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Catch up with all the latest news across the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
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00:21Good evening and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV. I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are
00:27your top stories on Friday the 8th of May. Lib Dem landslide. The centrist party remains
00:33its hold on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. A ripple effect. South Eastwater boss resigns
00:38after months of pressure. I think it was just a mystery why they felt that David Hinton was
00:45the best man for the job when clearly he wasn't. And 100 years in nature. A local crochet group
00:52marks Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday. David took about five, six hours to make.
01:10So if you were just watching the politics show you would have seen Megan Shaw just after the election
01:17count. And just before we check back in with her in Tunbridge Wells for Kent's only local
01:21election we are bringing you a breaking story about an ongoing murder case. It's the trial
01:29into the death of a man who was found dead in Chatham last year. Charlie Belsham was fatally
01:34stabbed in the armpit in November. A Maidstone Crown Court has heard how the attack may have
01:39been over a £10 phone purchase. Chloe Brewster is here with me now to tell us more. So Chloe,
01:44how did this case begin? So there's three defendants here. There's two for murder, Mark Jesse, 51 of
01:51Castle Road and 41 year old Shane Rule who is of no fixed abode. There's also another defendant,
01:57that is Ashley Robinson, also 41 of Meadowbank Chatham. So three people from based in Chatham here. We
02:04also learnt a little bit more about the victim. That's Charlie Belsham, also known as Charles Belsham. The court heard
02:11about how the death was allegedly due to the sale of a mobile phone. And what is the backstory to
02:19this case?
02:21So police discovered Mr Belsham's body in a basement room at a house on Castle Road, Chatham in November
02:27last year. The fatal wound was inflicted under the 43 year old's left armpit. The pathologist said it could
02:34have been delivered with a force at the severe end of the scale and it ran to a depth of
02:4018 centimetres. The
02:41prosecution also argued that Jesse and Rule were the ones who attacked with Robinson being the one who sold
02:48the phone and also helped the escape allegedly. The prosecution added that while there was only one
02:54stab wound, they said, we are clear and will remain clear that the prosecution's case is that the stab wound
03:00was
03:00inflicted by Mark Jesse. We say the attack on Charlie Belsham involved both Jesse and Rule acting together
03:06in what we call a joint enterprise. That means taking part or assisting or encouraging the principal attacker
03:12while sharing that same intent to kill. Jesse wielded a knife and Rule assisted or encouraged him.
03:19What was the alleged motive?
03:21So as you heard earlier, the prosecution say this was over the sale of a mobile phone. So Ashley
03:28Robinson, the guy who isn't being charged for murder but is being in charge of assisting an
03:33offender, he was said to have sold this mobile phone. Then 16 hours later, the victim winded up dead.
03:41It was said that following its first use, the victim had had a get-together at his address
03:45where all three of the defendants were there. And then later that evening, it's argued by a witness
03:51that Robinson began asking the victim to pay up £10 for that phone that he had just purchased.
03:57A witness said that was then an altercation ensued in the house and the things got violent.
04:03It's clear to say though, this is the early start of the court case. We're yet to hear all of
04:08the details
04:08but that's what I can give you at the moment.
04:10Alright, thank you so much, Chloe.
04:13The Liberal Democrats maintained their dominance in Tunbridge Wells Borough Council with 11 seats
04:19of 15 going to the centrist party. This is the only local election happening in Kent against
04:25a national backdrop of huge reform gains and labour losses. But here in Tunbridge Wells,
04:31it was clearly a battle between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. So our local democracy
04:36reporter Megan Shaw was there. And she's here with me now as well along with Rob Bailey.
04:44So Megan, tell me, you've been there all day. What has the atmosphere been like?
04:51Well, it's certainly been a long day, we can tell you that. And it's been such a long day that
04:57ordinarily
04:57that you'd have a report from me where we'd go through, you know, who won, where the seats went, you
05:03know, who lost.
05:04But, I mean, the results are still being called out of what, four, four we had the last...
05:09Four o'clock. But it would be fair to say they're quite a muted atmosphere for quite a lot of
05:12it.
05:12It was one of those elections where everyone knew that the Liberal Democrats were going to win it
05:16right from the start. The only question was how many seats they would win.
05:19And in the end, of course, they won a lot. They won 11 of 15.
05:24And break down the results for us. So what does this mean for Tambridge Wells Borough Council then?
05:30Well, it was only a third of the Borough Council that was up for the election today.
05:35It's the only council in Kent that still does it that way.
05:37So every year, a third of the council is elected. And in the fourth year, there's no elections at all.
05:42So, you know, day to day, not much has changed.
05:45No, I mean, it would have taken a really staggering result for the Liberal Democrats to have lost control today.
05:49That was never really on the table. All they've done is strengthen their hand.
05:53But, of course, they've done that with an expiry date.
05:56The councillors that joined the council today, the enhanced majority that Liberal Democrats have,
06:00they only had it for two years, the Tambridge Wells Borough Council will be scrapped,
06:05replaced with something that we're not quite sure about yet,
06:07probably a unitary authority in the west part of Kent, and we'll start again.
06:12So what it means is, for now, the Liberal Democrats are very strong here,
06:16but with questions about what they can do with this mandate in the short time they have.
06:21Well, we've got some clear winners here then, but tell us about the losers.
06:26Well, all of this has kind of taken place against a national backdrop
06:30where we've seen huge losses for Labour in terms of councils and Conservatives,
06:34and huge reform gains as well.
06:37But we haven't had too much. I mean, reform kind of flagged, really,
06:40and came third in most kind of runs for council positions there.
06:44Absolutely. I mean, the big losers today, really, are Labour.
06:47They didn't win any of the seats that they were contesting today.
06:49They're down to a rump of three on the council.
06:51The Conservatives would have expected to have a tough time, but actually held two seats today.
06:56So for them, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
06:59And obviously, the Tambridge Wells Alliance held the seat that they were contesting,
07:04so they're a small local party who were celebrating success.
07:08So Labour are really the big losers in Tambridge Wells today in that sense.
07:12All right. Thank you so much. Sounds like it's been an interesting day.
07:17A woman from Dale has been convicted after her ex-boyfriend's Staffordshire Bull Terriers
07:22escaped from a garden and went on to kill another dog.
07:26Faye Waters admitted she may have left the gate unsecured
07:29while collecting belongings from her ex-partner's home.
07:32The two dogs were later found roaming in St Margaret's at cliffs by a woman who took them home to
07:38keep them safe.
07:39Once inside, they attacked her two elderly Jack Russells, killing one and injuring the other.
07:45The woman was also hurt, suffering puncture wounds and a fractured hand.
07:49Waters was given a six-month conditional discharge,
07:53500 compensation pay for emotional distress, and the dogs were ordered to be destroyed.
07:59A teenager has been taken to a London hospital in serious condition after a crash involving a car and a
08:05motorbike.
08:06Emergency services were called to St Mary's Road in Swanly at around 10.30pm last night
08:11after an accident which saw two teenagers and a man in his 30s taken to hospital.
08:17While the man and one teenager has been discharged since, another teenager still remains in serious condition.
08:23A 39-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy have been arrested in connection with the incident and
08:29they remain in custody.
08:31And from a man's home of 30 years being bulldozed to illegal puppy smuggling rings being investigated,
08:38I was joined earlier by Josh Columbell to discuss a round-up of a couple of news stories from across
08:43Kent that caught his eye this week.
08:46So Josh, I'm aware you have a bit of an update about the Swanskin Peninsula story that we covered on
08:51the 7th of May.
08:51Yes, so from the report that Finn McDermott covered, we have now obtained CCTV footage of the devastating moment that
08:58Bob Thwaites at home was destroyed.
09:00He was living on that peninsula for 35 years and the cruising club had been operating since 1991,
09:07but the landowners, Land Logical, have decided that they are going to take possession and have left the community in
09:13disbelief.
09:13The CEO, Nicholas Katz, has said that this is nothing new or unexpected and should have happened months ago.
09:21He also stated that Bob was squatting and there was no occupation right there for any form of residency.
09:27Bob was out shopping when he got the call that his shed was being knocked down, but by the time
09:33that he had arrived,
09:34he discovered that his property had been smashed into pieces, including all of his possessions,
09:39and most heart-wrenchingly of all the items he had kept from his late son's police service.
09:44Bob is now left salvaging what he can of the last three decades of his life with his family, wondering
09:50what will happen next.
09:52Anne, what is your last story?
09:54So, following on from that, we have Folkestone and Hive District Council working on reports of very young puppies being
10:01sold in Folkestone Town Centre.
10:03Police received a report from a member of the public on the 5th of May, alleging that dogs are being
10:08sold on Sandgate Road.
10:10Folkestone and Hive District Council has confirmed it is working with local RSPCA branch as part of a probe being
10:17carried out by the Animal Welfare Charity.
10:21The RSPCA says it is unable to discuss these reports about specific individuals due to legal reasons.
10:29However, they did tell Kent Online is always grateful when people raise concerns.
10:34The UK has strict regulations around selling puppies, with Lucy's Law making it illegal for pet shops and commercial dealers
10:42to sell puppies in order to combat the so-called puppy farms.
10:45Instead, puppies must be sold directly by breeders or through a recognised rescue centre.
10:52However, illegal breeding operations and puppy smugglers are on the rise, with the Charity Nature Watch Foundation estimating that between
11:0175% and 80% of dogs in the UK come from unknown sources.
11:07The RSPCA is still urging people that want a dog to first consider going to a rescue centre in order
11:13to give a puppy a second chance.
11:15All right, very interesting. Thank you so much, Josh.
11:19Now it's time for a short break, but don't go anywhere as we have more in store for you.
11:24We'll be discussing the resignation of the CEO of South East Water as a result of the mounting pressure on
11:31the company.
11:32We'll also be seeing how a local crafting group in Gillingham are celebrating David Attenborough's 100th birthday, as I'm sure
11:39you've been hearing all about across the news.
11:41We'll be taking a look at the weather as well and to see if that sun will be sticking around
11:45for the weekend.
11:46All of that and more to come. See you then. Bye-bye.
12:27Bye-bye.
12:58Bye-bye.
13:26Bye-bye.
13:58Bye-bye.
14:26Bye-bye.
15:10Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
15:13A street in Maidstone is being covered by not just one water leak, but now two.
15:18A water leak outside of Pitburn Court in Tunbridge Road in Maidstone, which has been the subject of repeated calls
15:24for its repair, has been joined by another leak just 100 yards down.
15:28South East Water had repaired the leak back on April 1st, but then stated that another leak had occurred in
15:33the same location.
15:34Future repair dates were planned, however, nothing has materialised with Maidstone Council's cabinet member, Councillor Tony Harwood, being exasperated with
15:44the water company.
15:46And keeping with the theme of South East Water, the CEO of South East Water today has announced his resignation,
15:53bringing an end to mounting calls for management changes.
15:56It comes following a water outage over winter, which impacted 24,000 properties across Kent and Sussex, with Tunbridge Wells
16:04being one of the areas worst affected.
16:06Some homes were left without water for over a week.
16:09Chloe Brewster has summed up what this vacancy could mean for Kent's water security in the future. Let's take a
16:17look.
16:17I see that he's resigned today, so we're very happy. He's gone at last.
16:23That's the resounding message on the streets of Tunbridge Wells today as the CEO of South East Water announces his
16:29resignation.
16:30It comes after months of building pressure on the boss to leave his post.
16:34Pressure that South East Water now says is distracting from their ultimate aim of providing resilient water supply to their
16:41customers.
16:41His exit was confirmed seven days after Chris Train, the chair of South East Water, resigned in the wake of
16:48a damning select committee report.
16:50They looked at how thousands of people in the South East were left without water, some for days and some
16:57for weeks.
16:58It's a time people on the streets of Tunbridge Wells haven't forgotten about.
17:03We were out both times, so we were out for about, I can't remember precisely, but we were out for
17:07about a week in December and then two weeks in January.
17:11So we lost our water both times.
17:13And what was your reaction to finding out that the senior management decided to give up their post?
17:18About time, really. I mean, they're clearly out of their depth.
17:22I think it was just a mystery why they felt that David Hinton was the best man for the job
17:28when clearly he wasn't.
17:30And I think his just unwillingness to appear in public when we were all struggling physically and mentally, I think
17:40was just inexcusable.
17:41And while many people here weren't keen to speak on camera, just a mention of South East Water led to
17:46anger and sighs.
17:47In March, the company was fined more than £22 million by Ofwat for its supply failures.
17:54Mr Hinton, who was earning £400,000 a year, appeared in Parliament in April to apologise for their handling of
18:01the issues.
18:01It was something that I hadn't experienced at that level before. We're using consultants to really help us work out
18:09what our effective emergency playbook is, our crisis comms playbook is, what everyone's role in that playbook is.
18:16So that is a learning that we went through, went through the pain of getting it wrong.
18:20Do you not think your customers deserve that degree of accountability from you?
18:25And that degree of accountability is that we accept that we failed in our primary duty.
18:35A South East Water spokesperson said the board remains focused on accelerating engineering works to improve the resilience of the
18:42supply network
18:43and increasing water capacity and quality in high priority areas.
18:48Hinton is set to remain in post until the summer, in order for there to be a transition period.
18:52And while his chair at the table will soon be replaced, Alistair Carmichael, the chair of the Environment, Food and
18:58Rural Affairs Committee, said South East Water is still not yet off the watch list.
19:04Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Tunbridge Wells.
19:09A new memorial honouring the fishermen and organisations involved in the Dunkirk evacuation have been installed.
19:17They join an existing Tommy figure at Ramsgate's Royal Heritage Harbour as part of a project put together by Kevin
19:24and Jill Finn,
19:25the Ramsgate Little Ship's Operation Dynamo Community Group and Standing with Giants.
19:30The silhouettes acknowledge the non-combatants of the Second World War who helped to evacuate troops from Dunkirk.
19:36The expansion comes ahead of further commemorations planned in Ramsgate, such as Armed Forces Day on the 27th of June.
19:45Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all our latest stories across Kemp by logging on to
19:50our website kmtv.co.uk.
19:53There you'll find all of our reports, including this one, about Her Royal Highness Princess Anne's visit to the hospital
19:59of Sir John Hawkins in Chatham.
20:01The hospital of Sir John Hawkins has been housing veterans and civilians in Chatham for more than 400 years,
20:09founded by the Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1594.
20:13And today dignitaries from the Royal Naval Association, as well as figures from across Medway,
20:18welcomed Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the patron of the charity for her first royal visit.
20:24Very generously, His Majesty offered us the Princess Royal as royal patron,
20:31and, of course, Her Royal Highness graciously agreed to actually act as our royal patron,
20:37and that's where we are today.
20:40Now, the hospital of Sir John Hawkins was founded in 1594 and it's had several royal visits since.
20:46In 1964, when the Ministry of Defence was formed, the Lord High Admiral went to the monarchy,
20:52with Queen Elizabeth II along with the Lord Wardency.
20:54At that time it was the Queen Mother.
20:56And in 1984 the Queen Mother reopened the hospital after it had some refurbishments,
21:00and in 1994 the late Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 400th anniversary of the charity.
21:06And today's visit is a very special one, with Her Royal Highness Princess Anne now being the patron as she
21:12raised the ensign.
21:13But what exactly does the ensign mean?
21:16That the white ensign has been flown here.
21:19The white ensign obviously doesn't fly just anywhere.
21:23It has to have a very close connection.
21:26There are 16 warranted sites around the country.
21:29We've just been added to that.
21:31It symbolises naval authority and sovereignty,
21:34and can only be flown on Royal Navy ships, or on land with special permission.
21:39Plenty of familiar faces were at the Orms House to meet Her Royal Highness,
21:43and to celebrate the raising of the ensign.
21:45I had a really nice chat with her.
21:47She was asking me how long I've been in the area, and a bit about my background.
21:51I think she was running a little bit late because she was so keen to speak to so many people,
21:55which is always a lovely sign.
21:56So, no, we had a really good chat.
21:58It was lovely to meet her in person for the first time.
22:00I think she's probably my favourite royal.
22:03She's quite no-nonsense and very hard-working, so it was a delight to meet her.
22:08It is a great honour and a great privilege.
22:10We're delighted to have the Princess Royal here.
22:12We have arms houses in Medway.
22:14We do look after our military,
22:16and it's a great honour to have her come and recognise that in us.
22:21With Her Royal Highness being given the patronage
22:23after the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II,
22:25it's likely she'll return to the site of the oldest Royal Navy Arms House in the country.
22:30Putting Medway on the map for receiving royals as well as raising flags.
22:34Finn McDermott for KMTV in Medway.
22:39Now for a look at the weather forecast.
22:46Well, so it looks like this evening we will have highs of 13 degrees in Dartford,
22:51wind speeds of 7 and 8.
22:53Then into the morning those slightly decrease, those temperatures.
22:58We've got lows of 15 in parts of the county.
23:01Then going back up to 18 into the afternoon,
23:03wind speeds slightly increasing as well.
23:05It looks like Dartford has a lot of sun.
23:07On Sunday we have cloudy skies, 14 degrees.
23:10And then the sun peaking through on Monday and Tuesday,
23:12with Monday seeing 16 degrees and Tuesday seeing 18 degrees.
23:22Well, you've probably heard Sir David Attenborough is celebrating his 100th birthday today.
23:27And one Kent venue remembers the day the iconic filmmaker visited them 20 years ago.
23:32The wildlife broadcaster officially opened Maidstone Museum's West Wing
23:37and Walking with Dinosaurs expedition, marking the tour's first stop.
23:41During his visit, the acclaimed filmmaker examined the site's fossil collection
23:45alongside a former keeper of natural history,
23:48before greeting a packed house of visitors and fans.
23:51Museum's manager Simon Lais said at the time that it was a great honour to welcome him.
23:58And finally, continuing on with the celebrations for Attenborough's 100th birthday,
24:02a local crafting group in Gillingham decided to take their needles
24:05and start recreating many different moments of the world-renowned nature lover.
24:10Reporter David Brooks hoarsely went down to see what they created.
24:15Today, May 8th, marks Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday.
24:19And one small local crafting group has took this celebration to their own wild project.
24:25We've been knitting and crocheting gifts for elderly people
24:28and having a chat trying to work out what was significant about 2026.
24:32So I did a quick Google search to see what significant dates there were.
24:37And obviously, the first one that popped up was David Attenborough's 100th this year.
24:41And I was like, that's perfect.
24:44And everybody else around the table just went, yes, let's do it.
24:48David Attenborough's storytelling has inspired millions across the globe.
24:52In particular, he's inspired this group of crafters behind me
24:55in crafting 100 different animals, each one shaped by the stories he has spent decades telling.
25:01It varies on how detailed they are.
25:05David took about five, six hours to make.
25:10When you're working with a small hook and small thread, everything takes a lot longer.
25:16They are knitted flat for the most part.
25:19So this is the start of an angel fish.
25:21So this is going to be his body and it will be sewn up like so.
25:27And then his fins and what have you will be knitted separately and sewn on.
25:31And these crafted animals have left the shop onto their own adventures
25:35as bright letter box toppers and window displays.
25:38But what does David Attenborough mean for this group of crafters?
25:42I think he's a national treasure and everyone can get involved and see what he goes to see.
25:49And it's accessible for everybody as well, kids or older people, anyone can watch it.
25:55He gets to visit places that most of us will never ever see.
26:00So experiencing his experiences in those places, I think, makes the rest of the world a little bit more real
26:08to us.
26:08I grew up watching David Attenborough.
26:11He's a national treasure.
26:13Weekends, watching TV, watching his shows.
26:17Happy 100th birthday, Sir David.
26:20David Brooks-Horsley in Gillingham for KMTV.
26:25And you've been watching Kent tonight live on KMTV.
26:29But there's more news made just for you throughout the evening.
26:32And don't forget, you can always keep up to date with the latest news across the county
26:36by logging on to kmtv.co.uk.
26:39And you can keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and TikTok.
26:44See you soon. Bye bye.
26:44See you soon. Bye bye.
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