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00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:32Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:37I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Friday the 15th of May.
00:41Still without answers, no end in sight for evacuated residents of the Miller Heights block in Maidstone.
00:47I stand by it, I'm never coming back here again with the kids.
00:51Running out of patience, new Kent County Council inquiry paints a damning picture of southeast water.
00:58It's a shambles that people who are paid such a large amount of money in a public utility do not
01:04take full responsibility.
01:07And moving mountains. A Tunbridge Wells man is set to climb the UK's tallest peaks
01:12to raise money for the hospital that supported his late friend through cancer.
01:15It's another good way to show my appreciation for everyone at the hospice in the world and everything they did
01:20for us.
01:30But first, our top story tonight.
01:32It's still an uncertain future for the former residents of Miller Heights,
01:36who have until the 19th of May to collect their belongings after power and water failures made the building uninhabitable.
01:42Many have been given emergency accommodation by the council, but this will only last one week.
01:47The management company, Centric, haven't yet given a time frame of when these repairs are set to be complete.
01:53Megan Shaw was there earlier in the week and went back to Maidstone to speak to those affected.
01:59Evacuated from Miller Heights on Tuesday, it was a scramble for emergency accommodation for most former residents,
02:07after a leak cut off water and power.
02:10It's honestly a shambles. I don't know how it's been allowed to go on for so long.
02:14Charlotte was one of these residents who needed to find alternative arrangements for herself and her children.
02:20Since then, she's been re-homed temporarily by Maidstone Borough Council.
02:25We're finally off of an emergency housing, which has been a good thing, really.
02:31The conditions are a million times better than this building ever was,
02:34so I'm quite thankful for her, but she's done that as we trained it.
02:38And that they're sleeping, so they're safe, secure, mould-free.
02:42Another resident invited me into her emergency accommodation and wanted to be kept anonymous.
02:48As a leaseholder who pays £8,000 in service charges and other fees each year,
02:55she's concerned about what happens after,
02:57when she might be charged for both utilities in her old home
03:01and the new emergency accommodation she's in.
03:04This is more than a mortgage, by the way.
03:07That £8,000 is almost all my mortgage.
03:10When we first came in here, it was £800 a year.
03:14It's now £8,000. I've been here for 10 years.
03:17It is ridiculous.
03:19And the building is just getting worse and worse and worse.
03:21And the incidents are getting more serious.
03:23This isn't the first time I've had to move out because of a lease.
03:26My concern is, as a leaseholder, I'm going to have to pay these utilities.
03:32I asked Centric to clarify if residents will be expected to pay utilities
03:37and service charges for a building they won't have access to next week.
03:41In a statement, they were unable to either confirm or deny this.
03:46The leader of Mainstumbra, a council, however,
03:49sent confidence that his council could hold the management company to account.
03:54We're making sure it's Centric regularly to see how things are progressing.
04:00And it's a multi-agency response, so we are all in communication with the company,
04:06holding their feet to the fire, for want of a better word.
04:09Seeing as the building will be shut from Tuesday
04:11and most emergency accommodation has only been set up for a week,
04:16questions still remain on what will happen next for the residents of Miller Heights.
04:21Megan Shaw for KMTV, InMadeStone.
04:24A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder
04:27after another was found dead in Romney Marsh.
04:30It comes after a man in his 90s was found in his bungalow in St. Mary's Bay.
04:34His body was discovered yesterday morning when officers and paramedics attended.
04:39A man in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into custody,
04:43where he remains pending further inquiries.
04:46It's understood that both men were known to each other
04:48and we'll have more details as the story continues.
04:52A man has been imprisoned after killing another with a single punch to the head.
04:57Maystone Crown Court heard how Ryan Greaves knocked out Daniel Beard cold
05:02when he found out he had been sending his girlfriend provocative messages.
05:05Greaves went and found Mr. Beard after hearing about the messages
05:08and a verbal argument broke out where he struck him,
05:11knocking him to the ground and causing a catastrophic brain injury.
05:15Greaves was later arrested and now faces under five years in prison for the assault.
05:19It's now been a week since Joe Bennett last heard from his mum and her partner,
05:24who are currently being detained in Iran on espionage charges.
05:28Joe, who lives in Folkestone, has spoken on his worries about Lindsay and Craig,
05:31as well as what he's trying to get the government to do to get them home.
05:35I spoke to him earlier.
05:36Tell us a bit about, from your end, what's been happening.
05:39I'm aware you've been speaking to officials in government
05:42and trying to get some sort of solution sorted.
05:44Where are we with that?
05:46Yeah, I mean, the most concerning thing at the moment is I've not spoken to my mum in over a
05:51week.
05:52Well, it's been since Bank Holiday Monday.
05:55Craig's been since last weekend.
05:57You know, we don't know if they're safe.
05:59There were threats that they were going to start a hunger strike.
06:02We don't know if that's been gone.
06:03We don't know what conditions they're currently in.
06:05So it's a concerning time.
06:08You know, it's tough.
06:09That's just what's happened in the last two weeks.
06:12We're constantly trying to make an impression in Parliament.
06:16I mean, gratefully, we've now got an adjournment in Parliament next Thursday,
06:21which gives us 30 minutes to ask direct questions to the government,
06:24which Hamas Faulkner will have to answer.
06:29But we are continuously trying to raise awareness and just change the political will.
06:36The one thing that I feel is missing is the care for my mum and Craig.
06:42They say to us that they do, and, you know, I hope they do,
06:46but it doesn't feel like that in the actions and the course that they're currently taking.
06:50So we're desperately trying to get them to, as I say,
06:54increase their political will to want to help.
06:56You say you spoke to them last week.
06:58Before that, how long had it been since you had heard your mum's voice?
07:02I mean, luckily for us, since November, you know,
07:06one of the times they went on hunger strike back then
07:08was to get regular calls with family
07:10because it's something that was promised by the judge in court.
07:15So since November, we've had pretty much daily contact.
07:19Prior to November, it was very sporadic.
07:21And I mean, for the first eight months, I didn't speak to either of them.
07:24So, you know, it's that in itself has been a challenge, you know,
07:29and the fact that we're back at that point now,
07:31which is a very, very basic human right.
07:32It's a phone call to family.
07:34It's a lifeline for them.
07:36It's a lifeline for us.
07:38And once again, they've been stripped of that
07:41for nothing more than telling the truth.
07:44There's been some people out there who have been saying
07:46that this wouldn't have started
07:48if your mum and Craig weren't in Iran at that time.
07:52What do you have to say to people who are saying that sort of thing?
07:56Yeah, I mean, you know, firstly, people are entitled to their opinions.
08:00I go back to that, which is we're falling into the victim-blaming again.
08:06You know, the advice at the time was different to what it is now.
08:09If on there it had said that innocent UK citizens have travelled
08:14to see their family, whatever it may be,
08:16and have been detained for five-plus years,
08:18because that's not common knowledge,
08:20and it's not public knowledge because it's not on the advice,
08:22then I think that would have been a different outcome.
08:25Listen, I'm never going to be able to change people's thoughts on that,
08:29and they're entitled to their opinions.
08:30You know, what I'm trying to get is the support of the people
08:34that know that this is unjust,
08:35that two innocent people do not deserve to go through
08:40what they're currently experiencing.
08:42As you heard there, they've been out there for 16 months,
08:45so it's a story that's continued to develop since then.
08:48But another impact of the Iran war
08:51is its effect on the economy around the world,
08:53felt here in the UK, specifically with fuel.
08:56And that's also been hitting Kent, Surrey, Sussex,
09:00or KSS, Air Ambulance Charity.
09:02They say their fuel prices have skyrocketed
09:05since the war in Iran began,
09:06and the growing bill is yet another threat
09:09to the charity's stability.
09:11Our reporter, Chloe Brewster,
09:13went down to Rochester Airfield
09:15to find out exactly how it was affecting the helicopters,
09:18and how many were even taking off from the tarmac.
09:20Let's have a look.
09:21The soaring fuel prices have all of us
09:24doing a double take at the petrol pump,
09:26whether your vehicle travels on land or in the skies.
09:30This is the helipad at KSS Rochester Airfield,
09:33and at the moment it's empty
09:35because the aircraft is responding to a critical incident.
09:38But it's becoming harder and harder
09:40for these flights to leave the ground
09:41with the increasing fuel costs.
09:44Since the start of the current crisis in the Middle East,
09:47the costs for our fuel have risen by 63%.
09:50That equates to about £25,000 a month,
09:53and it could put a pressure
09:56on our long-term financial viability,
09:59particularly in the context of a cost-of-living crisis,
10:02which is making everybody feel the pinch,
10:05making fundraising more difficult
10:06than it's ever really been before.
10:08The charity is now calling for the support of the public
10:11to help flights leave the ground.
10:1391% of our funds comes from members of the public,
10:15and they're generous, generous support.
10:17We are working through Air Ambulance Charity,
10:20to work with the government,
10:22to ensure that they view Air Ambulance Charities
10:26as a whole as the life-saving service that they are,
10:30and to ensure that we benefit from any protections
10:33or provisions around fuel costs in the future.
10:35We have long-term plans,
10:37and we plan for changes like this.
10:41This is a sort of incident that you can't plan for,
10:44but we are confident that with the support of the members of the public
10:48and the work that we're doing with Air Ambulances UK,
10:51that we will be able to continue to apply this wave.
10:53Government says they're continuing to plan for a workable solution
10:57around increasing aviation fuel costs,
10:59which have come as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,
11:02a key shipping route near Iran.
11:04But when fuel prices take off,
11:06it's not just helicopters feeling the turbulence.
11:10The RNLI told us the increasing costs are having a financial impact on them too,
11:14and that they continue to monitor the situation,
11:17but say it isn't currently impacting their service.
11:20So while we wait for a solution to rising fuel costs,
11:23charities like Kent's Air Ambulance are hoping public support
11:26will help keep their life-saving missions from being grounded.
11:29Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Gillingham.
11:33Now it's time for a break,
11:35but don't go near as after a few minutes we'll find out
11:38about a new inquiry from Kent County Council
11:41that's revealing the staggering losses that businesses face
11:44during water outages that rocked Kent over the winter.
11:47We'll also talk to the police officer from Kent
11:49who was given recognition by US law enforcement
11:52after helping out a US policeman in some trouble on his holiday.
11:56All that and more after this short break.
12:09We'll see you next time.
15:19Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
15:24Now, a new inquiry from Kent County Council has revealed the staggering losses that businesses
15:29faced during water outages that rocked Kent over the winter.
15:33Tens of thousands of people were left without running water in parts of Tunbridge Wells,
15:37Maidstone and Tunbridge, with southeast water under fire for poor communications during
15:41the crisis.
15:42The company say they're working to overhaul their network, but as our local democracy reporter
15:47Oli Leder has been finding out consumer confidence is at rock bottom.
15:51Tens of millions of pounds in losses exacerbated by bad comms.
15:57It's hard to imagine a more damning verdict for southeast water.
16:01But that's one of the takeaways from an inquiry led by Kent County Council's scrutiny
16:08committee looking into outages across Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone where thousands
16:14were left without running water over the winter months.
16:18The Tunbridge Wells Hotel was one of the businesses left high and dry.
16:24Nearly six months on, they are still recovering.
16:28That period of time, it really accounted to about a £40,000 loss for the week.
16:34And that at that time of the year is substantial and that affects how you're going to operate
16:38for the rest of the year.
16:39It's a major blow to the bottom line.
16:40The committee's inquiry listed eight recommendations, including better communications with customers
16:48and alternative supply options beyond bottled water for high use sites such as farms.
16:56They've lost trust of the public.
16:57And if they don't implement any of these recommendations, they'll lose the trust of local authorities.
17:03And Kent County Council is a big player in Kent.
17:06We've got a lot of responsibility and we want to work with them.
17:10So they'll be foolish not to take some of these recommendations on board.
17:14The inquiry comes not long after the chief executive of the water company David Hinton resigned under mounting pressure.
17:24For the Tunbridge Wells MP, all of this is a step in the right direction.
17:29This is necessary to start that journey to fixing the culture in South East Water.
17:35It's not sufficient.
17:36It's not going to solve the problems.
17:37But before we can get to tackling that culture problem, tackling that that culture of low standards
17:43and under investment, we needed to change the leadership.
17:46We've done that now.
17:47It's the it really would come to the end of the beginning.
17:50If I could paraphrase a great man with South East Water.
17:52South East Water says it is working with local authorities across Kent to bolster alternative water provision
18:01and is updating emergency procedures.
18:04This committee have made clear the changes they want to see.
18:09It's now over to the water company to show they're not going to bottle it.
18:21Next tonight, we have a story about a police officer from Ashford who had to spring into action
18:26to help a fellow officer across the pond on his holiday to Nashville, Tennessee.
18:31Police Sergeant Taylor Johnson just left the airport when he saw a local officer, Peter Kinsey,
18:36being assaulted by a man at the side of the road and he jumped in to help.
18:40He joined us earlier, but first let's see the moment that he saved the man's life.
18:58So Taylor, talk us through what was going through your head when you intervened in the attack.
19:05I'm not sure a lot was going through my head, I'll be honest.
19:07It was a bit of an instinctive reaction.
19:11I just saw the struggle on the floor and it looked like something I needed to get involved in and
19:17try and help the officer.
19:19I see. And obviously you were on holiday. Did you expect for this kind of thing to happen at all?
19:25No, no. I think we'd been in Nashville for about 20 minutes as we drove off the motorway to go
19:33to my sister's house when we kind of stumbled across the incident.
19:38And tell us a little bit about your kind of reaction in that moment.
19:42What exactly did did you see? Tell us sort of paint a picture for us if you could.
19:46Yes, we came off the motorway and there was a police car parked on the side of the road and
19:52I could see two people fighting in kind of the long grass.
19:57I stopped just to kind of see what I needed to do, see if I could help.
20:01And as I ran towards the incident, I could see the suspect on the police officers back.
20:07The officer was face down in the ground and the suspect was just continuously hitting him, headbutted him and was
20:15biting him as well.
20:18I see. And after everything happened, I believe you met the chief of the Nashville Police Department.
20:23Tell us a bit about that.
20:25Yeah, that was quite surreal. I didn't expect kind of such a thank you.
20:31They really made a big deal and they were really grateful and they were all lovely.
20:37And yeah, I think that was when I realised how much of a big deal the incident was up until
20:42that point.
20:43You know, it was just kind of another day in the office, but their gratitude was greatly received.
20:52Now, police have confirmed a woman in her 60s has died after being pulled from the sea at a beach
20:57last night.
20:58Officers, paramedics and the air ambulance were called to Dimchurch after being called at 8.20 on Thursday.
21:04At least four emergency service vehicles were spotted in the area.
21:07A police spokesperson told Kent Online the death is not currently being treated as suspicious and a report is being
21:12prepared for the coroner.
21:15Now, a respected auctioneer who made regular appearances on Homes Under the Hammer has died.
21:20Clive Empson was in charge of Clive Empson Land and Property Auctioneers, an empire spanning from Kent to Cornwall.
21:26His appearances on the show helped bring more eyes to his business, with him saying the show made the auction
21:30house a more respected place to buy property and land.
21:34The decorated businessman did a great deal of charity work behind the scenes, earning him an MBE for services to
21:40vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Kent.
21:42Empson passed away on Wednesday peacefully at the age of 79.
21:46Now, it's time for a look at the weather.
21:53Tonight, we'll be seeing cloudy skies and rain in some areas.
21:56Temperatures at a low of 7 in Ashford, highs of 9 in Margate and we'll see some overcast skies continue
22:02into the morning.
22:03Highs of 11 in Dover, lows of 10 throughout Kent.
22:05Wind speeds hitting a high of 10 miles per hour into the afternoon.
22:08Now, some lows there of 13 across the south coast and it's looking a bit warmer in the north with
22:13the sun starting to peak out.
22:14And here's your outlook. Looks like it's going to be a wet end to the weekend with some rain on
22:19Sunday getting slightly warmer as we get towards Tuesday.
22:30Next, Harvey Crowther from Tunbridge Wells is climbing the three tallest peaks in the UK to raise money for a
22:36hospice in the Weald in Pembury.
22:37The hospice cared for his best friend Zane for three months before he passed away in November of 2025 at
22:43age 19.
22:44I spoke with Harvey earlier to hear more about his fundraiser.
22:48Well, thank you for joining us, Harvey. First of all, talk to us a bit about the Three Peaks Challenge,
22:52how it started and why exactly you're doing it.
22:56Well, I'm doing it because I like to push myself a lot and face tough challenges all the time.
23:03And most importantly, for my friend Zane, who learned to overcome every obstacle and make the most of life.
23:10And so I try my best to make him proud and share his story whenever I can and talk about
23:15how special he is.
23:18And also, it's another good way to show my appreciation for everyone at the hospice in the Weald and everything
23:23they did for us.
23:25I see. And tell us a little bit about Zane and your friendship. How long have you guys been friends?
23:31Well, I met him in year seven in secondary school and we just clicked instantly.
23:36It felt like we'd known each other forever. And every time we spent together was great.
23:43We shared so many hobbies and interests and always had a great laugh.
23:48And yeah, every time we spent together was great.
23:52Amazing. And have you climbed any hills or mountains before or anything?
23:57Is this something you're used to doing?
23:59Well, I've done a bit of practice near my local area in places like Galley Hill and Beachy Head.
24:06And I'm also a very active person in general.
24:10So I'm hoping that will help with all three mountains, which I'm doing with my dad,
24:15who's also been practicing quite a bit as well.
24:18Amazing. Is your dad going to be accompanying you on the climbs?
24:21He is, yeah.
24:23That's really great. And I'm aware the GoFundMe is at about £400.
24:27How much money are you hoping to raise for the Weald?
24:31Well, my target was at £500 and I've hit that now.
24:35But obviously anything little helps and all the support I've had so far is greatly appreciated.
24:46And yeah, anything is better than nothing.
24:49So however much really is greatly appreciated.
24:54Absolutely. Well, it's really great to hear that you're doing this.
24:57When you were visiting Zane in the hospital, did you just have this sense of wanting to do something,
25:02wanting to give something back to the staff who helped him throughout and helped you throughout that period?
25:09Yeah, definitely, because they're all so supportive and I'd known a few of them before actually, which helped and was
25:19really reassuring because I knew how much of great people they were and how supportive they were towards Zane and
25:28his family and me and my friends.
25:32So yeah, any way I could help and show my support and raise awareness for how good and important they
25:40are in so many people's lives is just what I'm trying to do really.
25:46And finally, children from a primary school in Chatham are set to have their artwork displayed alongside some iconic works
25:52by some of the world's most celebrated artists.
25:55Each year, the Take One Picture programme sees the National Gallery pick one piece from its collection to inspire cross
26:02-curricular work in primary school classrooms.
26:04They faced fierce competition from thousands of entries from more than 400 schools to exhibit at both the prestigious National
26:11Gallery and Royal Academy of Art.
26:13David Francom, the school's art lead, has called the opportunity an experience of a lifetime, adding that it's something he's
26:20very proud of being a part of.
26:23Well, you've been watching Kent tonight live here on KMTV.
26:27There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:30And don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging on
26:34to kmtv.co.uk.
26:36You can keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.
26:41And if you have a story that you think we should be covering, then please don't hesitate to get in
26:46touch.
26:46But that is all the time we have for now.
26:48Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you soon.
26:50Goodbye.
26:52Bye.
27:04Bye.
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