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00:28Hello there.
00:29And welcome to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
00:33I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are your top stories on Wednesday the 15th of July.
00:38Busking banned?
00:39Canterbury Council are considering fining on-street performers in new public space protection order.
00:44You know, you could have an electric guitarist.
00:46Some might say he's too modern, too loud.
00:50But, no, it's fine. It adds atmosphere.
00:53Two more years.
00:54Part of the British couple detained in Iran will have more time added to their sentence
00:58for speaking to the media.
01:00And clearing his name, a former firefighter,
01:04is still fighting to overturn his post office conviction more than 40 years on.
01:08It's all helping. It is all helping.
01:11And we will eventually, I hope, win with your help as well.
01:26Before we get into our top stories of this evening,
01:29we have an exclusive story to bring you,
01:31where a car collided with a motorbike in Swanley.
01:33A warning, the footage we are about to show you may not be suitable for younger audiences.
01:38So let's take a look now.
01:46OK, and Hayley Bay Osborne Holland pulled out of a petrol station in a Mercedes
01:51without looking to see if anything was coming,
01:53colliding with a biker, Christopher Collins and Rebecca Good.
01:56Both were left seriously injured,
01:58with Rebecca airlifted to a London hospital for specialist medical care.
02:02Midway Magistrate's Court heard the aftermath of the incident
02:05and how it had affected both Christopher and Rebecca's lives.
02:09Osborne Holland admitted to causing two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving
02:13and has been banned from driving for a year,
02:15as well as completing a 12-month community order and paying court costs as well.
02:22But when you're out doing your shopping,
02:25do you think the local busker is a headache?
02:27Or would you say he adds to the city's charm?
02:30Well, that's what Canterbury City Council are trying to find out
02:33as they're considering renewing the existing PSPO
02:36to carry punishments for those making too much of a racket in the city centre.
02:40Our local democracy reporter Megan Shaw was all ears.
02:48Canterbury City Council might soon be able to find performers like Christian
02:52from doing what they love most,
02:55due to a renewal of an existing PSPO that could ban loud amplifiers.
03:00Look, if some hooligans blasting is, you know,
03:03Scottish R&B or whatever, like, beats, right,
03:07that no one really wants to hear, I get it, right?
03:10This is real music made by real people.
03:12Kent's only city has had a public space protection order,
03:16or PSPO, in place since 2024,
03:20which allows the council to ban behaviours
03:22that aren't technically illegal.
03:24Originally intended to crack down on antisocial behaviour and street drinking,
03:30buskers might soon find themselves hit with an £100 fine
03:34for using loud microphones or speakers.
03:37But what do those in earshot think?
03:39I think they're a lot of fun.
03:41They're charming, entertaining.
03:44Doing what they like to do.
03:46That's not that big a deal.
03:48You know, you could have an electric guitarist
03:51that some might say is too modern, too loud,
03:54but, no, it's fine, it adds atmosphere.
03:57If they're too loud, people won't pay them,
04:01so they might end up going away naturally.
04:04But I guess 90% of the people will enjoy it.
04:07It's just the usual 10%, isn't it?
04:09We understand if people are complaining
04:13and there's too much noise around,
04:14but the simple thing to do is for someone to tell us to keep it down
04:18and then, because obviously we're performers,
04:21we understand, we want to sound good to others,
04:23so we're not going to ever purposely be obnoxious.
04:27Now, finding buskers on the streets of Canterbury
04:29might be one thing,
04:30but how loud exactly is too loud?
04:33I'm about five metres away from Moe as he's performing
04:36and my phone's telling me he's averaging around 70, 75 decibels.
04:41Now, that is the equivalent of a vacuum machine running.
04:43Seeing as it's not the early morning, it's not the evening,
04:46it's an afternoon,
04:48is that really too loud on the streets of Canterbury?
04:51Canterbury City Council has a guide to busking on their website,
04:55in which they say it's an important part of cultural life.
05:00It also says that a small amplification will be sufficient
05:03and doesn't warn against using loudspeakers or microphones.
05:08So could the council change its tune?
05:11They explain that they're looking to see
05:13if there's evidence residents are upset about noise on the streets
05:17and that they are aware that some performers played loudly
05:20in one place for an extended period of time.
05:24But as a decision on whether or not
05:26a new, quieter PSPO might grace his streets
05:29won't be made until later this year,
05:32it's up to the buskers, then, going forward,
05:35to play it by ear.
05:37Megan Shaw in Canterbury.
05:41The British couple imprisoned in Iran have been told
05:44that one of them has had their 10-year sentence
05:46extended by two years after speaking to the media.
05:50Craig Foreman was arrested alongside Lindsay,
05:52whose son, Joe Bennett from Folkestone,
05:54has been speaking out about his parents' arrest
05:56and imprisonment in the country,
05:58which he hopes will help secure their release.
06:00Finn McDiarmid joins me now to tell us the details
06:03of what led up to this moment.
06:04So can you give us a timeline about this?
06:06Absolutely. As you mentioned, Craig and Lindsay Foreman
06:11were originally detained in Iran.
06:14They were originally detained on charges of espionage
06:16back in January 2025.
06:18We can see some clips of them here now on a motorbike holiday.
06:23They were going through the country.
06:25I believe they were trying to get to another country.
06:28Then we get to February 2026,
06:31where they were sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran.
06:36And today we've begun to hear that Craig Foreman
06:39has been told that his sentence is being extended.
06:44And the reason behind that, he says,
06:45is because he talked to the media from his cell
06:49in his prison in Tehran.
06:51And can you tell us more about the situation
06:52and what's happening with Craig and Lindsay?
06:55Yeah, sure thing.
06:57So we've been getting news through Craig
07:01and through Lindsay's son, Joe,
07:05through various letters and what they've told us
07:08about their situation, essentially.
07:10In fact, a US-based human rights group told us
07:13that Craig had lost a lot of weight
07:15and the conditions in there just weren't particularly good.
07:17And we've now had this news
07:18about the extension of Craig's sentence.
07:21Yeah. Thank you so much, Finn.
07:24Following the ongoing murder investigation
07:26into former Maidstone MP Anne Whittacombe,
07:29it's raised debate and discussion
07:30surrounding the safety of MPs,
07:32not just in Kent, but across the country as well.
07:35We can hear now from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
07:37in his last ever Prime Minister's Questions,
07:40where he spoke about Anne Whittacombe.
07:41I'm truly horrified by the murder of Anne Whittacombe.
07:46She was a distinguished politician with deep convictions,
07:51whose vivid and fearless character
07:53captured the public imagination.
07:55My heartfelt condolences go out to all of her friends
08:00and all of her loved ones.
08:02Mr Speaker, it is chilling that during my time
08:05in this Parliament, 11 years,
08:08three serving or former MPs have been murdered.
08:13I look across at the shield for our dear friend Joe Cox
08:17and the shield first Sir David Amess
08:20that sits behind me.
08:25There have been several new law changes,
08:27including vapes with colourful packaging now being banned
08:30to stop attracting children.
08:32Also, the government has now introduced
08:34a social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds
08:36to reduce late-night scrolling
08:38to try and boost academic performance of those young people.
08:41We will be joined by Dr Julian Spinks,
08:43who is going to tell us about these law changes
08:45and how it impacts those young people.
08:48So, Julian, why is it so important
08:50that the packaging is changed?
08:53Well, vapes are...
08:55Jekyll and Hyde, I think is the best way to put it.
08:57They are a very good way to get people off cigarettes
08:59if they're already smoking cigarettes,
09:01but we are more and more concerned
09:03about children and teenagers taking up vaping
09:06because nicotine isn't entirely harmless
09:09and particularly we worry about it in developing brains.
09:12And we have vapes at the moment
09:14which have packaging and names and flavours
09:16which are very clearly aimed at younger people
09:19trying to encourage them to do that.
09:21So, this sort of change is to try
09:23and make it less attractive to that group
09:25while saying this is still a very good way
09:28of giving up cigarettes
09:29because what we don't want
09:30is people continuing to smoke.
09:32The same thing happened with cigarette packets
09:35where they used to be quite colourful
09:37and then they were changed
09:38to have all the different images on them.
09:40When that first came into force,
09:43did you notice a decrease
09:44in the amount of people smoking cigarettes?
09:45Did it help?
09:46It definitely made a small difference
09:48and what was fascinating
09:49in the run-up to that,
09:50there was some research
09:50which showed that if you just showed the colours,
09:53some teenagers could actually identify the brand.
09:56So, it had that much impact
09:58and of course you saw the colours
09:59on things like Formula One cars.
10:01So, making that change has reduced smoking.
10:05And there's talk about
10:06there being a single recognisable flavour.
10:08Do you know how that's going to work?
10:10No, I'm not entirely certain
10:12but it's going to be the end
10:14of the sort of bubblegums
10:15and the ones that are based on cocktails
10:16and so on.
10:18And there's also,
10:20I mean, we've heard all this
10:21about the curfew
10:22for teenagers,
10:2416, 17-year-olds on social media.
10:26Why is this so important?
10:27Have you noticed a lot of young people
10:29coming in,
10:30being on social media late at night
10:32and affecting them in a bad way?
10:33Well, social media has a number
10:35of potentially adverse effects
10:36and they're already tackling it
10:38by saying younger children
10:40shouldn't be accessing social media
10:42or certain types of it.
10:43But one of the problems
10:44is the sort of doom scrolling
10:46and the algorithm gets you going on
10:49from site to site to site
10:50and if that's taking you
10:52into the early hours of the night,
10:53that's going to reduce your sleep.
10:54That will impact you
10:56when you're going to school
10:57or college afterwards
10:58and so that's making a difference
11:01to teenagers' academic performance.
11:03So the idea here
11:04is that the 16 and 17-year-olds
11:06can be restricted
11:08from actually going to social media
11:10after midnight
11:11so at least they get some sleep.
11:13Well, that's it.
11:14And just quickly, Julian,
11:15I mean, we've got all these changes
11:17trying to protect children
11:19and their adolescence.
11:21Is it a lot to have
11:22all these changes at once for them?
11:24I think that you must feel
11:26slightly sort of hard done by
11:28at the moment.
11:29But I think actually quite quickly
11:30we'll start to move
11:31to a different situation
11:32where teenagers no longer feel
11:35that it's normal
11:35to spend all their days
11:36on their phone scrolling away.
11:39All right.
11:39Very interesting.
11:40Thank you so much, Julian.
11:42Now, it's time for a short break now,
11:44but don't worry
11:45as when we're back
11:45we'll be giving you much more news
11:48and we'll be speaking to
11:50Matt Ramsden from Kent Online
11:52and Simon Edgecombe
11:52about a miscarriage of justice case.
11:54All that and more to come.
11:55See you then.
15:17Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
15:20Now, just over a month ago,
15:22Kent Messenger began covering an exclusive story
15:24about a former firefighter
15:26who lost his job in 1984
15:28after being prisoned by the post office
15:30for something he says he didn't do.
15:32Simon Edgecombe has been fighting the case
15:34for over 40 years
15:35in an attempt to clear his name
15:36and has been appealing for information
15:38for anyone who might know something
15:39about what happened.
15:41Earlier today,
15:41I was joined by Simon
15:42and the senior editor of Kent Online
15:44who's been leading the investigation.
15:46But first, here's the initial story
15:48so you have all the context.
15:50I was sent to prison for 12 months
15:52and the girl was also sent to prison for six months.
15:55A simple mix-up turned into a criminal conviction.
15:58Simon Edgecombe says he was wrongly imprisoned
16:01after selling a van to a post office owner in 1983.
16:05He says he sold a van,
16:06handed over an invoice
16:07and was paid £750 in cash,
16:10which a staff member took from the till,
16:13with the understanding that the boss
16:14would later replace the money.
16:16I provided the van.
16:18That was pretty much,
16:19as far as I was concerned,
16:20the end of it.
16:20But it wasn't the end.
16:22The day after,
16:23two post office investigators
16:25did an unexpected spot check
16:27and discovered that money
16:28was missing from the till.
16:30And they asked me,
16:31they said they wanted to come in
16:32and ask me a question.
16:33They came in,
16:34they asked me one question only,
16:36which is,
16:37have you ever had money
16:38from the girl in the sub post office?
16:40To which my honest answer was,
16:42yes, I have.
16:42And I showed them the duplicate invoice book
16:44and the copy of it was there.
16:46They took the book,
16:47looked at it,
16:48and that was the last
16:49that was ever seen of it.
16:50They seized it.
16:51After that,
16:53he was questioned further
16:54at the police station
16:55and eventually,
16:56the case went to court.
16:57The post office prosecutions people,
17:00barristers,
17:01suggested that it was coercion,
17:03that what I had done
17:04is coerced the girl in there
17:06to give me the money.
17:08But the ridiculous part of that was,
17:12even if that was true and it wasn't,
17:14she was a victim.
17:17But they imprisoned her as well.
17:19Now,
17:20after decades of searching for answers,
17:23he says the documents,
17:24which could help him in his appeal,
17:26have disappeared.
17:27In response,
17:28the post office have said
17:29they have no papers regarding this matter
17:32as it's over 40 years old.
17:34It's not even been established
17:35that Post Office Limited
17:36was the prosecutor.
17:38MP Helen Whateley
17:39has been supporting Simon
17:40in his campaign for justice.
17:41At first,
17:43he was told,
17:43I mean,
17:44told that there are no records.
17:45This goes back to the 1980s.
17:47But now it looks like
17:48there actually could be some records.
17:50He received some information
17:51through that's heavily redacted.
17:53So what I want
17:54is to keep the pressure up
17:56so that people keep digging
17:58to find out,
17:59find some evidence
18:00of who decided what and why
18:03and what actually happened.
18:05Since Simon left prison in 1984,
18:07this is an example
18:08of just some of the emails
18:10and letters
18:11that he's sent to authorities
18:12across the country
18:13to try and prove his innocence.
18:15But with no avail,
18:16he's now hoping that
18:16KMTV viewers can help him.
18:18So I hope
18:19that there will be somebody,
18:20perhaps,
18:21who worked at the court at the time.
18:24They can find a stenographer's report,
18:26perhaps even a member of the jury.
18:29But I need some form of evidence
18:31that what I am saying
18:33and what I said to the court appeal
18:35is actually true.
18:37During his time in prison,
18:38he lost his home,
18:40his girlfriend
18:40and his job
18:41with the London Fire Brigade.
18:43And more than 40 years later,
18:45Simon is still asking
18:46for the same thing,
18:47a chance to clear his name.
18:50Kristen Hawthorne,
18:51KMTV, Tenham.
18:54And now I'm joined
18:55by Simon Edgecombe
18:56and Matt Ramston,
18:58the senior editor of Kent Online.
18:59So, Matt,
19:00we've got some context there,
19:02but how did you actually
19:02get involved with this story?
19:04Yeah, it's quite a strange
19:05start to the story, really,
19:07Kristen,
19:07because Simon wrote to us
19:09asking whether he could access
19:11our archives from March 1983
19:13just to see if we'd had
19:14a court reporter
19:15in court at the time
19:16so he could have evidence
19:18to prove to people
19:19that a court case
19:20did take part
19:21and take place
19:22and he was in court
19:24when he said he was.
19:25I got the email sent to me
19:27because the person who had it
19:28didn't know what to do with it.
19:30And I looked at Simon's email
19:32and I thought,
19:33this sounds quite interesting.
19:34Rather than respond by email,
19:36let me give him a call
19:36and see what it's all about.
19:38And so if we take ourselves
19:39back then to when it all happened,
19:41what went through your mind
19:42when you found out
19:43that you were going to prison?
19:45Oh, utter shock.
19:47I'm laughing.
19:47I don't know why I'm laughing.
19:48It's quite shocking.
19:50It was...
19:51Did I hear that correctly?
19:52I mean, it was honestly...
19:54Because I wasn't expecting it,
19:57it seemed impossible.
19:58I tried to put myself
20:00in the place of the jury
20:01and did that
20:02and thought,
20:02well, I'll be going home
20:03in a minute.
20:05But the more the case went on,
20:07the more I could see
20:08it was corrupt.
20:09But I can't fight
20:11their corruption.
20:13What have you been able
20:14to do so far
20:15and what have you found?
20:16OK, well, we've written
20:17three stories so far
20:18about Simon's case
20:19and we've used social media,
20:22we've used podcasts,
20:23we've used all the tools
20:24available to us
20:25to spread the message
20:26far and wide
20:27and I'm pleased to say
20:29that we've managed
20:29to track down Jane
20:31who still lives in Kent.
20:32We're not going to name her
20:33because she's quite
20:35a private person,
20:36doesn't want that to happen
20:37and we respect that.
20:38So we tracked her down
20:39and had a chat with her.
20:41There's another key witness
20:42who we've tracked down
20:43to East Anglia as well
20:44but perhaps most interestingly
20:46for us and for Simon
20:48is that we tracked down
20:49a guy called Michael
20:50who was a paperboy at the time
20:52and remembers being paid money
20:54out of the post office till
20:55which proves what Simon's
20:57been saying all along
20:58that the till was used
20:59as a private finance device
21:01rather than just for government
21:03cash as it was meant to be.
21:04There is even a policeman
21:06who's come forward,
21:06sorry, an ex-policeman
21:08who's come forward
21:08to say that he recalls
21:10when he was in the police force
21:11that the post office
21:12were actually trying
21:13to pry people away
21:15from the police force
21:16to go and work for them
21:17as investigators
21:17and one of the reasons
21:20for doing that
21:21and getting people away
21:22was the bonuses
21:23that were paid
21:24on successful prosecutions.
21:26But you're still looking
21:27for people who can
21:28potentially help as well.
21:29Yeah, so the next step
21:30for Simon is speaking
21:31to the Criminal Cases
21:33Review Commission
21:33which has the power
21:34to investigate
21:35miscarriages of justice
21:37and they've got
21:37some great powers
21:38and they can actually go in
21:39and look at archives
21:41and all sorts
21:41and turn up all sorts of things
21:43but from our point of view
21:44to help with this
21:45we're looking for some people
21:47we think were involved
21:48who might have
21:49some key evidence.
21:50A couple who worked
21:51at the Raynham Road,
21:53the Station Road shop
21:54in Raynham at the time
21:55which the post office
21:56was contained inside.
21:57They were there,
21:58they knew what was going on,
22:00we're trying to find them.
22:01They lived in nearby
22:02Lower Raynham Road
22:03so if they're still
22:04knocking about
22:05it'd be great to get a hold
22:06of them
22:06and anybody,
22:08anybody at all
22:08involved in the court case
22:10who was there
22:10for the one day trial
22:11on March 14th 1983.
22:13I know it was a long time ago
22:15it's a lot to remember
22:16but it's quite a distinctive case
22:18so I'm hoping
22:18if you were a juror,
22:20a member of staff
22:21in the court
22:21or even the solicitor
22:23who represented Simon
22:24please come forward
22:26and let us know.
22:27Even small snippets
22:29like the policeman
22:30like Michael
22:31who saw the story
22:33it's all helping,
22:34it is all helping
22:35and we will eventually
22:37I hope
22:37win
22:38with your help as well.
22:42Plans for a new
22:43£77 million
22:44North Thanet Road
22:45have been submitted
22:46in a bid to help
22:47take thousands of cars
22:48off nearby busy roads.
22:51Proposed in 2023
22:52impacted by rising costs
22:54and financial approvals
22:55the construction
22:56is expected to begin
22:57in 2028.
22:59The scheme would join up
23:00the A28 Cantoree Road
23:01and Manston Road
23:02passing through
23:03Birchington-on-Sea,
23:04Westgate-on-Sea
23:05and Garland.
23:05The project could
23:07slash 2,500 journeys
23:08per day
23:09but a KCC spokesperson
23:11said timelines
23:12might change
23:13and depend on getting
23:14all the approvals needed
23:15showing no plans
23:16are finalised
23:18at this point.
23:21Now time to take
23:22a quick look
23:22at the weather forecast.
23:30Well we have got
23:31highs of 20 degrees
23:32up in Dartford tonight,
23:34wind speeds relatively low,
23:35clear skies.
23:36Clear skies continue
23:36into tomorrow morning.
23:38We've got highs of
23:3922 degrees there
23:40in Ashford.
23:41Wind speeds just
23:42slightly increasing.
23:43That trend continues
23:44into the afternoon tomorrow.
23:46Wind speeds,
23:47or temperatures are 27
23:49actually so that's
23:50quite good.
23:50Clear skies until Friday.
23:52We've got 26 degrees
23:54on Wednesday and Thursday
23:55and then Friday
23:56slightly lower at 25.
24:05And of course
24:06England's World Cup
24:07semi-final match
24:09has been dominating
24:09headlines as people
24:11across the country
24:11have been preparing
24:12for kick-off tonight.
24:14Unfortunately
24:14we didn't have Luna
24:15in the office today
24:16so we don't have
24:17her prediction
24:18but what we do have
24:19is our sports show
24:20presenter Finn McDiarmid
24:21who's been taking
24:22her place.
24:23So Finn,
24:24what are the predictions
24:25for tonight then?
24:26What do you think so far?
24:27Well first of all
24:28I just have to say
24:28I'm happy to be
24:29the substitute
24:30for Luna today.
24:32You know I might not
24:32have her punditry skills
24:33but I'll do my best.
24:34I think it's going to be
24:35a really exciting match.
24:37Obviously England
24:38getting to a semi-final
24:39in any competition
24:40is always so exciting
24:41and everyone across Kent
24:42is clearly getting
24:44very stoked,
24:44very prepared.
24:45I myself will be
24:46heading down to Maidstone.
24:47In terms of an actual
24:48match prediction
24:49I think it's going to be
24:50very intense
24:50and it's all going to
24:51come down to
24:52these three players
24:53Lionel Messi,
24:54Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
24:56They've really shown
24:56what they can do
24:57for their teams
24:57and I think they're
24:58going to be ones
24:59to really decide this match.
25:01Like I said
25:02I'll be heading down
25:02to Maidstone
25:03and over at Kent Online
25:04they've got reporters
25:05positioned at all sorts
25:06of celebrations.
25:07That was actually
25:08Ashes Sports Bar
25:09in Maidstone last week
25:10for the Mexico game.
25:12Really fun to be able
25:13to soak in the atmosphere
25:14there.
25:15Like I was saying
25:15Kent Online reports
25:16will be posted
25:17around the county
25:18so you can keep up
25:19with how the rest
25:20of the county
25:21is celebrating
25:21over on their website.
25:23But yeah,
25:23it's going to be
25:24an amazing game.
25:25And what's your opinion
25:26on how they've played
25:26so far?
25:27It's been really good.
25:29I've had some
25:29personal favourite moments.
25:31Dan Burns,
25:32massive header,
25:32in the Mexico game.
25:34I think he sent it out
25:34for a...
25:35It went past the halfway line.
25:37It's been really,
25:38really great.
25:38And I'd say we've played
25:40amazingly.
25:41To get to this stage
25:42of a tournament
25:44is a great feat.
25:45And it really goes to show
25:47I think lots of people
25:48were questioning
25:50with Southgate
25:51leaving the manager position,
25:52Tuchel coming in.
25:53I think there were
25:53a lot of questions
25:54about that.
25:54But I think Tuchel's
25:55really proved
25:56what he can do.
25:57And I think it's also
25:59just a very interesting
26:00World Cup to do it at.
26:01This has been a World Cup
26:03where we've seen more teams
26:04than we've had
26:04in previous tournaments,
26:06which means more games,
26:07bigger group stage,
26:08a round of 32,
26:09not going straight
26:10to the round of 13.
26:11So it's been very
26:12interesting to watch,
26:13but I'm very happy
26:13with how England are doing.
26:15Yeah,
26:15and I mean,
26:16as each win comes,
26:18I mean,
26:18the chaos keeps getting
26:20larger, doesn't it?
26:21So if England win tonight,
26:22what can we expect?
26:23Well,
26:24I think we can expect
26:25a lot of hoarse voices
26:27tomorrow morning.
26:28I think I will align myself
26:31with a lot of parents here
26:32and say that I'm quite glad
26:33this game is at 8pm
26:34because I had to stay up
26:35very late for the,
26:36I think it was the 1am game,
26:39then delay to 2am in the morning.
26:40So I think it'll be
26:43not a dry eye in the house
26:44either way.
26:45If we get to the final
26:46for the first time in 60 years,
26:47it'll be very good either way.
26:48Thank you so much, Finn.
26:50That's all for tonight.
26:51Bye-bye.
26:59Bye-bye.
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