- 13 hours ago
Catch up with the latest across Kent with Chloe Brewster
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:21Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
00:25I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top stories on Tuesday 5th May.
00:30Darren Valley Drought. Hospital hits one week of water issues.
00:35And I'm here outside Darren Valley Hospital to give you all the latest.
00:39Anti-Semitism crisis. Chatham MP reacts as Prime Minister condemns the rise in anti-Jewish hate crime.
00:47There's always ongoing work around these issues.
00:51And a pop-up pub. Luddstown Farm Estate creates temporary pub so locals can keep their community.
00:57So having the lion as part of the Silverhand Estate was so important to us.
01:15Our top story tonight.
01:17Dartford's Darren Valley Hospital was declared a critical incident after its seventh day without consistent water due to a fault
01:24in the system.
01:25Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust have sincerely apologised to patients and visitors with staff having to resort to washing patients
01:32with wet wipes.
01:33Our reporter Megan Shaw is live at the hospital now.
01:36Now Meg, this has been going on for a week now. What's the update?
01:42Of course, Chloe. So as you mentioned there, Dartford Valley Hospital have declared this a critical incident.
01:47As you can see, I'm outside here in Dartford.
01:51And that's because water plight issues have now lasted for their seventh day in a row.
01:55Of course, this has caused disturbance, disruption and upset to patients, staff and visitors alike at the hospital.
02:03With Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust sincerely apologising to those who have been affected.
02:08What this means is that for a week now, some parts of the hospital haven't had water for drinking or
02:14washing due to an issue that might have compromised the water quality of the water supply.
02:19But we don't really know all that much more than that, including details about the timeframe of when that water
02:25might be back on.
02:26We do know that the hospital does remain open and fully operational for the time being.
02:31Mm hmm. And take us back to what's happened over those past seven days.
02:39Of course. So issues first started on the 29th of April, Chloe, on the west block of the hospital.
02:46That's roughly half of the site, which gives you a sense of the scale of the problem here.
02:50And there's been no running water available for drinking since then.
02:55Of course, bottled water has been distributed.
02:57But there have also been reports of poor working conditions for hospital staff, such as staff having to clean patients
03:03with wet wipes,
03:04which you mentioned there, Chloe, a lack of clean crockery.
03:07And of course, the difficulties that come with trying to run a hospital and yet not having water in some
03:12parts of it.
03:13One patient who discharged herself commented online that nurses in Lyndon Ward were under immense pressure and it broke her
03:20heart to watch them struggle.
03:21Although she praised the quality of the care that she received, she noted that the nurses and staff are working
03:27in what she described as horrendous conditions.
03:30Now, Chloe, although the issues in the west block that compromised that possible water have since been fixed,
03:36the taps still aren't able to be turned on until the water supply has been thoroughly tested.
03:41So as for when we're asking questions about when things are back to normal, we can't quite give a conclusive
03:47answer
03:47because the results of these testing aren't expected to the 9th of May, the very earliest.
03:53And a spokesperson for Derrick Valley Hospital said that we're working closely with the specialist partners responsible for the hospital's
04:00infrastructure
04:01to complete this process as quickly as possible.
04:04On the other side of the coin, I spoke to the MP for Dartford earlier as he's been quite vocal
04:10about representing his constituents during this time.
04:13Well, I'm making the point to the hospital that this needs to be resolved safely, but it needs to be
04:18resolved as soon as possible.
04:20Local residents who either have loved ones in the hospital or are in the hospital themselves are clearly very concerned.
04:27I'm very clear with the hospital that they mustn't compromise patient safety.
04:33I've asked that they work with the Integrated Care Board for Kenton Medway and the Department for Health and Social
04:39Care
04:39to make sure they've got all the resources that they need in the hospital to manage this situation
04:44and make sure patients are still getting good care and that their safety isn't being compromised in any way.
04:51Next, a man who stole thousands of pounds from his dead father and arranged his cremation without telling his family
04:57has been sentenced.
04:59Richard Avery took money from his father's account just days after his death, leaving relatives devastated and unable to say
05:06goodbye.
05:07Nayla Mohammed joins me in the studio now to tell me more about this. Now Nayla, what happened here?
05:12So Richard Avery was estranged from his father George for around 20 years and George then died in 2022
05:20and just days within George dying, Richard showed up again, reappeared in his life.
05:25And then a few days after the death, Richard took around £5,700 out of his dad's bank account
05:33and transferred it into his own account. He then also stole another almost £4,000 worth of money
05:39from his father's credit card to buy jewellery from H. Samuels.
05:43And despite not being an executor of the will, he then also arranged and carried out his dad's cremation.
05:51And importantly, he did not tell a single member of the family.
05:56And these actions were reported to the police by George's family, including his stepdaughter Anne,
06:01who is the executor of the will.
06:04Something that's shocking for any family to go through. But how did the family react?
06:09Well, they're absolutely devastated. I mean, the eldest son, Paul, he said that he felt like he was denied the
06:14chance
06:14to give his father the proper, respectful funeral that he deserved.
06:18And Anne, who I mentioned earlier, the stepdaughter, she was so shocked and felt like she could hardly speak
06:24when she discovered not just the missing money, the £5,700, but also the fact that the cremation had been
06:30carried out.
06:31And the sentencing was done at folks in magistrates' court, which we can see here on the screen.
06:37And the court heard that the ordeal caused years of delay to the probate
06:42and also significant emotional distress and damage to the rest of the family.
06:49And what did the court decide to do?
06:51Well, Richard Avery had admitted to five counts of fraud by false representation.
06:58And the magistrates did say that the offences were serious enough to warm in prison,
07:03but instead handed him a 12-month sentence and suspended him for a year.
07:08He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and also pay compensation for the family members.
07:15Now, there was a separate charge for the cremation as well, but this was dropped by the prosecutors
07:20because they believed it wouldn't have changed the overall sentence
07:23and the family feel like they were denied the complete justice that they should have had.
07:27Thank you, Nayla.
07:30The government has today said they are fast-tracking new laws to tackle the anti-Semitism crisis,
07:36including more funding to protect Jewish people and their communities here in Kent and across the county.
07:41This comes after multiple instances of attacks at synagogues in recent months
07:46and the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green in London.
07:50Medway has a large Jewish population, so we were joined by Chatham MP Tris Osborne earlier today to talk a
07:57little bit more about this.
07:59So, in my former capacity, I used to be a chair of the Medway Community Safety Partnership and portfolio for
08:07enforcement.
08:08We did some work with the Jewish shawl, the synagogue in Chatham, one of the most historic synagogues in the
08:15country,
08:15as it happens, to improve their security, to ensure that there's direct line of communication between them, the council and
08:23the police.
08:23And so there's always ongoing work around these issues, protecting religious sites, in particular the synagogue,
08:32which has been sadly subject to attacks previously.
08:36And so, yeah, I have had communication from Jewish residents, people who are connected with the synagogue,
08:43just to request and highlight where there are concerns that they might have.
08:48You know, it's clearly a scary time for some Jewish people,
08:51but when we asked Kent Police if they had any practical plans to safeguard the Jewish community here,
08:56they told us that they'd offered reassurance.
08:58Is reassurance really enough at the moment when the terror threat in this country is classified as severe?
09:06So, Kent Police do have a policy around protecting sites of religious significance.
09:13So, in Chatham, for instance, they're absolutely aware of the synagogue.
09:16We have been working with them in the past to provide additional security cameras to ensure that the police are
09:24aware to drive past,
09:26and also where there are security concerns to feedback on those.
09:31So, clearly, there's no targeted threat, as in specific targeted threat towards our synagogue in Chatham.
09:38But, you know, the police will take any evidence and or communication from the Home Office and will act accordingly.
09:48Today, Keir Starmer announced £1.5 million in funding to strengthen community cohesion.
09:53What do you think that actually means?
09:55And do you agree with his response to what's happened?
09:59So, absolutely.
10:01Clearly, with the incidents that we've seen in London and elsewhere in the country, including in Brighton and in areas
10:09of the southeast,
10:10I think it is important that we protect synagogues, in particular due to some of the rise in antisemitism that
10:16we've seen across the country.
10:17I think Keir is correct that that needs to be three-pronged.
10:21First of all, supporting the police more in terms of giving additional resources where there are identifiable issues in those
10:27communities.
10:28Second of all, around looking at the prescription of or with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
10:37This is the group which is active in Iran at the moment.
10:41And then thirdly, it's reassurance, as Kent Police has just said.
10:45It's just making sure that the police, the council and others are working with religious sites, including synagogues,
10:51to ensure that they have appropriate security on site and that they have lines of communication directly with the police
10:57and the council,
10:58should they have any specific concerns.
11:01The owner of a Chinese takeaway in Chatham has spoken of his shock after a man stole a plant from
11:07their reception.
11:09CCTV footage captures the moment the man walked into Bill's kitchen in Castle Road before snatching a money tree from
11:15inside.
11:16Owner Hongyuan Zhu said the man removed the plant before putting it in his car and driving away.
11:22Restaurant staff had been working in the kitchen at the time and had not noticed that the plant had gone.
11:28The restaurant has reported the incident to police and says the money tree held deep personal value.
11:34A money tree is a popular house plant often associated with good luck and prosperity.
11:39Now it's time for a quick break but don't go anywhere because coming up we'll hear from Louise McNally,
11:44Trespass Prevention Lead at Network Rail, all that and more after this short break.
11:49.
11:49.
11:49.
11:49.
11:51.
12:21Transcription by CastingWords
12:51CastingWords
13:21CastingWords
13:51CastingWords
14:21CastingWords
14:51CastingWords
15:17CastingWords
15:35CastingWords
15:40CastingWords
16:09CastingWords
16:32CastingWords
17:01CastingWords
17:29CastingWords
17:42CastingWords
18:04CastingWords
18:19CastingWords
18:48CastingWords
19:08CastingWords
19:16CastingWords
19:24CastingWords
19:25CastingWords
19:49CastingWords
19:54CastingWords
20:09CastingWords
20:15CastingWords
20:29CastingWords
20:40CastingWords
21:09CastingWords
21:16CastingWords
21:23CastingWords
21:46CastingWords
22:01CastingWords
22:09CastingWords
22:33CastingWords
22:46CastingWords
23:09CastingWords
23:23CastingWords
23:46CastingWords
23:58CastingWords
24:04CastingWords
24:34CastingWords
25:01CastingWords
25:31CastingWords
25:37CastingWords
25:59CastingWords
26:29CastingWords
26:39CastingWords
26:44CastingWords
26:58CastingWords
Comments