre closure in Ginningham.
00:50I haven't got a good family around me, so really I'm on my own, really.
00:56Standing against sewage, Whitstable residents join protests against waste polluting seas and rivers.
01:02We need more anger, we need more action, we need everybody to come together against this.
01:10And finally, swimming towards success.
01:13Record-breaking Olympic swimmer gives a masterclass to Medway's future stars.
01:18Kids have been so responsive to either technical changes or just in general just having so much fun.
01:23So it's been good to see them learning, but then also doing it with a smile on their face as
01:28well.
01:38Now our top story tonight.
01:40It's been one month since Age UK Kent Rivers closed its centre in Ginningham, and the impact is still being
01:46felt by those who relied on it.
01:48Many say they've lost more than a service, they've lost a second home and a sense of family.
01:52And with the alternative support offered not being accessible for some, they're now calling for their centre to return.
01:58Maisie Walker has the story.
02:00A place many in Medway called home.
02:03A reason to get up in the morning, to put on something nice and to spend time with friends.
02:09Now gone.
02:10It's almost been a month now since Age UK Kent Rivers shut its centre in Ginningham, but residents are still
02:16feeling the impact.
02:17Many of them say they feel alone and isolated.
02:20It had everything that you could need in that centre.
02:25This is Diane and Phyllis.
02:27They were regulars at the centre, and since its closure, they've only been able to stay in touch with friends
02:33over the phone.
02:34It's affected them in the same way as it has affected me.
02:38They're desperately, desperately lonely.
02:41I haven't got a good family around me, so really I'm on my own, really, without going into it.
02:49And so that was really important for me.
02:53The closure was linked to severe financial difficulty and has left hundreds without support.
02:58Living in Chatham, Gloria is 89.
03:01She says the only communication she received after the closure was a letter outlining alternative services.
03:08But like many former users, she's found those options out of reach.
03:13They don't seem to understand that when you get into your real old age, I mean, 89 is quite old.
03:21Not many people make it these days.
03:24You feel a bit abandoned by society in a way.
03:28They seem to think you're a blessed nuisance, you know.
03:30But you can't just switch off and die, can you?
03:32And so you've got to carry on as best you can, really.
03:37And if you haven't got somewhere central to go, which was the whole thing, was that we were all in
03:44a similar situation.
03:46Fortunately, I've got family that come to see me.
03:49And this morning, my granddaughter and great-granddaughter came to see me.
03:53And other people haven't always got that.
03:56So they're completely abandoned.
04:01For the second time, I was directed to Age UK Kent River's website when seeking comment.
04:07From the national charity Age UK, which says it is not involved in the financial governance
04:12or decision-making of its independent local branches,
04:16states its priority has been supporting service users and signposting them to alternatives.
04:22I also contacted Medway Council, which says it hopes to announce a permanent provider shortly.
04:28But for residents, words alone don't go far enough.
04:32They want their support centre back.
04:34And today, one month since Age UK Kent River's shut its doors in Gillingham,
04:38that sense of hope is slowly slipping away.
04:42Maisie Walker for KMTV, Medway.
04:46Next heartbreaking tribute have been left for a teenage motorcyclist who died in a crash in Sittingbourne.
04:54Flowers have been left on Lower Road in between the Tongue and Tenham after the death of a 17-year
04:59-old.
04:59The tragedy unfolded around 5pm on Saturday when the teenager, who was riding a black motorcycle,
05:04was involved in a collision with a van.
05:07The VW transporter was travelling in the opposite direction to the biker.
05:11Flowers, cans of Guinness and written notes from family members have been left on the side of the road
05:15near the junction with Hempstead Lane.
05:19Now a thief has been banned from Bluewater Shopping Centre after being found with £5,000 worth of stolen goods.
05:26Sonia Verdi was caught stealing from various shops at the centre
05:29and was found with a shopping list of items to steal on her phone.
05:33Following her arrest, officers found over £2,500 worth of stolen items in her vehicle
05:38and more at her parents' home in Jude.
05:42Medway Magistrates Court placed Verdi on a 12-month community order,
05:46which will involve her carrying out 120 hours of unpaid work.
05:49She was also banned from growing to Bluewater for that time
05:52and was ordered to pay compensation for some of the stolen items.
05:56Now, I still back the Prime Minister.
05:59That is what Ashford MP Sojan Joseph told us when we asked him
06:03if we'd be calling for his leader to resign.
06:04As controversy around the former US ambassador, Peter Mandelson's appointment continues.
06:09With MPs now to vote on whether Sir Keir Starmer should undergo investigation,
06:14our reporter Megan Shaw reached out to all of Kent's Labour MPs
06:17to see if they still supported their leader.
06:20I still back the Prime Minister.
06:23He has made it clear that if he had all the information before,
06:31then he would not have appointed him.
06:34Words of confidence from Kent's only Labour MP to express support for the Prime Minister
06:40when KMTV asked if they still had faith in his leadership.
06:45They made ongoing investigations into how Peter Mandelson
06:48was ever able to serve as British ambassador to the United States,
06:53while being an associate of convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
06:58I should not have appointed Peter Mandelson.
07:01I take responsibility for that decision.
07:04And I apologise again to the victims of the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein,
07:08who were clearly failed by my decision.
07:12The Ashford MP has been a staunch supporter of his leader
07:15since the release of the Epstein files in February
07:18that found further correspondence between the disgraced politician and Epstein.
07:23Now, several senior cabinet members and civil servants have stepped down or been sacked,
07:29with the latest Sir Ollie Robbins fired
07:32after it was revealed he did not disclose vetting concerns around Mandelson's appointment.
07:37I contacted all of Kent's Labour MPs to ask if they still backed the Prime Minister,
07:43and no other MP got back to me.
07:47Opposition, both to Mandelson's tenure and Keir Starmer's governance,
07:51has been rife across all parties.
07:53His reputation is at stake.
07:56Everyone is watching.
07:58It is finally time for the truth.
08:01Yet only Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP for Sandwich and Herne Bay,
08:06wanted to elaborate on camera.
08:08He has jeopardised the security of the United Kingdom
08:12from his position of Prime Minister
08:14and in appointing Mandelson as our ambassador to Washington.
08:21That is an issue from which he will never recover.
08:24His credibility will never recover.
08:27And that means that he has to go.
08:29But now that MPs are set to vote
08:31on whether the Prime Minister should face an investigation
08:34over his conduct during the Mandelson controversy,
08:38will their silence persist?
08:40Megan Shaw for Kame TV.
08:44Next up, over 500 protesters turned up to demand
08:47an add to sewage dumping and public ownership of water companies
08:50during an event in Wittstable over the weekend.
08:53Residents joined the SOS Wittstables
08:55and this dirty business protest,
08:57alongside celebrity speakers Fergal Sharkey,
09:00Chris Tunney, Ash Smith and Peter Hammond.
09:02Meanwhile, Southern Water says it's spending £1.5 billion
09:05to cut storm overflows.
09:06Community reporter Henry Luck has more.
09:09Hundreds of Wittstable residents and beyond
09:14have taken part in SOS Wittstables' 5th annual march,
09:21demanding an end to sewage spills
09:25and returning water companies
09:27and returning water companies to public ownership.
09:30The end, this dirty business protest,
09:34named after the Channel 4 documentary,
09:38saw people dress up as flies, swans and fish
09:45as they made their way down
09:47to Southern Water-owned Swellcliff wastewater treatment works
09:53with one emotion dominating over all else.
09:58I mean, rightly, anger.
10:00Maybe disbelief, sadness.
10:03I mean, all the whole rainbow of emotions,
10:07and quite rightly so,
10:08and we need more of that.
10:10We need more anger.
10:11We need more action.
10:13We need everybody to come together
10:16against this,
10:18towards the companies,
10:21towards the government,
10:22towards the Environment Agency.
10:23Joining the protesters
10:25were celebrity speakers
10:28and the activists
10:29who inspired dirty business.
10:33We're leading the charge.
10:34We're being the vanguard
10:35of trying to draw the nation's attention
10:38to the absolute corruption of the water industry
10:41and the decimation and destruction
10:43that's been reaped upon our beaches
10:46and upon our rivers.
10:47We've seen what happens here,
10:49and it's what's happening around the rest of the country.
10:51Every community,
10:52every single community
10:53is being affected
10:54by a water industry
10:56that's concentrating on making money
10:57and not doing the job it's paid to do.
10:59A Southern Water spokesperson
11:01said that the company
11:04is investing £1.5 billion
11:07to stop storm overflows.
11:11It says AI is now being used
11:15to unlock extra storm capacity
11:18alongside nature-based solutions.
11:23SOS Whitstable
11:24are encouraging people
11:26to sign their Change.org petition
11:29to put the issue to Parliament.
11:33The crowds here at Tangleton Beach
11:35are now making their way home,
11:38but the message of this protest
11:40is going to continue
11:42to cause a storm
11:44for weeks, months,
11:46and potentially years to come.
11:50Henry Luck
11:51for Kane TV
11:53in Whitstable.
11:55Now it's time for a quick break,
11:57but don't go anywhere
11:58because coming up,
11:59we'll have plenty more
12:00in sports news and the weather,
12:02and we'll see you soon.
12:03Bye-bye.
12:31Thanks for having me.
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15:26Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
15:29Now a row is brewing over a revived plan to use a public green space in Farisham as a pub
15:35garden.
15:36The proposal for the plot of grass next to the Creekside Albion Taverna has come from
15:41owners Shepherd Neame, which was refused in an identical bid in 2019.
15:45The plan requests to put 12 picnic tables and benches on the grass, with bosses arguing
15:50that the furniture would be for public use as well as for customers.
15:53But Swellborough Council Planning Committee members rejected the application, on the
15:57grounds that it would have a negative impact on the area and neighbours, but a decision
16:01is yet to be made this time around.
16:04Now two Kent County Council volunteers have resigned after attempts to improve issues within
16:09the travelling community.
16:12Martin Ward and Maria Lee say they have been left depressed and in defeat after almost a
16:17year of campaigning.
16:18The pair left their voluntary roles on the same day after having felt none of their concerns
16:22were being acted upon.
16:23Lee from Canterbury said, there is a call for change for our people, but it didn't come.
16:28Both allege that the lack of action was rooted in systemic racism, a claim that KCC say take
16:33the allegations seriously and that they are investigating.
16:38Now it was an eventful weekend for Kent Rugby and an exciting weekend to come for motor racing
16:43in the county.
16:44And Elena Gonsalves rounds up the latest sports news in the local area.
16:49Teenager Sullivan Booth made his Football League debut for Gillingham at Barnett in style,
16:53with a goal and an assist in Saturday's match.
16:56The Jills were eventually beaten 6-2, but Booth marked his senior debut with a goal that
17:01briefly evened the score to 1-1.
17:03Jills boss Gareth Ainsworth did not have a lot of positive things to say about the team
17:07as a whole, but singled out Booth for special praise saying that there was one shining light
17:12in that performance, and that's Sully Booth.
17:15And in cricket, Kent head coach Adam Hollyoak concedes that Kent's batting is a big worry,
17:19after they suffered an innings and two-run defeat to Worcestershire in their Rothersey
17:24County Championship Division 2 match on Sunday.
17:27Seventh wicket pair Chris Benjamin and Keith Dudgeon added 71, but none of the top six passed 31.
17:33It was the first Red Bull loss this campaign for Kent, and their problems only continued when
17:38their opener Ben Compton suffered a dislocated finger on day two.
17:42Hollyoak said,
17:43We haven't batted well, and on paper we have a very good batting line-up, so at times
17:47like this we have to go back to the fundamentals.
17:49He then went on to say,
17:50The mood in the group is very low, and it's my responsibility to pick that up.
17:54And on to rugby, Tunbridge Juddians ended their first season back in National League
17:581 with the biggest win of the campaign, scoring 83-14 against the Leicester Lions.
18:04The Judds end the year eighth after a game which saw Tommy Nicholl and Duncan Toots sign
18:08off for the club after a stellar 200-plus games, with Luke Boone doing the same with 100 caps
18:14under his belt. The action started in minute one, with Barnes gliding over on the left.
18:19Lions hit back with a converted try to lead 7-5, but they couldn't stop Judds running riot.
18:24And staying with rugby, Canterbury lost 31-29 to Barnes in National League 2 East.
18:30The team lost their way in the second half when a final play took victory out of the
18:34City side's hands. As a result, Canterbury will finish the season in fifth spot, one place
18:39behind their visitors. The City scored three outstanding tries and a penalty try which resulted
18:44in a 14-point lead at the break. Then in the second half, Elliott Hayden's try and Nicholson's
18:49conversion narrowed the gap to seven points, as the City side dropped passes and struggled
18:54to keep possession. There were yellow cards for Cameron McMillan and Oliver as Canterbury defended
18:59strongly, but there were too many penalties conceded which eventually cost them the game.
19:03On Saturday, Canterbury will end their season with a rearranged home game against Oxford
19:07Harlequins. The match was postponed in March due to the meningitis outbreak.
19:11And finally, in motor racing, GT World Challenge Euro Sprint Cup returns to Kent with Valentino Rossi
19:17due to race at Brands Hatch. The nine-time MotoGP champion will return to West Kingsdown
19:23Circuit to compete in the annual race held this weekend. This year's 34-car grid will be made up
19:29of eight manufacturers, including luxury car brands such as Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini.
19:35Aurelion Panis and Arthur Leclerc signifying a major date on Brands Hatch's centenary calendar,
19:41with MSV planning to celebrate the milestone with a full year of Century of Power.
19:47And now it's time for a quick look at the weather.
19:56Later tonight, lots of rain across the county, with temperatures averaging around 10 and 11 degrees,
20:00slightly overcast in Margate. Tomorrow morning, cloudy temperatures being mostly around 10 degrees,
20:06except for Dover seeing highs of 11 and Tumbridge Wells with lows of 9. For the afternoon, the sun can
20:11be seen in Margate, partly cloudy for the rest of the county, highs of 16 in Dartford. Temperatures
20:16are 13 and 14 for the rest of the county, and your outlook for the coming week. Looking bright
20:20as sunny skies for the coming days, temperatures creeping through the rest of the week. 17 on
20:23Wednesday, 19 Thursday and 21 on Friday.
20:33Now it takes a lot of support, training and preparation behind the scenes to be able to get
20:37to the level of an Olympic athlete. So Midway's young swimmers got the chance to learn from the best
20:42over the weekend. Now Duncan Scott is the most decorated British Olympic swimmer in history,
20:47with two gold and six silver medals, four of which he won at Tokyo, the most for a Brit at
20:52a single game.
20:53And Finn McDermott went down to Midway Park to find out more.
20:57Oftentimes, competitive sports can feel like being thrown in at the deep end, especially if you're young.
21:02So to help Midway's youth swimmers not feel too out of their depth, Duncan Scott, the most decorated
21:07British Olympic swimmer has come to give advice, tips and sign a few swim camps as well.
21:12He's a part of AP races clinics that aim to improve the standard of swimming all across age groups
21:17around the country. And with his visit to the Kent Leisure Centre, he's hoping to not just instruct,
21:23but inspire a new generation of swimmers as well.
21:25Yeah, look, it's really cool to come here. You know, I've done a lot in Scotland, you know,
21:29being the Learn to Swim ambassador and, you know, going the length and breadth of Scotland and
21:33opening places and, you know, learning to swim is something that I think is so vital.
21:39But doing it in a slightly different location and more of kind of evolved around in racing
21:44and learning different techniques and things like that, it's, yeah, it's been great fun.
21:49And the kids have been so responsive to either technical changes or just in general just having
21:55so much fun. So it's been good to see them learning, but then also doing it with a smile on
22:00their face as well.
22:00But there's plenty that goes on outside of the pool as well. They have their strength and conditioning
22:05and even a psychological prep session, making sure that they're well equipped to be able to handle
22:10the intensity of such a competitive sport. And it's not just the young people learning,
22:14but the parents as well. They have a private session with instructors where they can learn
22:18how best to support their child going through the sport.
22:21The AP swim clinic, we have also got other instructors. They brought the whole team and they are doing
22:26other sorts of like psychological sessions as well as how the team around the child can
22:31really support the child to motivate and, you know, propel them towards higher goals.
22:37I think that's such a fantastic message as well. And we do look forward to meeting Duncan later on
22:44to see his gold medal as well, because I've heard that he's brought it along with himself as well.
22:48Rather than think of a competition as sink or swim, the idea of having an experienced Olympic level
22:53swimmer like Duncan at Medway Park is to help these young athletes improve their speed while also
22:58taking care of themselves. Finn McDermid for KMTV in Medway.
23:04Now with the temperature outside heating up and festival season fast approaching,
23:08it's time to get your summer weather activities in the diary. And I was joined by Corey Miller earlier
23:13today to talk us through some of the top events happening this weekend.
23:17So Corey, tell us a bit about your first story that you've got for us.
23:20So our first story is a Maidstone Fringe Festival. So this is a five-day festival happening in Maidstone
23:26and it goes from the 30th of April all the way to the 4th of May. So with that, it's
23:32a lot of
23:33home-ground talent. It's a big sort of parade and lots of pubs and local venues are reserving
23:39their time for these sort of performers. The organiser Clive Austin has already confirmed the style of the
23:46Witch Market House, Frederick Bistro, the Flower Drakes and the Druid Arms, the Crafty Brew, the
23:55Year Old Thirsty Pig and Harmony HQ. So of course it's a celebration of all different types of music,
24:02all different types of genres and with that you can have a little bit of folk. You're going to be
24:07able
24:07to go around, meet new people and just have a great time.
24:09And you've got a second story for us today, haven't you?
24:12Yeah, so even more going on at the weekend. So the infinite racer Valentino Rossi will be making a
24:18return to Kent for Kentish Track's 100 year anniversary. So the track Brad Hatch is located
24:25in Kingsdown, in West Kingsdown. Now for those who don't know Rossi Valentino, he's an Italian race
24:31driver, former motorcyclist, nine times Grand Prix winner. And yeah, so he's going to be coming down
24:38to the event. The last, the second time he made his way here, he got a podium finish. On the
24:43weekend,
24:44he is planning to get behind the wheel of his 46 BMW M4 GT3 Evo with German Max Hesse as
24:52the pair get
24:52ready to take on the hour-long races that is going to conspire then. So with that the tickets go
24:58for
24:58general admission of 35 pound. However, if you're under 13, it's free admission. I'm not too sure
25:03if I go to it myself personally, because I'm not too much a fan of racetracks, but I'm sure that
25:08if
25:09you are into it, it's going to be quite a good watch. And can you tell us a little bit
25:13about what's
25:13going on here? Is this another festival? Yeah, well, this is another one. This is the
25:19Rochester Sweeps Festival. So this is our historic holiday that has been dating back around 300 years.
25:25So the sweeps itself is sort of a holiday, a bank holiday for what was chimney sweeps hundreds of
25:34years ago. So this is where the people would only get one day off a year and that was the
25:401st of May.
25:40So for that, people would sort of dance and gallivant down the high street in sort of sod and
25:47dance with various chimes. So these are Morris dancers. So they're dressed in certain clothes,
25:53quite often waving around handkerchiefs and they click sticks together. And this is just sort of
25:58one of the routines that was put in when the person who sort of revived this craft in 1980s
26:05wanted to sort of breathe life back into it and send it to the town. There's going to be a
26:10lot of
26:10people on the high street. There's going to be food stills all around and a lot of traditional music.
26:15Now that's an exciting weekend, this bank holiday. But you've been watching Kent Tonight Live on KMTV,
26:21and there's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening. And don't forget,
26:25you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging on to our website,
26:29kmtv.co.uk. You can also keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook,
26:35Instagram, and also following us on TikTok. And if you have a story you think we should be covering,
26:40then do get in touch. We also have a series of special programmes in Victorsport, which is going
26:45live tonight at 6.30. Kent on Climate, Benston Kent, Kent Film Club, Kent Politics Show on Fridays,
26:52which you can watch throughout the week. But that's all from us from tonight,
26:56and we'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye.
27:10Bye.
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