- 19 hours ago
Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Chloe Brewster.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:35Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
00:38I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top stories on Monday the 24th of August.
00:43M20 Tributes. Flowers left for a teen who died on the motorway at the weekend.
00:49I'll be here to talk us through the tributes and the ongoing investigation.
00:52Robbed of justice.
00:54Dorman, who was assaulted at work, says he wasn't told about his attacker's sentencing.
00:59They let down the nighttime economy. They let me down.
01:02And a hidden risk. Canterbury Woman warns of steroid cream after withdrawal ordeal.
01:08It was just intense itching and it's not just a bit of scratching. It was bone deep.
01:24First tonight, a footbridge over the M20 in Aylesford has been covered in flowers, balloons
01:30and other tributes for a 14-year-old girl who died there on the weekend. She was hit by
01:36a car on Saturday morning and has been named as Lexi on messages left on the bridge. Police
01:42are investigating the incident and are asking for anyone with any information to contact
01:46them. Finn McDermid was at the scene earlier today.
01:49So Finn, you're there at the moment. What has the scene been like there today?
01:56Well, obviously, though, it's a difficult and tender atmosphere here on the bridge across
02:02the M20 in Aylesford. There's a crowd of people who've been here for most of the day, family
02:08and friends who've been here to talk about Lexi and their memories for her. The bridge is covered
02:14in balloons, flowers, teddy bears, gifts, as well as heartfelt messages. You can likely hear
02:21behind me some of these passing cars beeping their horns as I was speaking, all in solidarity
02:25for Lexi. And this is the bridge where Lexi did pass away. Now, we don't have all the details,
02:33but the police did tell us she was taking my vehicles in early Saturday morning. And we'll
02:37get more into the exact police response to what happened. And as I mentioned, the bridge
02:41here is covered in these gifts and these messages. So some of them have read, you beautiful, gorgeous
02:45young lady, you were loved more than we will ever know. May you rest in peace and sleep easy,
02:50Lexi. Fly high, angel, for about nine months.
02:54And what do we know so far in terms of the police investigation?
03:01The police have told us they're appealing to anyone. We've passed through the location
03:05between 3.15am and 3.20am. We may have witnessed a pedestrian in the carriageway to contact them.
03:13They've added motorists with gas, perhaps also have asked to check footage that might assist
03:16in their investigation. And they've asked anyone with relevant information to contact them.
03:21Now, what we know about what actually happened is quite sparse. The police have told us initially
03:27that she was hit by vehicles in early Saturday morning, which did shut the eastbound carriage
03:32day at 4.4pm. We've all got one day and reopened at 9am. So like I said, there's not many
03:38details
03:39that we have at this stage. And aside from what police have told us, we don't have that much
03:43information. So at this stage, it's best not to speculate about this happening, curved,
03:47but it's hard to illustrate.
04:17Robbed of the chance to face his attacker. I went to meet him in the city where it all
04:22happened.
04:23Doors staff are often the first to feel the brunt of hot headed pub goers. But in Jonathan's
04:29case, he felt it more than most after he was assaulted at work.
04:33It all happened in a matter of seconds and caused some injuries to my kneecap, knee, hamstring,
04:41back of the cartilage, pretty much my entire leg.
04:44After reporting the assault to police, Jonathan's attacker Craig Rimmer from Folkestone was charged
04:49with occasioning actual bodily harm.
04:52I go through it in my head. Could I have done, is there anything I could have done differently?
04:57And there are even times where you just, you wake up panicked, you think,
05:00is this going to happen again? Like, I'm cautious every time I look around who's around me.
05:05I know for a physical fact, I can't get stuck in and I've struggled to defend myself a lot more
05:10than when I was a fully bodied, able to torment.
05:14Two weeks ago, Jon's attacker was sentenced. It's a year and a half on from the attack itself.
05:20But Jon says he wasn't invited to the hearing. He says £2,000 of compensation
05:26from the perpetrator is not enough to warrant what he's gone through.
05:31They let down the nighttime economy. They let me down. Without us, the nightlife economy can't
05:36work unless the police want to suddenly find an extra few thousand officers and put them on doors.
05:42They have to work with us. Jonathan says he believes he was denied the right to supply
05:47the court with an updated victim personal statement before his attacker was sentenced.
05:52It's something that neither the Crown Prosecution Service, Kent Police,
05:56or the Courts and Tribunal Judiciary have provided an explanation for.
06:00Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Folkestone.
06:04Earlier, I spoke to Daniel Garnham, the General Secretary of the Security Industry Federation,
06:09a union for those who work in the same industry as Jonathan, about the issue of assaults on door
06:14staff. So for many people who are going out to pubs and bars, it would just be unthinkable to assault
06:21someone who's working on bar staff or security. Is it really that common for people to take their
06:27anger out on security staff?
06:31Yeah, absolutely. It's all too common, unfortunately. On a Friday and Saturday night,
06:36you know, people are going out to clubs and bars across the UK and it's the poor security guard on
06:43the
06:43door that has to deal with the escalating violence, people that aren't let into the venue because of various
06:50reasons, could be because they're too drunk, could be because the venue is at capacity and they take
06:56that frustration and anger out on the door supervisors at work as security on the doors.
07:02And what are you doing at the moment? I know you mentioned briefly that you are supporting
07:06Jonathan. How are you doing that? What will you be kind of offering him going forward?
07:12Well, as you know, Jonathan had some life-changing injuries for this assault. This person was put
07:19to the courts without him having a chance to be there, to give his side of the story,
07:25and he was given a £2,000 fine. And that £2,000 fine might seem a lot of money for
07:32some people,
07:32but it certainly doesn't scratch the surface of what has left Jonathan now in the rest of his life,
07:38having to navigate with a debilitating injury and quite possibly not able to work in the security
07:46industry again. So as a trade union, we are helping him with any sort of legal support and advice that
07:53he needs to take this further on appeal. And also what we can do to help him get back into
07:58the industry,
07:59if there is a role for him, that we can speak to employers and get him back into work.
08:07Kent police has arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of murder following a stabbing in
08:12Ramsgate on Sunday morning. A 52-year-old man was pronounced dead in hospital after the attack,
08:18while another victim has since been discharged. Our reporter Sophie Denny is here to tell us more.
08:24Sophie, what actually happened here?
08:27Yes, so police were called to report of a man holding a knife in Ramsgate's harbour just after
08:344.45am on Sunday morning. They found two men there with injuries consistent with stab wounds,
08:41so they were taken to the local hospital. A 48-year-old man has since been discharged from the hospital,
08:47as you mentioned, and we can see pictures on screen now. That was the taxi that was believed to be
08:54involved in the incident. A 52-year-old man at the hospital was pronounced deceased, and his next of
09:01kin have been informed. And that taxi, which we saw in those pictures just now, has now been removed from
09:06the Ramsgate Harbour area.
09:08Well, it seems police have been quite hard at work on this. There's already someone who's been arrested.
09:13Can you tell me more about that?
09:14Yes, so very shortly after the incident, police said that they arrested a 21-year-old British national.
09:20He remains in custody while the police continue their investigations, but they have said that
09:26they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the stabbing.
09:29Mm-hmm. And anyone who was planning on visiting Ramsgate, is the area still closed? What's going on with that?
09:34Yes, so on Sunday, their areas, especially on Harbour Street and Harbour Parade, were closed.
09:41Many of the businesses, including a local sports bar, were unable to open. But some of these areas have now
09:47been reopened.
09:49So Harbour Street is open. You can access that freely. But there is a section of Harbour Parade,
09:55as we can see here, that is still cordoned off near the Royal Victoria Pavilion Weatherspoon Pub.
10:01So if you're planning on heading down there later today, just be aware that you might not be able
10:06to access it via your usual route.
10:09Mm-hmm. Obviously, it must be a worrying time for people in Ramsgate. This is one of the main high
10:13streets there. Just quickly, what have police said?
10:16Yes. So I contacted Kent Police earlier. They told me that the investigation is still in its early
10:23stages. And so they can't provide a full update as of yet. They have said that there will be
10:29additional patrols around the Ramsgate area over the next couple of days. So if the public are feeling
10:35concerned, there will be that heightened police presence there. And they have also asked any members
10:40of the public if they saw anything, if they have any additional information to contact them. And there
10:47is a reference number that you can quote. So that is 46 slash 139262 forward slash 26. So any information,
10:57any photos, anything that might help them with their investigation, you can send that there.
11:01Thank you so much, Sophie.
11:05A man has been in prison for a year after stealing a van and being pursued by police in Chatham.
11:11Keena Fairclough took the van while its driver was dropping off a package last week. It was spotted
11:16only 10 minutes after the police were called. Kent Police chased the van for four and a half miles,
11:23where Fairclough drove the wrong way, ignoring signs and clipping other cars, as you can see in
11:28the clip now, before he jumped from the van and was arrested in Maidstone. He appeared at Medway
11:33Magistrates Court, pleading guilty to all charges and was given a year's prison sentence alongside a two
11:38year driving van.
11:42Now that's all we have time for in this part of the programme, but don't go anywhere because after the
11:46break, we'll be learning about South East farmers who are being urged to vaccinate their animals against
11:51the potentially fatal blue-tongue virus. We'll also be hearing from a Canterbury woman about her
11:57raising awareness of the risks of topical steroids. All that and more after this short break. Goodbye.
12:51.
13:21.
13:52.
14:22.
14:23.
14:24.
14:24.
14:25.
14:26.
14:29.
14:31.
14:31.
14:33.
14:33.
14:33.
14:33.
14:34.
14:37.
14:39.
14:40.
14:42.
14:42.
14:43.
14:43.
14:44.
14:47.
14:51.
14:52.
14:52.
14:52.
14:52.
14:52.
14:52.
14:52.
14:59.
15:01.
15:19.
15:22Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
15:26Now, Southeast farmers have been urged to vaccinate their animals against the potentially fatal blue-tongue virus.
15:32Blue-tongue is an insect-borne disease which can be fatal in sheep and can cause deformities in cows.
15:39According to new government figures published on Thursday, there have now been 496 cases of the virus in England.
15:46I spoke to a cattle farmer and National Farmers Union rep about that threat.
15:51The best resistance to blue-tongue is vaccination.
15:55It's not a mass cure.
15:56It increases the resistance of your livestock, so it lessens the effect of the disease.
16:02But this blue-tongue 3, which they had in Holland, was so disastrous, is now down in the West Country,
16:07and they are suffering really badly.
16:09Now, that comes across the rest of the country as the time goes on.
16:12Those that haven't vaccinated could see problems.
16:16And last year there were dummy calves.
16:18In other words, a calf born without a brain, they didn't know how to suck and they just had to
16:21be put down.
16:22And cows not getting in calves.
16:24We heard of a lot of herds where 25-30% of the cows were empty.
16:28And that is just disastrous financially for a suckler herd and for the dairy industry,
16:32because you've got to have a cow back in calf to produce milk.
16:35A Canterbury woman with 16,000 followers on TikTok is calling for better awareness of the risks of topical steroids.
16:43After being prescribed steroid cream for eczema, she says she developed topical steroid withdrawal
16:48and was left vulnerable to systemic infections.
16:52She's documenting her recovery on TikTok and has launched a petition calling for greater awareness of the risks of topical
16:58steroids
16:59and better investigation into the causes of eczema.
17:03A warning, this piece contains videos of rashes and discussions of skin conditions.
17:07Now, Maisie Walker has this story.
17:09I oozed lots and lots last night because of my flare up that I had.
17:18And now I feel disgusting and I look disgusting.
17:22I was not warned about the risks.
17:25It was just intense itching and it's not just a bit of scratching.
17:29It was bone deep.
17:32I was always covered in cuts.
17:34This is Sophie.
17:35She lives in Canterbury and has struggled with eczema since childhood.
17:39In 2023, she was prescribed topical steroids, but she says she wasn't made aware of the potential risks of long
17:47-term use.
17:48So this is what Sophie was initially prescribed.
17:50And inside is the leaflet, which contains the warning, which, as you can see here, doesn't even take up a
17:56quarter of the page.
17:58And this is what ruined Sophie's life.
18:00She later developed topical steroid withdrawal, or TSW, and has been living with extreme pain ever since.
18:08After building a following of more than 16,000 people, she's launched a petition calling for people to be better
18:15informed about the risks of topical steroids and for more research into eczema.
18:20It's taken my life from me. It's honestly, I haven't been able to live a normal, normal 21 year old
18:27life.
18:28The doctors should definitely be telling you about TSW.
18:32There should be guidelines in place for diagnosis because there's not any guidelines for diagnosis at the moment.
18:38And there should just be a warning rather than a tiny leaflet in a box.
18:43It's not recognised at the moment.
18:45So this is why we want to change it and help prevent this awful condition from happening to everyone, especially
18:51children.
18:52Because mums are being prescribed this to use on their children because eczema is a very common condition to have
18:58as a child.
19:00And a lot of children are getting this TSW.
19:03She's also created the Broken Skin Project, a community for people with similar experiences to remind them that life can
19:10be about more than just managing their condition.
19:13Maisie Walker for KMTV, Canterbury.
19:16The government have announced today that there will be a review into the way business rates for pubs and hotels
19:22are calculated.
19:23This comes after they announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs and live venues from
19:29April 2027.
19:30Our reporter Justine Larter joins us now to tell us more.
19:34Now, Justine, what does this actually mean for pubs and hotels here in Kent?
19:38Well, the Treasury, which is the government's economic and finance ministry, announced earlier today that there will be a review
19:45into the way business rates for pubs and hotels are calculated.
19:49So for those who don't know, business rates are a tax charged on most commercial properties like shops, offices, pubs
19:55and hotels.
19:56And this review will look at improving fairness for businesses to ensure the system is fair and transparent and ensure
20:03these venues can plan better for the future.
20:06The Treasury said leading business rates expert Jerry Scherder will lead the independent review and report back to them by
20:13the end of March next year.
20:14Like you said, back in July, the government announced a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, social clubs
20:20and live music venues from April next year.
20:23Here in Kent, several pub landlords have backed the VAT's The Problem campaign, sorry, to reduce business rates, with many
20:30stating that the current rates are crucifying pubs and restaurants.
20:34One of those landlords is Roland Burks, who's the manager at the Ship Centurion in Whitstable.
20:39I spoke to him earlier and he said the review is a step in the right direction, but that it
20:44doesn't solve all their problems just yet.
20:46It's hopeful. Hope is always there. It's really just a stepping stone and hope they go further than that because
20:53I don't think that's enough for pubs nowadays.
20:57The costs are going up in 10s and 20% every six months. They're taking 20% of business rates,
21:05which is a small drop in the ocean for what's going up every six months is going up.
21:09I mean, just to learn our fish bill went up double. So we've had to reduce our fish buying or
21:15put our prices up so much just to compensate with it.
21:18And it's near enough impossible to keep up the prices.
21:22So Mr Burks said that the increasing costs for suppliers, electric and gas and recent water and food shortages have
21:30made things harder for the Ship Centurion.
21:32So while he does welcome the review, he is worried that it could go the other way and that business
21:36rates could actually go up for pubs.
21:38So whilst Mr Burks is not too optimistic about the review and he's not quite sure what that could mean
21:43for his pub, what we do know is that change could be on the cards for pubs and hotels next
21:49year.
21:49Perfect. Thank you so much, Justine.
21:52And finally, did you know today was National Self First Day?
21:57It's a day about putting yourself first without feeling guilty.
22:00For many, this may mean taking time to rest, stepping away from unhealthy dynamics or seeking therapy.
22:07It's a reminder that choosing your own wellbeing is nothing to apologise for.
22:11It's something to celebrate.
22:13Our reporter Nayla Mohammed went to Rochester to ask residents how they look after themselves after a busy day.
22:19I need that one.
22:20When was the last time that you put yourself first?
22:23Or said no to someone?
22:25Or imposed boundaries?
22:27Well, that's what today is all about.
22:30National Self First Day is an official movement and observance day, reminding people to prioritise themselves, their emotional wellbeing and
22:38guilt-free self-care.
22:39Reminding people that it's not selfish to look after themselves.
22:42So I've been walking around Rochester High Street asking people how do they look after their mental, physical and emotional
22:49wellbeing.
22:49We go for a stroll, we go for a walk around the block, which always helps, doesn't it?
22:54And I have massage once a month as well and that is my treat to myself.
22:58Why do you think it's a good idea to put yourself first?
23:00Because you can't serve from an empty cup. You have to fill your cup up, don't you?
23:04The job that I do is quite full on. I'm forward facing to a lot of people so I do
23:13sometimes just need some time out and do something like read a book or just to take my mind away
23:21from real life.
23:22I'm literally always working or my brain is always working and thinking about what do I need to do?
23:30You know, what's the next plan? What are we, you know, going to do next?
23:34So I don't think I ever actually switch off.
23:37This year is the first year that this Behavioural Awareness Day is being recognised.
23:41Something that therapists say is a huge step forward in battling what they call a toxic culture.
23:47But what kind of things can you do throughout the day to put yourself first?
23:50Well, one mindfulness coach says that it's important to step back often throughout the day and reflect on how you're
23:56feeling.
23:57So it's important to fill our cup, look after ourselves, have those little breaks that are important.
24:05Those breathers, I call them in mindfulness, those breathers, like 30 second, one minute breathers in between a busy day.
24:12Where we can just be ourselves, not thinking about what to do next.
24:19Just simply sit with yourself.
24:21We have been made to believe that everything else should come first.
24:26We've never been told or that that's not been the culture to look after yourself.
24:30We've never been taught to look after ourselves. That's important.
24:34We need to break that culture barrier, that stereotype that has been put on us.
24:39Whether it's setting a boundary, taking a break or simply checking in with yourself,
24:43the message therapists want to emphasise today is to make more time for your own wellbeing.
24:49Nayla Mehmed for KMTV in Rochester.
24:53Now it's time to take a quick look at the weather.
25:00Going into this evening, it's looking pretty cool outside, you know, 18, 17 degrees.
25:05It's not as hot as we have been seeing.
25:07Going into tomorrow morning, 20 degrees, sunny across the board.
25:12Into tomorrow afternoon, it's looking about 24 degrees in Maidstone, 22 in Medway.
25:17A little bit cooler around the coast, some wind there.
25:20Going into the rest of the week, it's a cloudy Wednesday and Thursday.
25:24Rain hitting us on Friday and sticking around 25 degrees.
25:28It's still slightly warm there.
25:35One of the county's biggest living history events is returning to the Kent County Showground soon.
25:42The Military Odyssey will take over the Detling Showground on August Bank holiday weekend.
25:47It will bring three jam-packed days of battle reenactments, military vehicles and living history displays to thousands of visitors.
25:55Now in its 26th year, the event is regarded as the largest of its kind in Europe and recreates more
26:01than 2,000 years of history from the ancient world right through to modern day conflicts.
26:07This is the moment a daring Land Rover driver took on the River Darrant.
26:12This video captures the car leaving the walkway and entering the river near the Eynsford Bridge before struggling towards the
26:19Ford crossing.
26:20It eventually manages to emerge before driving along the riverside towards the A225.
26:26The Ford, which is regularly flooded, is among the most photographed spots in Kent.
26:31It's not the first time vehicles have ended up in the water at the village.
26:37You've been watching Kent tonight live here on KMTV and there's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:43Don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news from across your county by logging on
26:48to kmtv.co.uk or following us on social media.
26:51Thank you so much for watching. See you again soon.
Comments