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Catch up with all the latest news from across your county with Chloe Brewster.
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00:26Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMT.
00:29I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top stories on Thursday the 9th of July.
00:35Red card. Kent police prepare for a rise in antisocial behaviour as football fever takes
00:41over the county.
00:43We'd obviously like everyone to have a really safe time out and about so we'd ask everyone
00:46to drink in moderation, enjoy themselves, look after each other.
00:50Kent council clash. Minister slams reformist proposals ahead of a major authority shake-up.
00:57When you get the chance to streamline it, reform or against reform.
01:02And tons of tins. KMFM will hold their annual campaign to stock shelves at food banks across
01:07the county.
01:08Last year we raised 11.1 tonnes of food. We were able to donate that across the county.
01:24But first tonight, as the World Cup brings fans across the county into the pubs, Kent police
01:29are taking measures to help prevent a rise in antisocial behaviour. With pubs and sports
01:35bars staying open later to show the matches, police are advising fans to drink in moderation,
01:40plan their journey so as to not risk drink driving and to look after one another. Tim
01:45Forster reports.
01:49As World Cup fever grips the county, scenes like these are common across Kent. However,
01:55with pubs and sports bars staying open later to allow fans to watch the matches, cases of
02:00antisocial behaviour are at risk of growing. So how do pubs prepare for the increase in
02:04customers and the potential for rowdiness?
02:07We've done what the government have told us to do. We obviously do it anyway. They know
02:13the score. No diseases are off. I talk to people, tell them what they've got to go, appreciate
02:18the neighbours, try to keep any noise down.
02:21But how safe do people feel during the World Cup season? We spoke with Maidstone locals to
02:26hear their thoughts.
02:27I'm completely safe, no problems at all. I suppose it depends on how drunk people get.
02:34It's not safe at the best of times, but I feel like it depends on what your attitude
02:37is when you're outside.
02:39The police need to be re-educated and understand what's right and wrong.
02:44Data from the National Centre for Domestic Violence revealed that incidents of domestic
02:48abuse increase by 26 per cent when England play and by 38 per cent when they lose.
02:54So what precautions are Kent Police taking to ensure football fans can enjoy the beautiful
02:59game safely?
03:00So during the matches we've got local beat officers, we've got our licensing team who
03:06are out and about engaging with licensees to make sure we can work with them and we've
03:10also got our policing teams who are trained to work in public order and working with large
03:16crowds to make sure that we can intervene, support and look after and keep people safe.
03:21We're also deploying our project vigilant officers to ensure that we tackle sexual violence in
03:26the night time economy.
03:28Kent Police take domestic abuse seriously all year round and it's really important to
03:31us that people feel safe and that they know they can contact us for help.
03:36So we've got additional patrols out to make sure that we can respond to any calls for assistance
03:41and again we just ask people, get in touch, talk to us, tell us if you need us and we'll
03:46be there.
03:47As we continue to progress through the tournament, police precautions and advice will ensure everyone
03:53can safely celebrate the success of the Three Lions.
03:57Tim Forster for KMTV.
04:03The man who was sent down for one of Kent's most notorious murders could actually be innocent.
04:08That's what a top human rights lawyer has said.
04:1130 years ago today, a mum and her two daughters were attacked with a hammer in a country lane.
04:17Lynn and Megan Russell lost their lives while the other daughter survived.
04:20The killings were later dubbed the Chillingdon Murders.
04:24Former Gillingham resident Michael Stone is serving three life sentences for their murder.
04:29But now the 66-year-old will undergo new tests, which could prove he was not actually at
04:34the scene.
04:34So we're joined live now by Karen Todd, another human rights lawyer representing Mr. Stone.
04:40Thank you so much for joining us, Karen.
04:43Just before we get into it, can you explain just quickly for our viewers how we got to this
04:47point?
04:49So Michael was convicted in 19, well he was arrested in 1997, so a year after the murders.
04:56He was convicted, then he was given a retrial by the Court of Appeal, and then he was convicted
05:01again solely on the basis of a cell confession by another prisoner who said that he'd heard
05:09him confess to the murders down a drainpipe from the next cell.
05:13There is no forensic evidence or identification evidence tying Michael Stone to these murders.
05:20He's been in custody now for 29 years.
05:24And finally, the CCRC have agreed, given the developments in DNA testing, that they will
05:30take a DNA test.
05:32And in fact, they took his DNA at HMP Franklin this morning.
05:38And, you know, it was only in October that the Criminal Cases Review Commission said there
05:42was no evidence for these convictions potentially being quashed.
05:46I know you speak about the DNA evidence.
05:48What exactly is it about that DNA evidence that could mean that he is innocent now?
05:53Well, there are a number of items that can still be tested.
05:56Some of the items, such as the lunchbox, have been lost, but actually most of the items are
06:01still available for testing.
06:03And firstly, we want them to be tested with the new developments that there are in DNA to
06:08show that Michael was not present, that he's excluded from the scene.
06:13And there are also some names that I want to put forward to the CCRC and ask them to compare
06:19those people, those persons' DNA to try and get what hopefully will be a conclusive result.
06:27And you've been known to take on quite big, big human rights cases.
06:31Why did you decide to take this case on?
06:35I've always been aware of this case and always thought that it was a big miscarriage of justice.
06:41And then Mark MacDonald, who is Michael's barrister, contacted me in February and asked me if I
06:47would become involved.
06:48And so since February, I've been his solicitor and I've been pushing things forward.
06:53Obviously, we've got the DNA testing done today.
06:56And there are other things that I'm looking at that I'm very interested in to take to the CCRC.
07:04And have you spoken to Michael?
07:05How is he?
07:08Yeah, I spoke to him this morning.
07:09He is, I mean, he always finds the 9th of July very difficult because obviously people died
07:16today and he, you know, he sympathises and understands that.
07:20But nevertheless, he has been in custody for 29 years.
07:24And, you know, he's excited about the developments in his case and the fact that we are now pushing
07:30forward with the appeal.
07:32You know, the family members of Lynn and Megan, it must be quite hard to have this all
07:38dredged back up again.
07:40Do you think it's worth it?
07:41Do you really think Kent Police could have this all wrong?
07:45I'm absolutely certain they've got it all wrong.
07:48I've never felt so certain about a case in my entire career.
07:52And I think that they have got it wrong.
07:55And obviously everyone sympathises with the Russells, but I'm also sure that they would
08:01want the right person to be convicted of this offence.
08:04And how long do you think it will be until we get an update when this might appear back
08:12in court? What's kind of the timeline now?
08:15I'm going to be putting some fresh evidence that I've obtained to the CCRC in the next 14 days.
08:21And then I think we can anticipate some sort of result from the DNA, certainly this year.
08:27I'm hoping by the end of this year.
08:29Thank you so much for joining us, Karen.
08:31That's been really, really interesting.
08:38The minister in charge of shaking up Kent's councils has slammed Reform UK's proposals
08:44for one giant authority as the government prepares to announce its own plans.
08:49Whitehall wants to scrap all of our existing authorities in favour of putting local services
08:54into the hands of just a few councils.
08:56But while a decision about what this will look like is expected before next Thursday,
09:01Kent County Council's suggestions have got an icy response so far,
09:05as local democracy reporter Olly Leader reports.
09:08There are clear dividing lines between communities.
09:11Parts of our county are going to be hugely disadvantaged.
09:14I think they're appalling and they're quite disrespectful the way that this has happened.
09:18After months of heated debate, the wait for answers is nearly over.
09:24Next week, the government is expected to announce how our existing authorities will be replaced
09:31by a handful of bigger councils that bring all local services under one roof.
09:38What that could actually look like here in Kent is up in the air.
09:43There's some politicians who want three councils, others four,
09:46and Kent County Council just want one huge authority.
09:51Well, you know, it's very strange to see reform councillors going around saying they want to change things,
09:57they want to reform things.
09:58And then when you actually get the chance to take duplication out of local government,
10:03to get rid of two-tier councils, to eliminate two sets of councillors,
10:08two sets of chief executives, two sets of finance directors,
10:11when you get the chance to streamline it, reform or against reform.
10:16But the leader of Kent's largest local authority insists
10:20that nothing has yet been taken off the table by the government.
10:25Well, I don't think he's made any decision yet.
10:27Of course, we won't have the decision until next week, if at all.
10:32We've been given a date next week to expect some sort of decision from the government.
10:35But as usual, with this government, nobody knows what their thinking process is.
10:40Nobody knows how they've come to any decision.
10:43You know, they chop and change their minds so often.
10:45The whole LGR process has just become a guessing game, really.
10:48So I'm as much in the dark as everybody else.
10:51We don't know the exact date the government's decision will be announced.
10:56But with five options on the table for how to redraw Kent's political map,
11:03the dividing lines have never been more stark.
11:07Olly Leda in Kent.
11:11Now it's time for a quick break, but don't go anywhere,
11:14because coming up we'll be taking a look at another amber weather warning
11:18in place over the weekend and what this means for those in Kent.
11:21We're sending Megan, well, she's sent actually,
11:23Megan Shaw down to the water side to let you know all about that.
11:27We'll also be looking at footage of a flooded road,
11:30meaning that those in Dartford and Crayford are left with little to no water pressure.
11:35We'll also be hearing about the punishment of a man who helped steal copper from towns across Kent.
11:40We'll also be speaking with our reporter Finn McDermid,
11:43who has spoken to our sister station, KMFM,
11:46about a campaign they're running to keep food shelves stocked across the county.
11:50All that and more, so please don't go anywhere.
21:55washer for essentially non-essential purposes. That might be filling a paddling pool, watering
22:01your plants, washing your car. All of these things are banned. And now the weather.
22:11It's going to be another warm night for all of us here in Kent. It's looking at 29 degrees in
22:17Mebway, but also around the coast. Going into tomorrow morning, very, very sun. It looks very
22:23bright, but not as hot going into the afternoon. Also rather hot. Sun still staying out. So
22:28hopefully you've got some weekend plans booked in. And now for our outlook, it's 28 degrees
22:33on Saturday, 27 on Sunday and 26 on Monday. So not cooling down anytime soon.
22:47A concrete football pitch in Hive is set to receive £54,000. The games area on Hive Green
22:54has been left untouched for 26 years and is equipped with two goals and two basketball hoops. But
23:00now Hive Town Council has approved plans to refurbish and redesign the pitch. Councillor
23:05Stephen Bailey said, I've been working on this for many years and even before I was
23:09elected. And this definitely ranks up there as one of my most successful projects. He
23:13hopes the area will accommodate a five-for-side football pitch, basketball court, and an additional
23:17activities area. He also said he hoped the activities would help deter antisocial behaviour.
23:24Kent's biggest theatre is set to take on a historical building for just £1 a year.
23:29Canterbury's Marlow Theatre will absorb the former Poor Priest Hospital into its portfolio
23:33in a bid to turn it into a creative and learning centre through £8.5 million of investment.
23:40The 800-year-old property in Stowell Street, which has served as an almshouse prison and
23:44school, has been closed to the public for years.
23:49Our sister station, KMFM, have restarted their Tons of Tins campaign and donation lines are
23:55now open until the 24th of July. Last year they managed to send out more than 11 tonnes of
24:00tins for the past four years on KMFM. And it's a campaign that we do every summer to help replenish
24:00food banks across the county. Our way of bringing food to food to food to distributors across
24:01Kent. And this year they hope to beat that record. From McDermott Reports.
24:06KMFM have brought back their Tons of Tins campaign and it's more needed than ever, with the cost of
24:10living putting families' finances under heavy strain. And food banks are feeling the stress too,
24:15like one in Deal that's reporting a more than a 50% increase in food parcels they've sent out.
24:20So we've been running Tons of Tins for the past four years on KMFM and it's a campaign that we
24:25do every
24:26summer to help replenish food banks across the county. Our way of giving back to the community
24:31and trying to fight food poverty here in Kent. Our goal is to really get as close or beat last
24:37year's total as possible. Last year we raised 11.1 tonnes of food. We were able to donate that
24:43across the county. If we can better that or get as close to it as possible, that would be amazing.
24:48But we know whatever we donate, it's going to the right places.
24:53So the radio station have opened up their donation lines to help support 19 food banks
24:57in Canterbury, Dover, East Morling, Gravesham, Maidstone, Margate, Herne Bay, Medway, Thanet,
25:02Swale and across the rest of the county. So currently our goal is to raise £8,500 on our
25:08Just Giving page. We're also inviting people to donate physical donations here at KMFM.
25:14What's changed this year is we're actually helping more food banks than ever
25:18before. So we're helping 19 different organisations and charities across the county to try and reach
25:24as many people in the community as possible. Around 2,400 tins make up a tonne and last year
25:30KMFM gave out 11.1 tonnes of donations, aka 26,640 tins, which the team are hoping to beat this
25:39year.
25:40They've been hearing from listeners who say they've been struggling.
25:42Yeah, there are parents who have said that they are eating toast for meals just because
25:47they want their kids to have a hot meal and to get by, which is awful to hear. I'm sure
25:53anyone
25:53watching right now would agree that toast is not a sufficient meal for an adult and we don't want
25:58anyone here on our doorstep in Kent to be going through that. Food poverty is real and that's why
26:03KMFM's tonnes of tins is back and we want to raise as much as we did last year which was
26:0911.1 tonnes.
26:10You can submit donations to them through a few different ways by donating online through the
26:15campaign's Just Giving page, ordering on an online shop or coming in in person to drop off
26:19non-perishable foods at KMFM's headquarters. KMFM will stop taking in donations from Friday the 24th
26:26of July and deliveries will start on Monday the 3rd of August. So the presenters will be here taking
26:32your calls and your donations all to help the people of Kent. Finn McDermid for KMTV at KMFM.
26:40Now you've been watching Kent tonight live here on KMTV. There's more news made just for Kent
26:45throughout the evening. Stick around. Thank you so much. Goodbye.
27:15you
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