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Catch up with all your latest news from across the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
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00:37Hello and welcome back to Kentonite Live on KMTV. I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are
00:42your top stories on Tuesday the 18th of August. Causing a stink Rochester rubbish left uncollected
00:48for 12 weeks. And if they've got a problem with the bins, they need to make somebody accountable.
00:54This is ridiculous. Picking their battles as Medway Council unveils free litter picking
00:59kit, would you opt in to clean up the community? Every month we collect well over 100 tonnes
01:04of litter off the streets with our contractors. That's two things, that's not acceptable,
01:08we shouldn't be picking up that much, but also it's expensive.
01:11And Adventure in Alaska, Tunbridge Wells author takes on a winter road trip to inspire older
01:17women. It's just empowered me so I've come back just feeling so invigorated, so positive
01:23about what life is and what we should be doing and how we should be ageing.
01:36A street in Rochester is up in arms after their bin store was left baking in the sun for months.
01:42It's not the first time those living at Weavers Court have been left reeling from the reek of
01:47uncollected rubbish. But in the recent weather, locals say it's gone from bad to worse with Medway
01:52Council and estate managers pointing their fingers at each other. Local democracy reporter
01:57Ollie Leder went down to smell the stench for himself.
02:0112 weeks of uncollected rubbish here at Weavers Court. These bin bags have been left baking in the
02:07sun through what is on course to be the hottest summer on record. With the waste bins being left
02:13untouched by both Medway Council and estate management company Orbit.
02:19That's quite mild at the moment. It's been as tall as me at some points.
02:23They keep sending out a private company just to clear the excess, but bins are contaminated,
02:27so it's a problem that's never going to end really at the moment.
02:31I'm going to be honest with you guys, this right here is not doing anything to block out the smell
02:36here. It's absolutely revolting. You've got rubbish piled all the way up to the rafters.
02:42You've got rotting food. You've got furniture buried in amongst the bags here.
02:48It's little wonder residents are keeping their windows closed during these summer months.
02:54Well, it's very bad. Bad for my health. Bad for breathing. I have asthma, for example.
03:00You know, I have asthma. Our neighbors have the kids. So how kids, they cannot open window.
03:07So it's very bad. So why aren't these bins being collected? Well,
03:13Medway Council say the rubbish is contaminated. While people living here,
03:17they just want the whole situation sorted out. Orbit needs to make sure that the ground is clear.
03:24Council needs to make sure that the bins are emptied. And if they've got a problem with the bins,
03:29they need to make somebody accountable. This is ridiculous.
03:34Medway Council say Orbit is responsible for the bin store at the private development,
03:40and that access to the bins has been obstructed by the sheer amount of waste on the ground.
03:46In a response to us, Orbit said that the current situation is unacceptable,
03:52and that it would clean out the store last Friday. But when I came down on Monday morning,
03:59all the rubbish was still there. It was only after Orbit were contacted again,
04:04the store was finally cleaned out. And even then, there's still some rubbish left behind.
04:10But with the promise of a deep clean on the cards, the stink here might finally be on the way
04:16out.
04:17A man from Gillingham has been charged after explosives were discovered at his home.
04:26Officers found the hall in the garden shed of Marcus Richards' home on Canterbury Street.
04:31Seven real detonators were found. The 55-year-old was charged with seven offences,
04:35including assault of anarchy emergency worker, possession of an offensive weapon in a private
04:40place and criminal damage. The discovery was made on the same street where officers found a baton,
04:45a knuckle duster and a taser. A Tunbridge man who pursued and raped a drunk 17-year-old girl has
04:53been sentenced to almost 11 years in prison. Rocco Munafra was described as a dangerous predator
04:59in Maidstone Crown Court, which heard that he approached a vulnerable girl and lured her
05:03Indian isolated area before sexually assaulting her on Tunbridge Wells Common. Megan Shaw has the story.
05:14This is the moment Rocco Munafra was arrested for sexually assaulting a teenager in Tunbridge Wells,
05:21and has since been sentenced to 10 years and nine months behind bars at Maidstone Crown Court. At his
05:28trial, jurors heard how Munafra rode an e-bike around Tunbridge Wells before approaching a vulnerable,
05:34drunk girl, luring her into an isolated area and raping and sexually assaulting her. CCTV footage
05:41shows the moments before the incident took place, entering a pub and later riding around the town
05:47centre on his e-bike. Minafra threatened to kill the 17-year-old who has lifelong anonymity and can't
05:54be named if she told anyone that he raped her. But she came forward, and Kent police combed through
06:00hours of CCTV footage to find the perpetrator while riding his bike. Minafra from Tunbridge was found
06:08guilty of rape, three offences of sexual assault and making a threat to kill, and only to serve two
06:15thirds of his prison term before the parole board can decide if he's able to be released. Megan Shaw,
06:21The Came TV. Eight windows at Ashford Hockey Club were smashed by vandals, leaving behind £4,000 of damage.
06:29It's reported that catapults were used to break all eight panels in the early hours of Monday
06:35morning before fleeing. But as police investigate the attack at Kennington's Ball Lane Avenue,
06:40the community has donated more than £6,000 in less than 24 hours. Jeremy Patterson, who has been
06:47secretary of the club for 15 years, has tempted bosses to beef up security. Here's more from him now.
06:54All eight are, as you can see, broken beyond repair and will need replacing. It's just so frustrating that
07:02we have so many fantastic volunteers at this club, like all other sports and community clubs around
07:08Ashford and beyond. We're all volunteers, we all do it because the club gives us so much back.
07:15And to have outsiders come and wantonly destroy part of our clubhouse, it's big as belief.
07:24Medway Council say they're still focused on cleaning up the streets and have asked the
07:29community to get involved. So free litter pickers have been made available on loan,
07:33meaning residents can help keep public spaces green. But not everyone is feeling up to task.
07:39Chloe Brewster joined a Medway Councillor on her litter pick to find out why they want us to get involved.
07:45Since last month, it's not just books you can pick up from Medway Libraries.
07:50You can try out a new hobby, litter picking. All you have to do is sign up for a library
07:55card,
07:55head down to one of 15 Medway Libraries and ask for litter picking equipment. But would you have a go
08:01for yourself? Would you use one of these? Absolutely, I would. Why would you opt in?
08:08Well, you know, it makes the place look a little bit more tidy, doesn't it?
08:11Medway Council are handing out these. Would you go and get them?
08:14Yeah, most likely.
08:16No, you're not going to carry it around just to pick up a bit of litter occasionally when you see
08:19it.
08:20If you're going to pick up litter, you're going to bend down and pick it up.
08:23That won't make any difference at all.
08:24It wasn't just people on Chatham High Street with a mixed opinion though.
08:29We asked readers of the Medway Messenger what they thought about the scheme.
08:33This is what some of the comments said.
08:35Now let me think, do I pay council tax? Oh yes, I do. And it's supposed to cover this.
08:40Nasus said, here's an idea, just take your litter home.
08:43Lisa White said, I already litter pick several times a week. It'd be useful to be given bags.
08:47There are several comments here, many of them echoing the same opinion of, well, litter picking,
08:52that's the council's job. But there are others who are keen.
08:55For example, Nikki, she said, I just need to sort out getting a library card,
08:59then I'll be arranging a pick. So other people also say they do it weekly already.
09:03I decided I needed to have a go for myself.
09:06So I signed up for a card and collected the gear from Chatham Community Centre.
09:10There, I met up with one of the councillors behind the scheme.
09:13This is a new thing for the library thing. We're 15 libraries all together. But we have had a litter
09:18picking sort of campaign going for many years, actually, with loads of brilliant volunteers.
09:23And we've been providing them with equipment. But this is now sort of growing the scheme,
09:27if you like, making it better and making it more accessible
09:29and available to as many people as possible.
09:31Medway is one of the area's worst hit for fly tipping in Kent.
09:35And while sofas and commercial goods wouldn't fit in one purple sack,
09:39Simon says it's about attitude and community responsibility.
09:43Some of the comments online under the post about the litter picking,
09:47people saying it's not my job to clean up litter, it's the council's job. What's your thoughts on that?
09:51I don't disagree in principle. However, it's not the council's job to pick up litter that people
09:57are throwing on the ground. That's the annoying thing. I wish people would just stop throwing it
10:00on the ground. Every month we collect well over 100 tonnes of litter off the streets with our contractors.
10:06That's two things. No, that's not acceptable. We shouldn't be picking up that much.
10:09But also it's expensive and it all comes from our taxes.
10:12If you do decide to have a go, Medway Council says you should leave the bags next to an on
10:16-street
10:16litter bin for collection and also be mindful not to litter pick next to busy roads.
10:22All the information on the scheme is on their website. Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Chatham.
10:28A community frustrated by water outages staged a protest just last night.
10:34More than 70 Benedin residents joined forces to spell out help us in single-use bottles.
10:40The protest aims to highlight the environmental impact of the repeated water outages across Kent
10:45as plastic bottles are handed out in their thousands. The organiser Lucy Barron-Reed of The Bill
10:50Pub told Kent Online she grew frustrated after repeated outages with varying explanations. Water
10:56remains off for some villages in Kent. And now for a quick look at the weather forecast.
11:08Okay, so we have lows there of 19 degrees, highs of 21, wind speeds relatively low with some cloudy
11:14skies. That remains much the same pattern into the morning, just slightly warmer. We have highs there of
11:1918 degrees, wind speeds ever so slightly more at 8 miles per hour. The sun is peeking through though
11:25in the afternoon. We have mostly 23 across the board, lows of 22. 22 on Thursday, 19 on Friday,
11:3319 on Saturday and it looks like we'll be getting some rain finally.
11:43And it's time for a quick break now but don't go anywhere until you have more news for you from
11:48across the county. We'll be talking to Megan Shaw about everything new that's been happening and we're
11:54going to be taking a look at why the council have taken some buses off routes in Maidstone. All of
11:58that
11:59we have a lot more to come. See you soon.
12:39We'll see you soon.
13:07Bye.
13:35Bye.
14:05Bye.
14:36Bye.
15:25Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
15:29Now Kent's most controversial water company has appealed to customers to be nice to front
15:33line staff as workers report abuse and threats on the ground. It comes after four weeks in a row
15:39of widespread, widespread water outages across Kent where thousands of households were forced to head
15:45to south east water stations across the county. Chloe, our reporter who's covered several of the
15:50outages is here with me now to tell us more. So it's got to be pretty bad for them to
15:54make a statement
15:54like this.
15:55Yeah, I mean it's been repeated outages for months now. We all know, we've all
15:58heard about it. And it has been now four weekends in a row that these water outages have been taking
16:04place. And that means a lot of people heading to the water stations to collect bottled water.
16:08And you know, I've been to many of these water stations and staff every time I'm there, always
16:13very friendly. They're always handing out lots of bottled water. A lot of them are contract workers
16:18or freelance workers. So they're doing this around their own interests and other jobs.
16:21So this is something for them to do for a little bit of extra cash. But yes,
16:24South East Water have come out today and they said, can you please be nice to our staff? Apparently
16:28there's been instances of threats made to staff, abuse, damage to South East Water vehicles. And
16:35South East Water are being clear, you know, they understand that these outages are really frustrating
16:40for people in Kent. It doesn't gel with people's daily lives and going out to water bottle stations
16:45isn't exactly what everyone wants to do after their day at work. But they want to make it clear that
16:50staff are not responsible for this disruption. They said that if teams feel unsafe and they are getting
16:54threatened while they're at work, they're well within their rights to leave the area, which means
16:58if abuse is happening and they're not feeling safe, this can cause delays because teams will just
17:04abandon the area. We can hear a little bit now from Mike Pickard from South East Water a little
17:09bit about this abuse that has been experienced and his kind of apology to customers.
17:14It is down to frustration. We do understand that. We do understand our customers do not deserve
17:21what's going on. And we're doing everything in our power to try and help along the way.
17:26But our teams out there are doing a job. They're just like you and I. They've got to provide their
17:34family and their loved ones with food on table, roof over their heads. They're doing a job to help and
17:40support. Our teams are committed. They love them, very passionate about the water industry and the
17:47work that they do. And to be subjected to abuse is challenging for them. It's disheartening.
17:57And we just ask, like I say, customers just to be mindful of the people behind the uniform.
18:03So there are still some households that are impacted by water outages around the coast,
18:07about 400 properties. There are still water bottle stations open and you can find all that
18:12information on the South East Water website. Thank you so much. Now, don't forget you can
18:16keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging onto our website kmtv.co.uk.
18:21There you'll find all our reports, including this one, about campaigners fighting for ancient
18:26woodland outside Maidstone. Here it is.
18:30Sunlight pouring through the canopy of ancient woodland now under threat. A new mineral plan
18:36from Kent County Council, currently under consultation, could see more than 40 hectares
18:42of oak and wood cleared away for the expansion of the nearby hermitage quarry.
18:48You know, only two and a half percent of the land cover in England is ancient woodland. It's irreplaceable.
18:55It's been here hundreds of years and what has sort of evolved together in that time is totally unique.
19:03One of the big reasons campaigners feel so strongly about this woodland is simply because of how old
19:10it is. Oak and wood has existed in some form or other since the 1600s. The sweet chestnut caucuses let
19:18light flood the woodland floor. That's a boon for biodiversity and campaigners say all of that
19:25could be lost if the mineral plan goes ahead. We have so much overdevelopment on in the locality.
19:33Where is the wildlife actually going to go? Where are the children going to play? Where are the people
19:38going to cycle off the roads? Where are families going to gather together? Where are people struggling
19:43with their mental health going to be able to go to find solace? The quarry run by Gallagher
19:48mines Kentish ragstone, a material used in heritage buildings and construction. The county is facing a
19:5617 million tonne shortfall in ragstone and the company says alternative sources of the stone
20:04aren't economically viable. If the site isn't expanded, Gallagher warns imports from abroad will have to be used.
20:12Resulting in significant amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. We are offering twice as much
20:20woodland in compensation to add to that process. So we're very confident that we can operate in a
20:30very sustainable way. Effectively we've worked out as nine moat parks would have to be planted in
20:35with broadleaf woodland to compensate for the additional carbon that would be created as a result of
20:41which is not existing. The draft plans were pushed through at KCC last month. The authority is now
20:48getting feedback from the public before going to the planning inspectorate for an independent decision.
20:56The deadline for feedback is the 10th of September and the next month will prove crucial in what happens
21:02next to these woods. Olly Leader outside Maidstone. Maidstone residents will be faced with less bus services
21:10after cuts. While tickets have gotten cheaper, dropping from £3 to £2, the council have decided to drop some of
21:16the routes to save cash.
21:18Well, Gavin Wilson spoke to people in Maidstone about their feelings on the issue.
21:22For many, the bus is their only way to get around. Getting to the train station for work,
21:27taking the children to school, doing the shopping and general day-to-day living.
21:32So imagine if these vital services that are so heavily relied on were to be reduced or cancelled
21:37altogether. Well, that's what's happening here in Kent. Bus operators, Arriva and Stagecoach have
21:42announced they can no longer provide services at the levels they are currently at. Operators insist
21:47that the maths for running these services no longer add up, blaming rising staff and fuel costs. I'm here
21:52in Maidstone and passengers waiting at the bus stop are very disappointed. I would find it very difficult to
21:57get into town because I live, you know, in the country, you know, further out. Well, fortunately,
22:02I'm retired, so I don't need the buses, but it would be annoying. If your bus service was taken away,
22:09how would you get to the places where you would need to go? I don't know. I'm coming out, the
22:15old
22:15people can't drive it. We now need to keep the bus running. There's no other travel to get to the
22:20places I need to get to and walking for other people as well with disabilities and all that,
22:25it will be finding hard to get to their places that they need to be. The details of the changes
22:31by the operators are contained in a Kent County Council members briefing paper and have been
22:37highly criticized by councillors. The idea of giving people cheaper bus fares is brilliant and
22:42has to be welcomed, but it almost feels like the companies have used this as an excuse to
22:47wriggle out of less profitable routes. I'm not going to suggest for one second that the fair
22:53should go up. There needs to be a way of holding these bus companies to account so that they don't
22:58use the changes as an excuse in the way we can see them doing. And it comes just as the
23:04new Prime
23:04Minister, Andy Burnham, announced a £2 fare cap from next year. In statements, Arriva said adjustments
23:10affecting areas like Maidstone, Dartford and Blue Water aim to improve punctuality and match customer
23:17demand amidst rising operating costs and shifting passenger numbers. Stagecoach said the cuts are
23:23necessary due to persistently low passenger numbers post-pandemic alongside unsustainable rises in fuel,
23:30operating and staffing costs. The government may be promising a new £2 fare cap to get people back on
23:36public transport, but that is cold comfort for Kent's most vulnerable people. The cuts are due to
23:41start later this month. This is Gavin Wilson for KMTV. And finally, after becoming an empty nester,
23:49Siobhan Daniels moved from Tunbridge Wells to the road, starting a nomadic lifestyle and has recently
23:54taken a motorhome across the Alaskan Highway. She wrote a book about her trip across the more than 1,300
24:01mile long road, which she hopes will inspire other women to take on their own expeditions.
24:06Phil McDermott went down to meet her to find out more. The Alaskan Highway, 1,387 miles of road
24:14weaving through the frozen mountains of Canada. A bit different from the Pantiles at Tunbridge Wells.
24:19It's an iconic northern road trip and for one woman who lives in the West Kent town,
24:24it's marked the latest step in her journey to find amazing sights and to find herself.
24:29Well, when I went to Alaska, I didn't know that it was going to be a life-changing trip. It
24:34was
24:34incredible to go to one of the most remote places in the world. They call it the final frontier and
24:40they don't call it that for nothing. That silence and that wilderness and everything made me really
24:45able to reflect on life and who I am and what I want. And it's just empowered me. So I've
24:51come back
24:52just feeling so invigorated, so positive about what life is and what we should be doing and how we should
24:58be aging. Siobhan lives a nomadic lifestyle, traveling around the UK and other countries in her motorhome.
25:04This is Dora the Explorer, Siobhan's trusted motorhome who didn't make it for the Alaskan
25:09adventure. And as you can probably see, I am extremely hot here under the UK sun. But it
25:15was a different story in Alaska. She was facing temperatures of minus 15 and the roads were
25:19damaged by previous temperatures anywhere from minus 50 to minus 60. It was dangerous,
25:25treacherous journeys that she had to face. Let's take a look at the exact route that she charted out.
25:30She started in Vancouver, then moved on to towns like Whistler and Prince George,
25:34where she had to winterise her motorhome. Then Dawson Creek, the official start to the route. Then
25:40followed tough winter roads and mountain passages, six and a half thousand kilometres over a whole month.
25:47She's written a book about her travels called Retirement Rebel, the second in her series. And she
25:52says she wants to inspire older women to do things they think they can't.
25:55I think often society writes older women off in particular, and thinks they haven't got it in
26:01them to do adventures. And for a lot of women, that then is a self-fulfilling prophecy. They think,
26:07oh, I can't do it. I'm too old to do it. Oh, I shouldn't be doing it. I'll look ridiculous.
26:11But more and more now, there's a tribe of women out there who are looking to life and saying,
26:18what do I really want from life? And they want adventure. And their children want them to have
26:22adventure. And they're supporting them to do it. And I'm trying to show them that it's possible.
26:29She's got more adventures on the cards and wants any woman who might feel lost to try charting a course
26:33across the wilderness, changing the direction of their travels and their lives.
26:38Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tunbridge Wells. Wow, what a fantastic journey. You'll have to
26:43let us know on our socials if you've been inspired by Siobhan. But you have been watching Kent Tonight
26:48Live on KMTV. There's more news made just for you throughout the evening. And we'll be back at 8pm.
26:53Don't forget, you can always keep up to date across the latest news on our website. Bye-bye.
27:03Bye-bye.
27:05Bye-bye.
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