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00:32Good evening and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:37I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Wednesday 20th May.
00:41Sex crime statistics.
00:42With a sex offender from Ditton being imprisoned for two years,
00:45we take a look at the number of violence and sexual crimes reported here in Kent.
00:50And he had been attempting to sexually communicate with a 13-year-old female.
00:54Under a divided world, this year's International Museum Day aims to show
00:59how museums can bridge social and cultural divides.
01:02We really hope that we can create a sense of identity and a sense of belonging within the museum,
01:06not only for people who have lived here throughout their entire life,
01:09but also people migrating to the area.
01:11And press prizes.
01:13We speak to Max in PR after they announce the finalists of the Kent Press and Broadcast Awards.
01:28Now, before we get into our top story for this evening,
01:31it contains discussions of sexual crimes and might not be suitable for younger audiences.
01:38New footage has been released following the arrest and sentencing of Darren Cross,
01:42a registered sex offender from Ditton,
01:44after he was found to have been messaging a 13-year-old girl inappropriately online.
01:49Violence and sex crimes as a category make up the largest number of reported crimes here in Kent of May
01:552026.
01:57So, I've been finding out more about why that is and what exactly is being done about it.
02:02But do you think, as a registered sex offender, that that is a good idea?
02:06No, I see not, clearly not.
02:07It's not a good idea in any way.
02:09This is Darren Cross, a registered sex offender from Ditton,
02:13speaking to police after being arrested for breaching the requirements of his sex offender's registry.
02:18He had been messaging an underage girl online.
02:21According to him, this was an order to find underage children to report to the site's moderator,
02:25but officers found the messages were of a sexual nature.
02:28He's now been sentenced to two years in prison.
02:31We completed an unannounced home visit, myself and DC Wells, on the 3rd of February 2026.
02:37So, that was this year.
02:39During the visit, he engaged well.
02:42He always engages well with us, but he's rather childlike, comes across very manipulative.
02:48However, he's always happy for us to inspect his mobile phone.
02:51We completed the inspection of his mobile phone and saw that he had been using online chat rooms
02:56with an alias name that we weren't aware of, which he needs to notify us of.
03:01And he had been attempting to sexually communicate with a 13-year-old female.
03:05As a news station, we often receive reports of crimes from across the county, whether that's arson, fraud or theft.
03:11But violence and sex offences are the most commonly reported crimes,
03:14at a rate of roughly 31 reports per 1,000 of the daytime population,
03:19which essentially means the number of people in a specific area during the regular hours of the day.
03:25The areas of Kent with the highest amount of these reports are Chatham, Margate and Ashford,
03:30while Tunbridge Wells, Gillingham and Maidstone rank among the safest.
03:33In fact, if we take a look at the statistics here, this is crimerate.co.uk,
03:38we can see that they've decreased in recent years.
03:41Even though it's decreasing, how can people access support if they think they might have been a victim of a
03:45sexual crime?
03:46As Police and Crime Commissioner, I'm responsible for commissioning independent sexual violence advisors.
03:52And that's a service that people can access, whether they report to the police or whether they don't.
03:57And what we've done this year by working with the NHS is we've expanded that provision to include counselling and
04:03therapy.
04:04So there's extra support available for anyone who might have been affected by one of these crimes.
04:09But we work with a number of other organisations to support people
04:12at one that is one of the most troubling and harrowing times in anybody's life.
04:15With these reports of sexual crimes across Kent being reasonably frequent,
04:19protective measures like the Sex Offenders Registry allow the police to ensure that those on it are being monitored
04:25and don't re-offend without consequences.
04:27If you think you may have been the victim of a sexual crime,
04:30you can report it to Kent Police Online or visit a sexual assault referral centre.
04:34Finn McDermid for KMTV.
04:38A 13-year-old boy has been arrested following a suspected assault on Dartford High Street.
04:44The incident occurred early Sunday evening and saw a man on the high street being punched
04:48before falling to the floor.
04:50The arrest of the boy took place on Monday.
04:52The victim was taken to a London hospital and is in a stable condition.
04:56Officers say they've been reviewing CCTV in the area and carrying out inquiries.
05:00They arrived at Dartford High Street the day of the alleged assault
05:03to find the victim being treated by paramedics.
05:06The suspect has since been bailed.
05:09UK supermarkets have been urged by the government to consider freezing the price of some essential food items.
05:15This comes after the SNP pledged to use its developed public health powers
05:19to fix prices between 20 to 50 items.
05:22But retailers across the rest of the country and the county
05:25are not looking at this price cap in a positive way.
05:27In fact, many have rejected the government's plan.
05:30So, Etalee Reynolds joins me with more on this now.
05:32So, Etalee, tell us a little bit more about how these supermarkets have reacted.
05:36So, like you said, they've rejected the plan.
05:38And they have argued that it could push prices up overall,
05:41with one supermarket executive describing the cap as a necessary, unwanted
05:46and an unjustified intervention in the markets.
05:49And what exactly have the government been saying?
05:52So, the government was said to offer an incentive to encourage businesses
05:55to move more towards this cap, including things like easing restriction on packaging.
06:00And what are some of the government's reasons for this potential cap?
06:03So, it all has to do with inflation.
06:06So, some new inflation figures from the Office of National Statistics
06:09show that whilst the rate of inflation has fallen to 2.8%,
06:13food prices have risen to 3%.
06:16And some industry groups have warned that the rate of food prices
06:20could hit nearly 10% by the end of the year.
06:23We can see those statistics on screen now.
06:28I see.
06:29And tell us a little bit more about how these numbers here and their impact
06:33is really going to affect businesses here in Kent.
06:35Well, earlier I spoke to Tudor Price from the Invicta Chamber of Commerce about this.
06:39And he described it as having a detrimental effect on businesses here in Kent,
06:43in effect with the cost of living crisis.
06:46We can hear a bit more about what he has to say about this now.
06:49Businesses will stop investing.
06:50I mean, they are struggling to invest anyway about uncertainty at the moment.
06:53But if we start to see government intervention, you know, it just sets the wrong tone.
07:00And what that does, it means that possible inward investment or foreign investors,
07:04which play a huge part in developing opportunities in our Kent economy,
07:08they all get sort of scared away, thinking, actually,
07:10there's going to be a limit to the sort of returns they can possibly make.
07:14And, of course, whilst it may only be for short term,
07:16it just sets a precedent which is a bit uneasy for many investors.
07:20So, it's really not a good idea and we don't encourage it.
07:23And we also spoke to people in Rochester to hear what they thought about this.
07:28Weekly shops now have gone up 20%, I'd say.
07:3125% and there's no time when they'll be coming back down again, you know.
07:38And everybody feels it.
07:41I think for students it's really important for the pricing of a lot of groceries.
07:45Sometimes we won't be able to really afford, like, Uber Eats or, like, go to restaurants and stuff.
07:51So, a lot of times me and my friends really make the food.
07:54So, I'm not sure about the responsibility here, whether it be the government or whether it be the supermarkets
08:02or whether it be us, the ones who buy the food and what we do with it.
08:08I did use food banks in the past.
08:11I used to live in High Wycliffe and it was helping during Covid.
08:14So, I mean, it is a good thing if people can always donate to help others.
08:19I pass food banks on the other side of the high street and there's queues outside them.
08:26Most days I pass.
08:28And in some more business news, during Prime Minister's questions,
08:31it was announced the government would be postponing a 5p rise in fee duty for the rest of the year.
08:36That's specifically for fuel costs.
08:38Sir Keir Starmer added it was a necessary response to cost of living pressure.
08:42I caught up with Tudor Price to get some more information about this announcement.
08:47The Chancellor and the Exchequer have for a long time been suggesting that they would remove some of the rate
08:52relief
08:53that was in place around fuel duty.
08:54So that was put in place several years ago.
08:57And the idea was to sort of slowly incrementally bring that back to the original duty rate.
09:02That was scheduled for a reduction this year.
09:06But obviously, given the climate and the sort of impact we're seeing across the whole of the UK economy and
09:10global economy,
09:11the fact that they decided to delay that reduction is a big help to businesses.
09:16So actually, this is a positive step.
09:17And we think there's more they could probably do in that area to try and support the economy.
09:22Today marks International Museum Day.
09:24So one of our reporters, Maisie Walker, went down to Maidstone to hear how they're celebrating.
09:30Museums uniting under a divided world.
09:33That is the theme for this year's International Museum Day,
09:37highlighting the powerful role museums play in bridging cultural and social divides,
09:43while encouraging peace and understanding across communities worldwide.
09:47Maidstone Museum is one of the largest museums in Kent.
09:52And today I'll be exploring how culture and history can bring communities together.
09:56Maidstone Museum first opened its doors in 1858 and holds artifacts that tell the story of Maidstone's history.
10:04And since then, it has remained a pillar in the community, offering events that bring people together from all backgrounds,
10:09such as their culture club, where people are able to look and maybe handle artifacts and tell the stories of
10:16their past too.
10:17We have a diverse collection within the museum from local to global history.
10:20So it's really important that we bring people into our free community space and engage and interact with our diverse
10:27collection
10:27and learn about cultures people probably haven't heard of before.
10:29We really hope that we can create a sense of identity and a sense of belonging within the museum,
10:34not only for people who have lived here throughout their entire life, but also people migrating to the area.
10:39We want to be a really welcoming, free, accessible space for people to reconnect with their roots,
10:44find out more about Maidstone and discover parts of the world they might not have heard about otherwise.
10:49I spoke to local residents about what having a museum in their local area means to them
10:54and whether they believe it plays a vital role in preserving local history and uniting the community.
11:00Well, I hope they go on forever. They're interesting. I like history, so I'm always interested in anything like that.
11:07On the other hand, you have to be careful not to stir up any old bad memories and say the
11:12wrong things, I suppose.
11:13We entered a competition from Maidstone's oldest family.
11:17And just literally a couple of weeks ago, the exhibit was put on display in Maidstone Museum for Maidstone's oldest
11:27family.
11:28And so we are officially in there, Maidstone's oldest family.
11:32The family goes right back to 1710.
11:37About community and learning from our mistakes as well, right?
11:40Though International Museum Day has passed, museums across Kent continue to remind us
11:45that history, culture and shared stories have the power to bring people together.
11:51For many, they are more than just places to preserve the past.
11:54They are spaces where communities can connect in the present.
11:58Maisie Walker for KNTV, Maidstone.
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15:22Oh, and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
15:25Now, a driver has been imprisoned for five years
15:28after a fatal three-vehicle collision near Sittingbourne.
15:32Colette Gibson was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving
15:35in a crash that happened on the A249 near Sittingbourne.
15:38The grandmother had brake-checked a vehicle to her rear on the dual carriageway
15:43when Paul Wright was fatally thrown from his motorcycle.
15:46Passing the sentence, Judge Philip St. John Stevens said
15:49although Gibson hadn't set out that day with the idea her actions would take a life,
15:53she had applied her brakes in an aggressive and deliberate manner.
15:57A previous Herne Bay resident and University of Kent graduate
16:01has been imprisoned after stealing £30,000 of fine wine from an American restaurant.
16:07Natalie Ray admitted to her part in a heist last November
16:10which saw her alleged accomplice, Nicola Cadilla,
16:14take several bottles of wine valued at £30,000 from Lauberge Provençal in Virginia.
16:19The pair wore specialised disguises and used fake names
16:22to pose as representatives of a wealthy Canadian businesswoman.
16:25Ray has now pleaded guilty to grand larceny, possession of burglary tools
16:29and defrauding a restaurant or inn while Cadilla remains at large.
16:36Ollie Mitchell, a 19-year-old from Margate with autism,
16:39has now been picked to play pool for England.
16:42His rise in the sport has been rapid,
16:44only picking up a queue for the first time four years ago
16:47and beginning his career in Chatham back in 2023.
16:50In March, he won a national trial tournament
16:52to represent England's under-23 squad
16:54at the 2026 World 8-Ball Pool Championship in Morocco.
16:58Ollie said regarding his autism
16:59that I used to struggle in crowded places and social situations,
17:02but playing pool has helped me as I have the game to focus on.
17:07With social media on the rise,
17:09consumers can forget the world outside their device.
17:12And earlier, our reporter Corey Miller met with a content creator
17:15who uses their platform to promote Kent Days Out.
17:19He also went down to Sevenoaks to experience one of those events for himself.
17:22Let's have a look.
17:27Social medias can be overwhelming
17:29with the algorithm pushing for shocking content
17:31or short bursts of dopamine.
17:33Service users can find it very easy to get trapped into doom scrolling.
17:36But what about the good it can do?
17:38Well, I met with a Kentish influencer
17:40to find out how she uses her platform for just that.
17:43My thing that I'm most known for
17:45is my weekly round-ups of things to do in Kent.
17:48So originally, it was started during lockdown.
17:50Lots of local independents that we loved started closing down, unfortunately.
17:54And I was just devastated to see it.
17:56So I just wanted to spread the word.
17:58It is a passion of mine now.
17:59It has become a thing that gives me its opening rush.
18:02I do enjoy just sharing things.
18:04I really, really enjoy helping local businesses.
18:07Yeah, so what I do is I just go onto Instagram
18:08and I just scroll through.
18:10And because I've done it enough now,
18:12I usually, my feed does kind of give me events just ready.
18:17So what events are going on over the weekend
18:18that I could perhaps go to myself?
18:20Yeah, I'll show you, Corey.
18:21I've done a weekend round-up already this weekend.
18:25What's going on this weekend in Kent, the 16th and 17th of May?
18:29Walks and talks, arts and crafts and more.
18:31It's the Kent Food Fest,
18:32previously nominated by Convey Nars
18:34as one of the college food campaign festivals.
18:40So here I am in 7 Oaks at the Kent Food Fest
18:43to have a look at what the events have to offer.
18:46Here I managed to see people connect,
18:49sample local cuisines,
18:51and see small businesses thrive.
18:53There was even a dog show
18:55where I got to meet all the best pups.
18:57According to the Office of National Statistics,
19:00in 2025, social media had reached an estimate
19:03of 55.5 million users.
19:06It's no wonder the average phone user
19:07spends nearly four hours and 30 minutes online daily.
19:11But what do the event goers think of social media?
19:13Can it be just as good as it is bad?
19:16I think it has a really positive effect
19:19and in publicity sense.
19:23Exposure for small brands like mine
19:25is always good, you know, it's what we're looking for.
19:27Anything can be used for negative things
19:30in the same way as they can be used for positive things.
19:33So I think marketing, social media is a positive thing.
19:37Sadly, sometimes it gets used for negative things.
19:39I think there's more positivity than negativity.
19:43With summer just around the corner,
19:45there's bound to be many more events just like this one
19:47for friends, families and Kent businesses.
19:50Corey Miller for KMTV.
19:53The 20th of May marks World B-Day.
19:56So today we're celebrating that
19:57with a special insight into the world of our tiny friends.
20:00Earlier today, I spoke with Rebecca Machin,
20:02a member of the RSPCA,
20:04to learn more about bees
20:05and how we at home can do our part to care for them.
20:08So Rebecca, why is it so important for us
20:11to care for our insect population, especially bees?
20:15Well, we can't really live without them.
20:17We rely on bees to pollinate most of our food,
20:22particularly somewhere like Kent,
20:23which is the Garden of England, without bees.
20:26We wouldn't be able to have farms.
20:28We wouldn't be able to grow any fruit.
20:30Many vegetables are pollinated by bees.
20:34By looking after bees and their welfare,
20:36that helps bee populations and it helps us, ultimately.
20:40Absolutely.
20:41And nowhere is that, I suppose,
20:42more true than here in the Garden of England, of all places.
20:44So what exactly is causing the decline of the bee population?
20:50There's a number of different factors.
20:52One of the main threats is climate change, unfortunately,
20:56particularly in Kent, again,
20:57with temperatures getting higher each year.
21:01So it means it affects the plants that are growing,
21:04but also the conditions for bees to nest in and finding water.
21:09Habitat loss and fragmentation is a big one as well.
21:12So over the country,
21:13we've lost 97% of our wildflower meadows in the last century.
21:19Obviously, with wildflower meadows,
21:21we lose a lot of food sources for bees.
21:24So they struggle to get enough food and the food they do get is fragmented.
21:30So things like roads and development will make the distance
21:35between different sources of pollen and nectar further away.
21:39So that makes their lives more difficult.
21:41And another big threat is the use of pesticides,
21:44which either kill or affect the health of bees.
21:48And also weed killers,
21:50because, again,
21:51that just reduces the number of flowers around for them to feed on.
21:54I see.
21:55And I have some of the numbers here.
21:57There's 270 species of bees here in the UK.
22:0135 of those are under threat of extinction
22:03and 13 have already gone extinct.
22:06So what can we,
22:07as normal people,
22:09maybe if you have a garden,
22:09if you don't,
22:10what can we do to help work against that?
22:14Well,
22:14there's some really easy things we can do.
22:16So if you have your own garden,
22:18then lots of pollinator-friendly flowers.
22:22Even better,
22:22go for native species,
22:23because this means it supports a bigger range of bee species,
22:28as well as other insects and birds and other animals.
22:33If you don't have your own space,
22:35you can just help by putting out a little bit of water for bees,
22:39especially in the hot weather that I know we're hopefully getting a bit of in a few days.
22:43They can get dehydrated if there isn't much water around.
22:47So just offering some water to bees,
22:49and we've got very simple instructions on our website,
22:52might make the difference between them getting through the day or not.
22:56Now let's take a look at the weather.
23:03Well,
23:04tonight looks like mostly cloudy skies,
23:06except if you're living in Margate.
23:08Some mild temperatures,
23:09lows of 12 in Ashford.
23:11Then tomorrow morning,
23:12some of that cloud staying.
23:14Only some slight sun everywhere across the county.
23:17Highs of 15.
23:18As we get into tomorrow afternoon,
23:20it's getting slightly warmer.
23:2121 degrees in Dartford,
23:23Medway and Maidstone.
23:24Lows of 18 in Dover.
23:26And it's going to be a scorching weekend.
23:2825 degrees on the Friday.
23:30And then as we go more into the weekend,
23:32it's going to warm up ever so slightly,
23:33and with sun throughout.
23:42Now every year,
23:43the Kent Press and Broadcast Awards highlight outstanding journalism across the Garden of England.
23:48And today's crop of finalists were announced,
23:50and I'm very pleased to say that KMTV picked up nine spots.
23:54So to talk about the event,
23:55I'm joined by Rachel Knight from Maxim PR,
23:58who are responsible for putting on the event.
23:59Thank you so much for joining us, Rachel.
24:01First of all,
24:02what was the process like this year?
24:04142 entries whittled down to 16 categories.
24:07Tell us a bit about the judging process.
24:09Yeah, it's not easy.
24:11Fortunately, we don't do the judging.
24:13We are there purely,
24:14we're a PR agency,
24:15so it wouldn't be right if we did the judging.
24:18And it's always been really important to us to have an independent panel of judges.
24:22So what happens is they're all former or current journalists.
24:26And basically, as soon as the deadline passes,
24:29all of the entries go off to the judges.
24:30They review every single one.
24:32And then they come together and basically fight it out for who they think should be the finalists and the
24:38winners.
24:39It can get a bit feisty, but we love that.
24:42It means they really care about who's winning.
24:45Absolutely.
24:45And what would you say your favourite part of the day's events are?
24:50On the actual awards day,
24:54it's seeing how much it means to people.
24:56I'll be honest, it's really hard work.
24:59It's a not-for-profit scheme,
25:00and we couldn't make it work without the sponsors,
25:02who are basically Kent companies,
25:05or companies doing really good work in Kent who want to get to know the media.
25:09They're all at the event as well,
25:10and we all get to see how much it means to journalists.
25:13And, yeah, I often have a bit of a tear on my eye.
25:18Yeah, it can get quite emotional.
25:20And that's when you realise it's all worthwhile.
25:23Absolutely.
25:24I mean, I studied journalism for my undergraduate,
25:26and one of the first lectures I ever had was talking about journalism being one of the least popular jobs,
25:34or one of the least liked jobs to actually have.
25:39What do you think it means to the industry as a whole and the people working here
25:43that there's a day where they can, you know, get nicely commended for their work?
25:49Fortunately, they tell us how much it means to them, so it's really nice.
25:53I think everyone knows, journalists get a lot of stick.
25:56You only have to go on Facebook and kind of see all the comments,
25:59oh, slow news day, blah, blah, blah.
26:02We know journalists aren't very well paid.
26:04They're having to do more with fewer resources.
26:07So we just think it's really important to recognise that and celebrate that actually
26:11there's some really good journalism going on in Kent at the moment,
26:15Kent and Medway, I should say.
26:17And it's important that we recognise that.
26:19It's not all, you know, stories about cats stuck on trees or whatever,
26:24you know, those old fables.
26:25There's some journalists doing some great work, holding power to account,
26:31telling the stories from people who are often unheard.
26:34And that's why we do it.
26:36Amazing. Well, thank you so much for your time.
26:38And I'm very much looking forward to the event.
26:41No problem. Congratulations on being a finalist.
26:44Thank you. I wasn't going to say it.
26:46Well, I had to.
26:49Well, you've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
26:53Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you soon.
26:55Good night.
27:12Transcription by CastingWords
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