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Catch up with your latest news from across the county with Chloe Brewster.
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00:27Hello and welcome to Kent tonight live here on
00:29KMTV. I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top stories on Thursday the 23rd of July.
00:35Stranded for 19 hours. Disabled patient left in Medway Hospital after transport service
00:42didn't turn up.
00:43Well to be honest I'm not overly keen on travelling with G4S again.
00:48Booze, buses and bills. Is the King of the North really out to help residents in Kent?
00:54I think it's very early days. I think it's difficult to call at the moment. But yeah,
00:58I mean certainly the early indicators are that he cares about businesses that are finding
01:03it tough.
01:04Bouncing into summer, we try the world's longest inflatable salt course at Bluewater.
01:10I timed it, I timed it with come over there and it took me 11 minutes to get round.
01:24But first, our top story tonight. A disabled man who waited 19 hours to be picked up after
01:30an appointment at Medway Hospital has spoken out. Kevin Taylor was supposed to be picked
01:34up by a patient transport company to be taken back to his home in Minster. Time ticked on
01:40and he was left asleep in his wheelchair after G4S left him stranded. Megan Shaw went to meet
01:46him in Minster to talk about the ordeal.
01:55How long is too long to wait to be taken home after a hospital appointment? Is it two hours,
02:03four, maybe even six? Well, for Kevin Taylor, he waited 19 hours from his appointment at Medway
02:11Maritime Hospital for transport to take him back to his care home in Minster. Kevin or Kev,
02:17Taylor had an appointment at Medway On Call Care at 1.30pm on the 9th of July after he was
02:25referred
02:25by 111 and suspected of having deep vein thrombosis. He was done before half past two and then waited
02:33until 11.15am the next morning for patient transport provider G4S to come collect him.
02:41The staff at Medway said they had phoned the patient transport up and then it started getting
02:49to about six, seven o'clock in the evening. So what I've done, I sat out so obviously it
02:54was cooler and the G4S supervisor was coming out saying that, oh they're not going to be long,
03:04the more I can sort of smell the poo.
03:11Wheelchair bound and paralysed on one side, Kev was forced to sleep overnight in his chair
03:17after frequent phone calls by both himself and hospital staff to G4S proved fruitless.
03:24He was told he would then be collected first thing on Friday morning at 7.15am but the car
03:30didn't arrive until four hours later. He now wants to hold G4S and Medway Community Health
03:37Care who provided the appointment to account.
03:40Well to be honest, I'm not overly keen on travelling with G4S again. Not happy at all. But sometimes
03:52needs must.
03:54When we got in contact, G4S apologised for the unacceptable wait, explained they are currently
04:00investigating Kev's complaint, received on the 10th of July and have a statutory duty to
04:06complete this within 28 days. Medway Community Health Care had said their staff tried to contact
04:12the provider to sort out the transport but were unsuccessful. Although it wasn't ideal
04:18for him to spend the night in the hospital, there was no other transport to take him home.
04:23Luckily for Kev, he didn't have deep vein thrombosis but the wait proved to be a bigger pain in the
04:31neck.
04:31Megan Shaw for Kame TV in Minster.
04:35As Andy Burnham moves into number 10, he brings with him new policies and a central government
04:40reshuffle. However, with the new Prime Minister's plans for a number 10 in the north, will Kent
04:45become less of a priority? Tim Forster reports.
04:49A new man at the helm. Andy Burnham has officially taken over as the UK's 59th Prime Minister.
04:55With the change of leadership comes a host of new policies. Cutting VAT on energy bills,
05:00reducing business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues and capping bus ticket prices.
05:06The new £2 price gap on bus tickets has been met with largely positive views in Chatham.
05:11If you go into Stroud and you come back for £6, you might as well get a train for that.
05:19I think because of the cost of living so much, I think it will help people. It will be easier
05:25for the people who are working, you know, and especially the young generation, because the young generation are our future,
05:33you know.
05:33Well, £1 per se is not going to have a massive impact in people's quality of life. But it is
05:44through policies like this that public services are perceived to be affordable by all.
05:51In Rochester, opinions on the new policies and the new PM were decidedly mixed.
05:56Well, in a way, I don't think it's right because basically, no, I haven't voted for him and I can't
06:02see anyone else or many of the public have voted for him at all. As far as I'm concerned, if
06:06the Prime Minister has been ousted, then there should be a re-election. I can't see how that man can
06:12be Prime Minister.
06:13Paul Dixon runs the Wolfencastle Micropub in Rochester.
06:17I think it's a definite step in the right direction. It's a lifeline for, you know, a struggling industry. It's
06:22really tough for the pub trade at the moment. Overheads, you know, have shot up through the roof.
06:28You know, costs are really difficult to manage. It's definitely a help.
06:32I think it's very early days. I think it's difficult to call at the moment.
06:35But, yeah, I mean, certainly the early indicators are that, you know, that he cares about businesses that are finding
06:41it tough, people that are finding it tough, you know, cost of living crisis.
06:44Like, yeah, it definitely looks as though he's, yeah, he's got that in mind. He's moving in the right direction.
06:49However, with his number 10 for the North Department plans, will the King of the North leave the South East
06:55undefended?
06:56Under Burnham, no Kent MPs hold a position in the Cabinet. And on his recent visit to Gravesend, his first
07:03since assuming the Labour leadership, Burnham refused to speak with the local press.
07:07The number 10 North plan will see a northern branch of Downing Street, reportedly already up and running, overseen by
07:13Louise Hay, First Secretary of State.
07:16According to Burnham, the time for resisting devolution is over.
07:20Tim Forster for KMTV.
07:23Well, I'm joined by local democracy reporter Megan Shaw. She's going to tell us a little bit more of the
07:28finer details.
07:29So what are Burnham's new policies and what could be on the horizon?
07:32Well, I mean, he's only been prime minister for three days and he's already come out with a raft of
07:37policy pledges that primarily revolve around lowering everyday living costs.
07:43He told his cabinet on Tuesday that this would be a cost of living government.
07:47And that's marked the first few changes he set out.
07:50We heard there from Tim. We've got the moves to scrap BAT and household electricity bills starting from October.
07:57That could save the average household about £45.
08:00We've got the £2 fare bus cap that he is set to bring into most areas of England in January.
08:07And then we also heard about the cutting the business rates on pubs, venues, music venues to just 20%.
08:15In his inaugural speech on Monday, Burnham also announced plans to end rough sleeping in our country.
08:20That's a quote with £340 million set to go towards acquiring, dishing out suitable homes for those that need them.
08:28But most notably and perhaps even most controversially, Mr Burnham is the so-called king of the north.
08:34He's made a big, big song and dance about what he's called number 10, not off.
08:39That's kind of a secondary downing street, as it were, in Manchester to try and move power away from Westminster.
08:44And as part of that, he's been a big peddler of devolution.
08:47What that might mean for us in Kent, we've already got our local government reorganisation decision from the government.
08:54We're going with 4B, but will we get a mayor in like a true devolution?
08:57That is something that might be on the cards now we've got Burnham.
09:02However, to what extent this might benefit Kent residents and, you know, it's very early days in his premiership.
09:09It's one of those things that we will have to wait and see, unfortunately.
09:12Tim touched on it a little bit in his report, but no one in the cabinet is from Kent.
09:17Can you tell me a bit about that? Why does that matter?
09:20You are correct. So, importantly for us here in Kent, Andy Burnham is not just northern,
09:25but he's made a big focus and a big promise towards the north to kind of bring them up to
09:29speed.
09:30But I suppose here in the southeast, the big question is will Kent residents be left behind just because we're
09:35near London doesn't necessarily mean that Kent residents benefit from that kind of Westminster power, I suppose, that centralisation of
09:42the government.
09:46There isn't a Kent MP in Andy's cabinet, as you said, but under Starmer Neshava Khan, the MP for Gillingham,
09:53Gillingham, sorry, was given a minor government role as the parliamentary private secretary, which she later resigned from after Labour
10:00was defeated in the local elections.
10:02This is quite crucial because Gillingham hosted when Starmer came to launch his Labour Party campaign. But in the same
10:10way that Andy Burnham kind of came to Gravesend, Dr Lauren Sullivan, the MP for Gravesend, wasn't given a kind
10:17of minor government role.
10:18And we've also seen that Mike Tapp, the MP for Dove and Deal, was recently sacked from his role as
10:23parliamentary undersecretary of State for Migration and Citizenship.
10:27So there is no longer any Kent representation in the cabinet.
10:31Thank you so much for joining me, Meg.
10:34The new CEO of Southeast Water has started the job today and says he will transform the company.
10:40John Halsell has taken over the role at the water firm following the departure of David Hinton.
10:45Hinton resigned following weeks of pressure from MPs and residents after thousands of homes and businesses were left without supplies.
10:53Halsell says he hopes to rebuild trust of customers and has vowed to deliver the firm's largest ever investment programme
10:59of £2.1 billion to make sure the future is ready.
11:04It follows recent news the company would be forced to spend £30 million out of pocket for improving its services.
11:10The family of former Kent MP Anne Widdicombe have announced a public memorial following her alleged murder earlier this month.
11:17The family plan to hold a private service for family and close friends before a more public memorial to follow
11:23later in the year.
11:24Joshua Kerry appeared in court on Tuesday charged with her murder.
11:31That is everything for now as we'll be taking a short break.
11:34But please don't go anywhere as we'll be back with you soon with more stories.
11:38We'll be hearing about a Kent head teacher who will be forced to evidence his salary after receiving paychecks grander
11:44than those of the chief executive of the county council.
11:46We'll also be taking a look at me trying out the monster, a new bouncy castle at Blue Water.
11:50So all that and more after the break.
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15:16Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
15:19Now the Lee Academies Trust, one of the biggest academy trusts in Kent,
15:23has been asked by the government to justify the increasing salary of its chief executive.
15:28Simon Beamish's pay rose to above £300,000 three years ago and now stands at £380,000.
15:36Reporter Nayla Mohammed joins me in the studio now to talk to me more about this.
15:40Now, why has the government stepped in?
15:43So the Department for Education, like you've mentioned there, is a government body.
15:47And they reviewed the latest financial accounts and they wrote to dozens of academy trusts across
15:53across England, not just here in Kent.
15:55And what they want is they want those trusts to explain or really just justify whether salaries
16:01paid to their chief executives is good value for money compared to other similar public sector roles.
16:09I mean, we can see on screen now that is the Lay Academy Trust in Paddock Wood.
16:14And in order to receive a letter from the Department of Education,
16:17the CEO had to be amongst the highest paid 1% across the nation.
16:23And the Lay Academy Trust, which is the biggest academy trust here in Kent,
16:28you know, 15 primary schools, 18 secondary schools did receive that letter,
16:32both in the 2022-23 financial year and the financial year after that.
16:37And the CEO, Simon Bremers, who we just saw on screen there, he earned around £300,000.
16:43Again, we can see on screen £300,000 in the 2022-23 financial year.
16:48And in the year after that, that figure had risen to £350,000.
16:55And now his latest accounts for what was this financial year so far show he's now earning between £380,000
17:03to £390,000.
17:05And on top of this, he's also getting employer pension contribution of £70,000 a year.
17:11It's believed he is the second highest paid academy boss in the entire country.
17:17Now, we're talking a lot about how much he's getting paid,
17:20but someone who's running an academy trust is presumably pretty experienced.
17:24Is there any justification for someone being paid this much, even if they do have all this experience?
17:29Well, there definitely have been arguments both for and against the salary increase.
17:33Peter Reid is a former Kent head teacher and an education commentator.
17:39And he says that just because someone's overseeing a lot of schools, that's Peter Reid on screen there,
17:44just because someone's overseeing a lot of schools doesn't automatically justify them having a higher salary.
17:50But then he did also say that the Lee Academy has a strong reputation for taking over struggling schools and
17:57improving standards.
17:58But Simon Bremers earns more than the chief executive of Kent County Council,
18:03who currently earns about £270,000.
18:06Wow. And what has the trust said all about this?
18:09Well, neither Simon Bremers or the Lee Academy Trust have responded to many requests from our sister station, Kent Online,
18:16and other academy trusts have also not responded.
18:19But the Department of Education says that academy trusts have to have responsibility to demonstrate transparency and accountability.
18:26There will be new rules coming in force in September where the salary will be capped £174,000 for newly
18:34imposed chief executives.
18:36But it's not going to be fitted retrospectively.
18:39So people like Simon Bremers won't be impacted by that new salary cap.
18:44Thank you so much, Nayla.
18:47A teenager has been arrested after a man in his 70s was injured by a catapult in Cranbrook.
18:54Police were called at around 6.30pm on June 16th after reports five young people had fired catapults towards the
19:01victim,
19:02who was later taken to hospital.
19:03An investigation was launched and a 16-year-old boy was later arrested and has been bailed while inquiries are
19:09completed.
19:10Witnesses and anyone who has CCTV footage are being urged to contact the police.
19:17And speaking of catapult crime, we spoke to Helen Wakeley MP last month about the issue in her constituency as
19:22she promised sharper powers against it.
19:24You can watch more stories just like this one on our website, kmtv.co.uk.
19:29The shocking moment when three boys use a catapult to shoot and kill a pet peacock near Maidstone.
19:35Should catapults be banned in Kent?
19:38It's a question being asked after growing concerns for wildlife safety as well as damage to property.
19:43I'm here in Faversham where I've spoken to MP Helen Waitley and later a local councillor.
19:49I want to see the powers available to our police, to local authorities, to take action on catapults.
19:56Now some people say to me, oh why do you want to stop kids having a fun time playing with
20:00catapults?
20:01But there's a big difference between a catapult which is a toy and the kind of catapults which are being
20:06used to injure and kill animals.
20:08They're really different and much more powerful.
20:11And actually even if a kid thinks it's a fun thing to fire a catapult at an animal, that is
20:17not okay.
20:17It's cruel and they should be stopping doing it.
20:21I get regular reports of animals and actually damage to property due to catapults.
20:27Nearby the Columbine Wildlife Sanctuary has admissions of animals every week who have been injured by catapults.
20:34So it's really horrible injuries that animals are getting and it's completely unnecessary.
20:39It's often just young people thinking it's amusing to fire a catapult at an animal.
20:45But clearly that does real harm injuries and indeed deaths.
20:49Helen is calling on Swale and Maidstone Borough councils to enforce a public spaces protection order,
20:54which could give the police and councils extra powers to tackle people carrying catapults in public.
21:00So, what is the benefit of such an order?
21:03I think we know that some of these attacks have been carried out by younger people.
21:07I suppose the main benefit that there could be is an extra police presence down by the pond.
21:15I do think that retailers, particularly online retailers, do need to be more responsible when it comes to who is
21:22buying the catapults in the first place.
21:24Obviously I think most people have found it really quite horrific. The local pond, Stonebridge Pond, is an area that
21:33is frequented by families,
21:35young people, older people as well, who really enjoy seeing the wildlife down there.
21:39So the idea that people are going and attacking these defenceless creatures and killing them,
21:44particularly at this time of year when many of the birds are nesting, is really, really very unpleasant and very
21:50upsetting.
21:51But for now, the issue of catapults won't waddle away any time soon.
21:55Heidi Munn for KMTV in Favisham.
21:58A race course could be used to hold emergency traffic to cope with a Dover holiday rush.
22:04The government says the disused Folkestone race course near Hive could be used as a holding area for up to
22:101,000 holidaymakers.
22:12It comes as the Port of Dover suggested queues of six to eight hours could be possible
22:16following the introduction of the European Union's entry-exit system.
22:20Lyddon Hill Motor Racing Circuit is also an option and able to hold a further 1,200 vehicles.
22:26It comes as this weekend is set to be the busiest of the year as schools break up for the
22:30summer holidays.
22:32And now let's take a quick look at the weather for the coming days.
22:40It's looking about 22 degrees around Medway and Maidstone.
22:44Cloudy night again. It's been a very, very cloudy week so far.
22:46Going into tomorrow morning, still cloudy, unfortunately.
22:50Wind speeds dying down a bit, though.
22:52Going into tomorrow afternoon, it's heating up 27 degrees across Medway and Maidstone.
22:57A little bit cooler towards the coast.
22:59And then as we're looking towards the rest of the week, it's still going to be warm at the weekend.
23:03But again, a little bit of cloud there too.
23:16An announcement that Gillingham Football Club will officially ban external food and drinks
23:21from being brought into Priestfield Stadium has divided the club's fan base.
23:25Signs put up outside Priestfield now state supporters will only be allowed to bring in
23:29one plastic 500ml water bottle.
23:32It's a change not necessarily welcomed by fans, who say long wait times and lack of children's options
23:37means bringing in food is preferred.
23:40One fan has even set up a petition to reverse the decision.
23:44The no-food policy is not exclusive to Priestfield, with the change reflecting the general rule at stadiums.
23:51Kate Bush fans are invited to recreate one of music's most iconic dance battle routines
23:56as the most Wuthering Heights day ever returns to Folkestone Harbour Arms this weekend.
24:00It's the first time the event has taken place since the film featuring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi came out.
24:06Participants attending the free event, dressed as a singer in her flowing red outfit,
24:10and recreate the dance moves from her music video.
24:12The official dance at 12pm and 4pm has been moved to the giant seagull statue of a warm-up in
24:17the goods yard.
24:18Musical performances from the Katie Bush Band and a DJ set from Dolly Doo Wop are also expected.
24:24Blue Water Shopping Centre opened its newest attraction at the weekend, coming off the back of a world tour.
24:30The Monster is one of the world's longest inflatable obstacle courses, offering 300 metres of bouncing, climbing and sliding.
24:36It's open all summer long and is hoping to attract more than just youngsters. That's why I had a go
24:41for myself.
24:44Forget a park run, Blue Water has got a Monster Challenge in store for the summer.
24:49The Monster is one of the world's longest inflatable obstacle courses.
24:5340 obstacles, an 18 metre slide and I'm going to give it a go.
24:57We're coming.
24:59It needs people coming through.
25:00How long do you think it's going to take me to do the whole thing?
25:05I think three and a half minutes.
25:07Three and a half minutes?
25:08The kids just told me it was about ten minutes, so is it doable?
25:11No, you can do three and a half minutes.
25:13Okay, okay, right.
25:15Alright, you ready?
25:16I'm ready.
25:17Get set, go!
25:22This 300 metre bouncy house is massive, and no, it isn't just for children.
25:28While children five and up can enjoy, they also offer adult sessions with a full bar and DJ sets.
25:34A pretty active night out.
25:36Well, summer's really important to us.
25:38We always like to provide something for our guests a day out.
25:42And it's not just about what goes on inside Blue Water, but what's going on outside too.
25:46And this is a brilliant attraction.
25:48It's been across the world, it's been in the States, it's been in the Middle East,
25:52and now it's in Blue Water, first time in Kent.
25:54I think I'm about halfway.
25:57I've still got a hell of a lot longer to go, but I'm feeling good.
26:01I think we're at about five minutes, so let's get cracking.
26:06I know I'm looking pretty tired already, but what do the young people think of it?
26:11Really good.
26:11It's really good and really hot, but at the same time, like, it just makes me really sweat.
26:16I timed it, I timed it with him over there, and it took me 11 minutes to get round.
26:21I'll probably say it's the best experience ever.
26:23What's the most challenging bit?
26:25Probably the last bit.
26:27Probably the last bit.
26:29After finishing the course in sub 10 minutes, I decided to call it a day
26:33to face my next biggest obstacle, driving in Dartford.
26:37Chloe Brewster for KMTV.
26:42Now, you've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
26:45Thank you so much for watching.
26:46Goodbye.
26:46Bye.
26:48.
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