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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:25Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Finn McDermid and here are your top stories on Wednesday the 1st of July.
00:33Fire Service Support Kent Fire and Rescue sends staff to Venezuela to save lives during earthquake disaster.
00:40We just need to keep supporting everybody that's trying their hardest out there and let's keep the people of Venezuela
00:51at the forefront of our thoughts.
00:53Still saving lives, parents of late paramedic continue his legacy by installing defibrillators across the Isle of Sheppey.
01:01I'm not going to let my son be forgotten ever, not ever. Because while he was here, down here, he
01:08did so much, so much to help other people.
01:12And it's a ten from Len. Dartford unveil their new memorial for their ballroom legend.
01:18He was an amazing son of Dartford. He was always very generous about the town. I mean, he obviously found
01:22worldwide fame, went all over the place, lots of posh places. He always talked very fondly about Dartford.
01:36First tonight, Kent firefighters are in their fifth day of assisting search and rescue operations in Venezuela.
01:42This comes after it was hit with two devastating earthquakes only seconds apart. The natural disaster has taken more than
01:501,700 lives and destroyed an estimated 58,000 buildings.
01:55I've been finding out more about the situation and how Kent Fire and Rescue Service are helping.
02:00Last week, the world heard the news that Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes within seconds of each other. Now,
02:06it's nearly a week later and the death toll has risen from 235 to more than 1,700.
02:13With that in mind, foreign aid has been sent to the country with search and rescue professionals coming from the
02:17United States, Spain, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Estonia and even from here in Kent.
02:24Five firefighters from the county have travelled overseas to help survivors of the earthquake.
02:28Stacey, Andy, Martin, Roy and Dom arrived on Friday and are expected to support search and rescue efforts for up
02:34to ten days.
02:35They were joined by Millie the Search Dog, who's one of the six UK search dogs that have been selected
02:40for the international mission.
02:41I spoke to Jim Chaston earlier. He's the Technical Rescue Unit Station Manager and Coordinator for UK International Search and
02:48Rescue, who act as the official government response to the international disasters.
02:52Yeah, sure. So we were aware that our national coordinator was monitoring the situation and also in conjunction with the
03:02Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, which then gives us enough notice that we can start to organise the team that's
03:09going to deploy and make sure that they've got everything that they need to deploy safely and effectively.
03:15I see. And in your conversations with members of the team who are out there in Venezuela, what has that
03:20been like?
03:21What have they been saying about the atmosphere? They're obviously a very difficult situation. Tell us a bit about that.
03:27Yeah, a really complex environment they're currently working in. Extreme heat and humidity and obviously the added pressures of the
03:37sheer scale of the disaster out there.
03:40You know, our thoughts and prayers go out to all the local community.
03:42The reports I'm having back is that they are extremely welcoming and grateful for our teams that are out there
03:49and are just grateful that we're doing everything we can to help.
03:53Absolutely. And how can people here in Kent really help support our firefighters?
04:01As far as the firefighters are concerned, you know, we just we just need to make sure that they know
04:08that we've got our full support.
04:10To be fair, it's the people of Venezuela that that need the that need the support more.
04:16Our teams are extremely used to travelling around the world to disaster areas and helping where we can.
04:23But for these people of Venezuela, they're the ones that our hearts go out to.
04:28I'm aware that you've been on deployment before and I was actually unaware that firefighters could be called overseas.
04:35What's sort of the procedure there and what does that say about the scale of the situation in Venezuela?
04:44Yeah, so all fire and rescue services are part of UK ISA, which is the overseas team, do things slightly
04:51differently.
04:52But there is a quite a rigorous selection process that everybody goes through before they can declare themselves as a
04:58member of the team here in Kent.
05:00We pick from the firefighters within Kent, Fire and Rescue, we then take them to a selection process where we
05:08try and expose them to all the things that the team have actually experienced for year for real over the
05:13years to see how they react, see how they function.
05:17And then from there, they go through a rigorous training schedule of how to use their skills, whether that be
05:23in hot countries or equally as we've done in the past cold countries.
05:28The first community defibrillator funded in memory of the Sheppie paramedic, Ryan Obray, has now been installed.
05:34Ryan died by suicide just over two years ago, and those closest to him have been raising money to support
05:40lifesaving equipment and first aid training locally.
05:43The defibrillator is now in place at a local golf club where it could make a crucial difference in an
05:49emergency.
05:50Just a warning, this piece may contain some mature themes, as Kristen Hawthorne has been finding out.
05:57Ryan Obray spent seven years saving lives as a paramedic in Sheppie.
06:02After a suicide, his friends, family and colleagues wanted to do something that reflected the life he lived.
06:08So they set up a fundraiser for first aid training and defibrillators in the local community.
06:12And today, the first one was installed.
06:15This is just one of five defibrillators that Rob and Lisa are putting across the Isle of Sheppie in memory
06:21of Ryan so that his legacy of saving lives can continue.
06:24We're also going to have a second one that's going to go up at the Hearty Ferry.
06:28That's on the Isle of Sheppie as well. They're all on the Isle of Sheppie.
06:31The Ashcroft Caravan site, also Seacliff Holiday Park as well, and also the Ambulance Service itself.
06:40He's a really good paramedic, an absolutely fantastic paramedic.
06:45So it just symbolises everything about my son who was a selfless person. All he wanted to do was save
06:51people's lives.
06:52So it's lovely to be able to put these defibrillators in so that we can gather the data off of
06:58them when they've been used.
06:59And Ryan still is saving people's lives in theory.
07:03The work Ryan's parents have been putting in is so that his death can bring something positive.
07:08And with the community behind them, these efforts do not go unseen.
07:12I do champion the cause of basic life support here at the club and at many other places and I
07:18do run first aid courses.
07:19So I'm going to provide more courses now that we've got this machine here for the members of the club.
07:25I'm in the Coast Guard Rescue Service and I'm a practitioner in Advanced Casualty Care.
07:31And I teach that to the Coast Guard teams as well.
07:34I run first aid courses and I was also an ambulance responder at the same station that Ryan was at,
07:42at Sheppie.
07:43And so, yeah, I've used these for real on many, many occasions and they are fantastic bits of kit.
07:49I want people to remember Ryan for the person that he was, not for how he died.
07:55Because when Ryan was here, he did a lot of good.
07:59You know, he, he saved so many people's lives that are walking around the Swellway area, around Sheppie, around Medway.
08:07He saved a lot of lives.
08:09He was a really, really, really, really, really selfless lad.
08:14And I just want people to remember Ryan for the funny, kind person that he was, not for how he
08:21died.
08:21Because he wouldn't want that.
08:23Ryan spent years helping people when they needed it most.
08:26So this device now at the golf club and the others that are going to be put in place means
08:31that his legacy can continue by helping the community he served.
08:35Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Sheerness.
08:41And a reminder, if you have been affected by suicide or need more support, support is available from Samaritans for
08:48free day or night on 116 123.
08:53Now, moving on, defibrillators are an essential life saving tool, but are there enough in Kent?
09:00And how exactly do you use them in an emergency?
09:03Well, to answer that question and more, I'm joined by our resident GP and health expert, Dr. Julian Spinks.
09:15Well, thank you so much for joining me, Dr. Julian.
09:17First of all, how vital is it to have a defibrillator nearby in case of some kind of heart failure
09:22or some other kind of medical emergency?
09:25In the case of cardiac arrest, minutes make differences.
09:28And the two things you need to really save a life is doing chest compression, which keeps the circulation going.
09:35And then as soon as you can, getting a defibrillator, which has the chance of restarting the heart if they've
09:41got something like fibrillation,
09:42which is where the heart quivers rather than beats.
09:44I see. And we can see some people performing CPR on some dummies there.
09:52But in the case of using defibrillators, how easy is the one to just pick up and use intuitively?
09:58The ones you get in the cabinets rather like you saw in the film there are designed to be used
10:03by people who have no experience using them at all.
10:06Once you get them, there's a nice little map telling you where to put the pads on the chest, one
10:10over here, one over there.
10:11And then what will happen is that you switch it on. It will say it's analyzing and it will then
10:17recommend whether a shock should be given or not.
10:20And really, the only thing you need to make sure is everyone's away from the body when you press the
10:24button.
10:25And it will then tell you to carry on doing CPR and it will then reanalyze and so on.
10:30It will keep going around that until it's successful and all during that time you're waiting for the ambulance to
10:37arrive and take over.
10:38But genuinely, you don't need to be trained to use them these days.
10:42Back in my day, you really needed to know how to use them and the old ones that you stuck
10:47paddles on the chest.
10:48These ones are very simple.
10:50I see. We'll move on now to another story.
10:52There's been a new guideline released about polycystic metabolic endocrine syndrome that recommends an annual checkup for women with the
10:59condition.
11:00Is this a particularly common condition?
11:02And what do you think having this annual checkup is needed?
11:07Yes, this is a relatively common condition.
11:10There's been a name change.
11:11People have known it for many years as polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS.
11:16Now it's polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
11:19A bit of a mouthful, but it's to reflect the fact that it's not just cysts on the ovary.
11:23There are effects on things like your metabolism, your cardiovascular system and so on.
11:28This is a draft guideline.
11:30It's not the full one to start with, but it's making recommendations such as people with this need to actually
11:35have a review every year.
11:37I see. Thank you so much for bringing us all the latest on this, Doctor.
11:42Well, that's all the time we have for this part of the show, but we'll be back in just a
11:47few minutes with more of your news from across Kent.
11:50See you in just a few minutes.
11:53Yeah?
12:19Sure there seems.
12:20For more on anniversaryloaders at Rusty Green.
12:20We'll see you in distinguishing this weekend.
12:21We'll see you in congrats listeners.
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15:15night live here on KMTV. Now before we get into this next story it does contain mature themes
15:21including mention of suicide and may not be suitable for younger ears. Now a mum in Herne
15:27Bay has spoken out about the social isolation faced by those in the transgender community
15:31after her daughter took her own life. According to her family Sigrid Taylor had just come out
15:37and seemed to be doing well but was struggling with her mental health. In a fundraiser recently
15:41launched to help pay for a gravestone Penny called Sigrid's death a tragedy highlighting
15:45the profound emotional toll and social isolation faced by trans people. If anything you have heard
15:52here worries you or think may apply to you you can contact the Samaritans charity on 116 123.
15:59Now homes in Kent and across the county will soon have to pay more on their energy bills with
16:03businesses also potentially being affected. Well to find out more about this I spoke to Tudor Price
16:08the CEO of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. You know the UK is vulnerable to to energy supply
16:15issues outside of the UK so you know a lot of people sort of misunderstand that actually the oil
16:22we have in the North Sea is an oil that's ours you know it gets sold to everybody else we
16:26buy it on the
16:27open market like everybody else so we need to as a country get a lot better at generating our own
16:31energy. Ironically I was talking to the Dutch ambassador today about interconnectors cables that
16:37connect Europe and the UK so we can sort of share electricity and of course he was discussing today
16:44about the the difference of one hour in the time zone about how it can make a huge difference in
16:48terms
16:48of who draws energy from where so I think making sure that we are becoming more energy resilient
16:55through better sharing of power generation of power here well is the long-term game short-term
17:02game businesses too need to sort of take heed of how much electricity and energy they're using.
17:08The iconic Goodyear blimp is touring the skies of Kent for the first time in four years as you can
17:14see
17:14the airship was spotted among the clouds over Canterbury this morning having set off from Calais.
17:19The blimp is recognized all over the world and is a regular at motorsport events entertainment and
17:24other big moments like FA Cup finals and even live aid it hasn't seen hasn't been seen in Kent since
17:292022 and usually flies around 1,000 to 1,500 feet but this time we don't know exactly what it's
17:36here for.
17:38Now currently England are 1-0 down hopefully uh that is just before the first half hopefully they'll
17:44get back to winning ways soon but one pub in Ashford has said that showing the world cup matches at
17:48a
17:48dedicated outdoor screen has given his business a huge boost. Charlie Davis who runs the Curious Brewery
17:54in Ashford is urging other business owners to adopt the same idea but his deal for the group stage
17:59where 50p was taken off the price of pints for every goal scored was short-lived after the four
18:03put past Croatia. I spoke to him earlier. So the world cup has come at a really good time for
18:10us um we've
18:12had a relaunch of the menu and it's just been a catalyst for getting people through the door to see
18:17what we're about uh the atmosphere down here has been great we've had plenty of people coming
18:24through to watch all the matches um particularly the England games we've had roughly 250 people
18:30coming here um so we we capped that off just so it's a nice experience for everyone but it's not
18:36ticketed um so people can come in um as a first come first serve basis uh and it's just been
18:43really
18:43well received everyone's really enjoyed themselves and it's been going down really well that's amazing
18:49and obviously running a business in 2026 is no easy feat has the world cup really helped out by
18:55bringing those numbers through the door absolutely um it's boosted our revenue um really nicely uh it's
19:03been um really welcome to have such a great event on and being able to show it as well and
19:10seeing the local
19:12people come in and realize what we're doing and spending their time and spending their money with
19:17us is it's been great amazing and i'm aware uh for the first England game you actually had a bit
19:24of a
19:24deal on uh you don't have it on anymore but tell us a bit about that deal so yeah so
19:29for the first
19:30two England games we ran 50p off a pint every time England scored so pints are five pounds anyway um
19:38so yeah i think we got down to 350 a pint at one point so that that went down extremely
19:42well with
19:43the punters and obviously we can see there you've got a great setup for watching the games um would
19:48you advise other businesses that might be struggling for some of that football to have a space like that
19:52a dedicated space where people can watch the games absolutely i think it's been really good that it's
19:58separate from our restaurant as well so we can still have our normal restaurant service upstairs
20:03but have a space where people can come and it's a little bit more casual enjoy the football
20:08and i definitely recommend it for sure it's been it's been really great for us
20:13if you can and if you have got the space i don't see why not
20:23coming up next we unfortunately don't have Luna our newsroom dog to help us with the world cup
20:28predictions today so instead we've asked some members of the kmtv team to help us out instead
20:33we'll have some positive outlooks following with details about our favorite players predictions and
20:38much much more martin jagsa reports now with group stages concluded it's confirmed England has qualified
20:45into the knockout stages reaching seven points in group l with two wins and a draw against Ghana
20:50today England plays drc with a probability of 74 to win with many reports showing England fans are
20:57uncertain due to drc's defensiveness and England's playing choices tensions this year are high as
21:03ever with a rise in smaller countries like paraguay and ivory coast making outstanding feats such as
21:08knocking out germany in a knockout match on penalties does this raise questions on England's
21:13place in this year's world cup well we are some people in the kmtv office for their predictions
21:19so are you excited for the game today yes i'm always excited and i think it's always a good time
21:25to have some fun as well as long as everybody's well behaved good excuse for a pint and some food
21:31so who's your favorite player my favorite player is jordan henderson he's a brentford player so i'm a
21:36bit biased there as a brentford fan but i think he's really great he's getting on in years i think
21:40he's about 38 and he's been to loads of tournaments so he's got some great experience i don't expect him
21:45to be starting every game but he's got a special place in my heart i think my favorite player has
21:49got to
21:49be declan rice because he's got some great football skills but he also did some fantastic rice pudding
21:53efforts who do you think is going to win tonight i think it's going to be england winning and
21:59unfortunately drc are going to get knocked out i think it's going to be a 3-1 win um i
22:04think they've
22:04got some great forwards like joan wetter who could sneak a goal past us um but ultimately i think
22:09defensively and with harry kane up top uh we're going to clinch the victory um england have been doing
22:15pretty well so i have faith in england and they're fourth on the ranking i think so um yeah i
22:22have
22:22faith that they're going to do well so we'll see we don't have luna today but and we'll keep her
22:28in
22:28our hearts predictions well i am going to be optimistic i'm going to say we're going to win
22:35but maybe 2-1 make it an exciting game and we've also asked for more thoughts on england's positions
22:41from our interviewees uh i think i don't think i don't think it's going to be a landslide by any
22:48chance but i think 2-0 i think 2-0 is my prediction i think it's going to be a
22:532-1 in in favor of
22:54england i think england uh will probably recognize the importance of the occasion uh it looks like
23:00they're going to be playing some of the good spaces in i see uh but uh democratic republic of
23:05congo are not going to go down quietly they're going to try and get one and i think they'll sneak
23:08it in
23:09overall england fans are expected to see a victory in today's game with mixed feelings
23:13on their performance but high hopes nonetheless now let's take a look at your weather
23:24well tonight temperatures are ranging from 18 degrees down there in tunbridge wells margate reaching
23:2920 a clear night across kent then again in the early morning temperatures rising to 20 in the east
23:35mostly cloudy skies across kent the wind picking up in all areas and as we reach to the afternoon
23:40temperatures rising to 25 in places like ashford and dartford with bright sunny skies across the county
23:45in the next few days we'll have an overall rise in temperature going to 28 degrees on saturday
23:49and some more of those clear sunny skies to look forward to on the weekend
24:02three years ago ballroom dancer and television personality len goodman passed away he had a close
24:08connection to dartford opening the goodman dance academy back in 1973 and today a new piece of
24:14artwork has been installed to celebrate his life as etterly reynolds has been finding out
24:24he was on our screens for over a decade dancing smiling and even judging and now the town of dartford
24:33want to say thank you to len goodman he was an amazing son of dartford he was always very generous
24:38about
24:38the town i mean he uh obviously found worldwide fame went all over the place lots of posh places he
24:43always talked very fondly about dartford so we wanted to repay him and when he passed we knew he
24:47wanted to do something so this work of art i hope will provide people with a smile as they go
24:52through the
24:52town goodman passed away in 2023 and the memorial is here in his memory but the family didn't want
25:00something static like a statue so the piece created by artist adrian reilly encourages people to get their
25:08dancing shoes on it's um it's been a long process from first having the design idea and then we
25:16thought about the scale of it and we sort of gradually made the the design bigger and bigger the council
25:22said yeah let's let's fill the whole street with this so um then it was a matter of working with
25:27um len len's
25:29wife sue and and with his son james to to figure out how these dance steps would actually work on
25:34the
25:34street and that was a real technical challenge um to make them fit the individual paving stones and
25:40then to choose the sayings as well we wanted to get the popular ones in there and the ones that
25:44his family you know particularly liked um and and then it was a matter of um of the team sort
25:50of
25:50etching those and and laying it all out as per the design to accompany the memorial over at the dartford
25:58library in the sir peter blake gallery is an exhibition celebrating len's career both as a
26:04dancer and a television personality and the len from 10 was lovely curating we were choosing the
26:10pictures with the family and a lot of them are very small old black and white square little photographs
26:16so it was quite fun to go through those and we chose lots so this is a result and culmination
26:22of
26:23what we actually picked and um they have enlarged extremely well from all photos so if you're in
26:30the mood for a dance here in dartford you can quick step and waltz all in memory of len goodman
26:37etterley reynolds for kmtv in dartford
26:44you've been watching kent tonight live here on kmtv thank you so much for watching see you soon
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