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Catch up on all the latest news from across the county with Meghan Shaw.
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00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:31Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:35I'm Megan Shaw and here are your top stories on Thursday the 2nd of July.
00:40Investigation opens after a woman was found dead in Folkestone Road near Dover.
00:45Shrink or swell?
00:47A house is in Kent unprepared for a future of heat waves.
00:51You've got to have the county council, you've got to have the district councils working together in what really is
00:56a climate emergency.
00:58And lights, camera, Chatham. Medway prepares to host its own Fringe Festival across the towns.
01:06Medway needs a Fringe. Mentioned it to a few friends and before we knew it we had a room full
01:10of 32 organisations all saying they wanted the same.
01:23But first, our top story this evening.
01:26A woman in her 20s was found dead in a property on Folkestone Road in Dover after calls were made
01:32to police concerning a person's welfare.
01:34For the full details on that story, our reporter Kristen Hawthorne sent us this report from the scene.
01:41Police have started an investigation after a woman in her 20s was found dead at a property here on Folkestone
01:47Road in Dover.
01:48Police were called at around 4.30pm on Monday the 29th of June following concerns for a person's welfare.
01:55They attended alongside paramedics but the woman was confirmed dead at the scene.
02:01Later that day, a 24-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident but has been released on
02:07bail with conditions while the enquiries continue.
02:11Kent Police, however, are unable to confirm what the man was arrested in suspicion of as the cause of death
02:17is not yet known.
02:18The investigation is ongoing.
02:21Fire crew were called to the port of Dover to reports of loud bang and smoke during a power cut.
02:28At arrival, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and UK Power Networks confirmed there were no fire or smoke inside terminals
02:36with two fire engines attending without need to take action.
02:40It was understood that the reported smoke had come from an electrical transformer and traffic in the area is now
02:46moving freely.
02:49Now, the World Cup might have residents staying out late to watch England's games but with people out late in
02:55busy crowds, how can Kent Police ensure women and girls stay safe?
03:00They've pledged to roll out more plainclothes patrols as I've been finding out and a warning that some viewers may
03:05find some of these clips distressing.
03:07Do you know what it feels like as a woman to walk somewhere on their own and have a man
03:13stop and stare at them and have absolutely no idea what they're going to do?
03:18As the nights get warmer and longer, residents stay out later, especially as World Cup matches draw crowds to pubs
03:26until late at night.
03:27But how do we keep women and girls safe during summer?
03:41Kent Police have boosted plainclothes patrols in busy areas on the lookout for any predatory or suspicious behaviour.
03:50These so-called proactive patrols aim to stop suspicious activity before it escalates.
03:56Two people that were working that night, so it's not just one person, it's not word against word, it's two
04:01people that have called us multiple times because they felt intimidated by you.
04:06Superintendent Eleanor Hall said our officers are trained to identify individuals who may be seeking to take advantage of women
04:13out enjoying themselves in pubs and clubs.
04:16An early intervention when suspicious or inappropriate activity is spotted can prevent a crime taking place and safeguard potential victims.
04:24The proactive work will continue throughout the summer.
04:28My advice to anyone seeking to exploit vulnerable women or girls is to think again.
04:34Our plainclothes officers may be watching you and you will be arrested for any offences that are identified.
04:41Megan Shaw for CAME TV.
04:46Hundreds of office landline phones were dumped by flytippers in a country lane near Folkestone.
04:53A passerby claim that they definitely weren't here yesterday, with Folkestone and High District Council teams reported being on the
05:01scene during the afternoon to clear the phones away.
05:05North Downs Way was reportedly shut just four weeks ago due to a similar incident, though items consisted of building
05:11rubble and windows.
05:13In a statement, a spokesman for the authorities said they've launched an investigation.
05:19Owners of a boat trip business have called for action to tackle antisocial behaviour by the river after being attacked
05:26by a group of, and I quote, feral children.
05:29Nick Kennedy and his wife have been out on the water in Mainstone when the teenagers began hurling abuse and
05:35throwing rocks, bottles and tree branches at them.
05:38Since the incident, Nick talked to social media to share his experience and was left astonished by the response from
05:45the community, with nearly 600 comments about others having similar experiences.
05:50A spokesperson for Kemp Police said,
05:52Officers have spoken to the victim and an investigation is underway, including a review of available CCTV.
06:02Now, another yellow weather warning has been put in place for this weekend, with temperatures expecting to reach almost 30
06:09degrees.
06:10It's starting to sound familiar now, isn't it?
06:12But, driven by hotter, drier summers, millions of homes across Kent face an escalating risk of climate-induced damage,
06:19where shrinking clay soils drag building foundations downwards.
06:24This shrink-swell ground movement raises questions about building climate-resilient properties.
06:29And Naila Mohamed has the story for us.
06:32This weekend, we are expected to see another weather warning.
06:37But with the frequently changing temperatures, comes another issue.
06:41Many soils in Kent, like this one, are full of clay minerals,
06:47that when they absorb water, like when it rains, for example, they'll swell.
06:51But then, when the temperature gets much hotter and drier, they will lose this water and sink.
06:57This is what is known as the sinking-swelling phenomenon.
07:00And houses that live on this kind of soil will also sink and swell along with the changing temperatures.
07:06Now, this year, we've had the warmest June in English records.
07:11With climate change predictions showing hotter, drier conditions in our future,
07:15the number of houses in Kent vulnerable to the sinking-swelling phenomenon is on the rise.
07:22Houses that are subject to the sink-swell movement can face cracked walls, sloping floors and jammed doorways.
07:30And with experts predicting hotter conditions in our future,
07:33are Kent houses prepared for these extremities?
07:36We've had hot summers persistently over the last 10 years, and they're getting hotter and hotter.
07:41And within those periods, we're getting more peaks.
07:44And the other thing that's linked to that, of course, is much less rainfall, you know.
07:47But you've got to have the county council, you've got to have the district councils
07:50working together in what really is a climate emergency.
07:53In September 2025, Kent County Council rescinded its declaration of a climate emergency,
08:01sparking backlash from opposition parties
08:03and a heated protest from residents outside the council hall,
08:08with council leader saying the decision was made due to sensibility.
08:13So we came in on a mandate to do things differently,
08:16to tear up the old rulebook, start again,
08:18and see if we can offer better value for money for the taxpayer,
08:21to see if we can still protect the environment and do all the sensible things,
08:24but not be hysterical about it, you know, be sensible, be the grown-ups in the room.
08:29But 10 months on, Kent's houses are still not suited to the intense temperatures.
08:34If you get this right at the design stage of construction,
08:38it's harder to retrofit solutions,
08:42but it is absolutely essential that planning authorities,
08:47those councils, demand the highest possible standards.
08:51There's lots of solutions out there, and we've got to be more imaginative,
08:55and we've got to do our bit to put pressure upon the people who are in charge.
08:58I reached out to KCC to see if the recent heatwaves have adapted their plan
09:03to the county's climate resilience, but have not yet received a response.
09:09So with temperatures continuing to rise across the county,
09:13will Kent become climate resilient?
09:15Nayla Mahamud for KMTV.
09:18And it's not just houses struggling with that heat,
09:21residents as well, including myself,
09:23it's been incredibly hot these past few weeks,
09:25but what will this weekend be like?
09:27Let's take a look at the weather.
09:34Tonight, clear skies across the county,
09:37highs of 19 degrees on the coast in Margate,
09:39lows of 16 down there in Tunbridge Wells.
09:42Into tomorrow, clouds clearing, clear, sunny skies staying with us,
09:46and those temperatures still quite mild, 17s and 18s across the board.
09:50Into the afternoon, temperatures rising,
09:52highs of 24 degrees in the west,
09:54lowest being 21 on the coast in Dover.
09:56For the rest of your week, those temperatures will continue to climb.
10:00Nice and sunny on Saturday, cloudy on Sunday, Monday too,
10:04and highs of your Monday there on 29.
10:18A telecommunications tower caught fire in Broomfield, Home Bay of the A299 Thallet Way.
10:25The footage on screen shows clouds of smoke coming from the mast in Margate Road on the evening of July
10:31the 1st.
10:32You can see that smoke could be seen billowing from the tower just off the slip road for the Thallet
10:39Way and an ambulance was also pictured near the scene.
10:42A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said four fire engines attended and crews used foam and main jets to
10:50extinguish the fire.
10:51There were no reported injuries and the cause is not yet known.
10:57Plans to change a former beef eater in Gravesend into a McDonald's had been refused by the council
11:03after concerns were raised about how close it was to schools.
11:07The application for the fast food chain to open in Rotham Road was unanimously refused by members
11:14who said they wanted to look at the real world operational nature of the 83 seat restaurant.
11:21Ward councillor for Woodlands David Beatty, who called in the application to the planning meeting,
11:26said the decision to refuse the scheme was expected.
11:29You can see the proximity there of the site to the school.
11:33He said, you might as well put it in the school's canteen.
11:37There will be children having McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
11:42And that's all we've got time for this part of the show.
11:46But stick around, we'll be hearing about Sukiya Simon's new announcement on pubs staying open for the England game on
11:52Monday morning.
11:53All that and more after the break. We'll see you then.
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15:18Hello and welcome back to Kent tonight live here on KMTV and last night after an intense
15:2490 minutes England managed to beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 getting to the round
15:30of 16. This means they'll face off against Mexico who are playing on home turf and because
15:36of the time difference we'll be able to watch the game at 1am. I'm now joined by our sports
15:41reporter Finn McDermid who's got some breaking news for us. Finn what do we know now?
15:46Well we've heard in the last couple of hours that originally the plan was for pubs to only
15:52certain pubs that had applied through the council to be able to stay open to broadcast the England
15:57game but in some new news some breaking news in fact Keir Starmer has announced that this
16:02will be overturned and any pub wanting to show the game can stay open until 5am which
16:07is good news for pubs. Obviously England it's the sport, it's the biggest sport and I am
16:14a huge football fan myself like the many people you can see on the video here now. There's
16:18some people who maybe aren't so pleased, schools being one of them. Some schools have announced
16:24that they might be taking in students later in the day. Some workplaces as well I can imagine
16:30might struggle with this idea of people coming in late staying up till 5am. I myself am staying
16:35up till 5am as well. In fact before I continue let's actually have a quick look at Sir Keir Starmer's
16:40announcement. We're making sure that pubs can stay open on Monday morning, early on Monday morning
16:47for the England game. So I know lots of people are making their plans. If you're planning to watch
16:53it in the pub that it's great and it's really good for pubs as well. So come on England.
16:59Now I'll be staying up to watch the game myself and I'll be documenting my experiences but as I was
17:04saying there some people who maybe are more football fans than employed are saying that
17:09they're particularly going to enjoy this but as I say employers are saying this might be a difficult
17:14point. Some businesses and publicans have welcomed the change. Emma McClarkin, she's the Chief Executive
17:19of the British Beer and Pub Association, she said we all know the best place to watch the match is
17:23down the local and Keir Starmer himself said football might be coming home but we're making sure that fans
17:28don't have to. Normally individual pubs would have to apply to their council to extend their licensing
17:34hours at least five days in advance. So it's definitely an interesting change.
17:38Absolutely and of course working in the media, working in local news, we won't be coming in
17:41any later on Monday so I expect to see you with quite a few cups of coffee on Monday morning
17:45Finn.
17:46I think so, I think so yeah. Well I'll do my best to stay awake the next day.
17:49Brilliant and we'll hear all about it I'm sure. Absolutely.
17:53Now the creator of Bagpuss will have his previously undiscovered works go to auction after they were found
17:59by his daughters. Peter Furman who died in 2018 created the beloved children's character as well as many others
18:06from his house in Bleen which is now up for sale and in the midst of clearing it out his
18:11daughters discovered a treasure trove of items such as hand-painted illustrations and
18:16collectible models of his characters. Peter is on the left in this picture there. The huge hall is set
18:22to go under the hammer with Canterbury auction galleries on July the 31st and August the 1st
18:28and we can hear from Katie Furman now. We just felt you know it would be so lovely for people
18:35out there
18:35to have a little slice of you know the nostalgia that is the world that my dad created.
18:45I was actually born in this house and recently we've put it on the market to sell and so we're
18:53trying to
18:53clear out and we found just phenomenal amounts of artwork of dad's. He never really threw anything away
19:02and we found original artwork going back to the 60s but also unpublished books that we didn't even know
19:13about. We found scripts and letters and all sorts from publishers and yeah it's been amazing.
19:21It's been quite an emotional journey I imagine going through.
19:23It has yes definitely you know it's like brings back lots of memories but also reminds you of what
19:31a meticulous man he was how much he how much passion he had for his work and you know working
19:38with Oliver
19:39and creating so many characters. We have a collection of the puppets in the Beanie Museum in Canterbury
19:46and we're in the process of gifting them and others to the nation so that everyone can enjoy them forever.
19:58From Edinburgh to Adelaide to Brighton and now Medway is hosting its own Fringe Festival across the towns
20:06combining drama, comedy, music and historical performances. Med Fringe will last 16 days across
20:12eight different venues and is aiming to make sure that the arts are accessible to those in Medway.
20:18Vin McDermid has the story. Many of the country's most famous actors, musicians and comedians got their
20:25start at Fringe festivals and this summer Medway is putting the lights up on their own celebration of
20:30local performances called Med Fringe. I've done a lot of Fringe festivals in my time and looked around and
20:37thought Medway needs a Fringe. Mentioned it to a few friends and before we knew it we had a room
20:41full of
20:4232 organisations all saying they wanted the same. Since then it's all snowballed. We've had expressions
20:49of interest from people overseas as far as Australia, we've got people coming to perform at the festival
20:54from further up the country as far as Scotland. So it's not just about celebrating what's here and
21:01what is grown here but also celebrating art in general. Now Med Fringe, just like its Edinburgh counterpart,
21:06aims to bring a range of acts to its local area whether that's comedy or drama or maybe a historical
21:13tour with a little bit of theatre worked in. Ignore whatever's happening back there. Anyways, it's also
21:19priced particularly low as the founders wanted to make sure that it was accessible to everyone and
21:24that there was no barriers so that people couldn't come and see their local art. There'll be eight venues
21:29taking part from across the Medway towns with some older buildings like Fort Luton, smaller restaurants like
21:34Poco Loco and classic performance spaces like the Spotlight Theatre, in total bringing 50 unique acts
21:40to the stage. It also means aspiring performers and those in stagecraft can flex their creative muscles.
21:47Being involved in it on so many levels so being in the shows and then also having to go downstairs
21:54and
21:54then sort out the wardrobe for the show saying oh dude like we need to get this out, we need
21:58to get
21:58this out, get out several different things, try them on, see what works, see what doesn't. It's like
22:04playing dress up in a really fun way. It's just a really fun opportunity and I'm really really enjoying it.
22:14And it isn't just limited to the stage but has performances on the streets of Rochester as well.
22:19So the gentlemen rise first and then the ladies. So shall we? Ready? One, two, three. Everybody,
22:25reverence, bow or curtsy, stay descended ladies, stay descended. We have two very special tours starting
22:30at 11.30 where you'll be able to see not only walk around Rochester but it's told by a number
22:35of
22:36characters. This is a tour in a very theatrical fashion illuminating Rochester High Street characters
22:41appearing out of windows, out of alleyways and unexpected ways, different time periods, different
22:46stories all about the history of Rochester. Well with the first act starting this weekend all that's
22:52left is to make sure the stage is set for opening night under the lights. Finn McDermid for CAME TV
22:57in
22:57Medway. Now could you write and publish a poetry collection before your 17th birthday? Well I
23:05definitely couldn't but William Parsons from Gillingham seems to have found this no big deal. His poetry
23:10collection Holiday Adventures 16 Poems is now available to read and he joins me now with
23:16his mum Caroline to tell us more about it. So I'll ask you some questions in a moment Caroline but
23:21first of all the star of the show William you have to tell us how this came about. Well it
23:27sort of came
23:27about after my exams and I was just sort of thinking well I like writing and I don't know it
23:35just came
23:35upon me one day and I was like what if I published a book because you know no one no
23:40one my age has actually
23:41done that before so you know I thought it'd be a good idea to do so. Absolutely and what was
23:46the
23:47reaction from your friends and your family when you told them? It was spectacular I mean it was it was
23:51something that was very shocking to me like the amount of support the amount of like you know
23:57everyone loved it you know and I was just like oh wow. Brilliant and there's some pictures on screen
24:02at the moment of your collection we've got it in front of us here as well. Would you want to
24:07read us a
24:08couple of your favourites maybe that you've written? Yeah I'll read one of them yeah. Yeah go for it.
24:12Yeah okay right so
24:22This one's called To The Beach. In every space in this cream-white place stands the far stretched sands
24:29of a million opportunities waiting. Winds stand still, winds sit endlessly. The heavy-weighted sea awaits its
24:37passengers. Slowly but gently each wave becoming more vast and tranquil. On the soft smooth and silk
24:44land lies the undeniable truth. With every fresh breath of life spoken into the sea each passing
24:50moment becomes a unique memory. Quietly through the giant cool sounds of nature here we are ready to go
24:56to the beach. Was that inspired by a particular was it a holiday? Yeah it was yeah and I just
25:02I have
25:02really good memories of the beach and it just it just it was amazing. Absolutely and of course you're
25:08not the only author in your family you've got yeah you've got a dad who's an author as well. Yeah
25:13so Tim's
25:14dad Tim Parsons is a published paramedic Chris and so he'd published his books obviously over the last few
25:23years and so when William wanted to do something Tim sort of helped not didn't help him with the poems
25:30but like helped him publish it with um if I'm allowed to say like um through Amazon and things so
25:37um through
25:38KDP so yeah we've got it online and it's available to order. Of course it must run in the family
25:45there.
25:45Yeah it does yeah I'm really excited for him. Absolutely if anyone's watching at home you mentioned
25:50Amazon that's how they would get hold of the yeah yeah you can go on Amazon and order the book
25:56um so William has published the 16 poems because we thought that would tie in really well with him
26:02being 16 and he literally just did it after his GCSEs we were just like because he's had a lot
26:08of time
26:08once he's finished the exams um so he's done that and they people can order it on Amazon. Any more
26:15in the
26:15pipeline William we're going to have 17 poems soon? Well I mean for now we've got this so see what's
26:23to come
26:23but you'll see you'll see you'll see what to come the future holds many more surprises. Brilliant we might
26:29have you on again then soon when you've published your novel. Yeah it'd be amazing. Absolutely and
26:33we've not got much time left yeah but were you always good at poems in school? Um I wouldn't say
26:39I was
26:40that good at school I wouldn't say I'm like top grade A level sort of stuff but like I think
26:46I did
26:46a really good job in writing and I think and I'll have to cut you off that's all the time
26:52we've got
26:52we'll see you next week
27:10you
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