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00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:30Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:33I'm Finn McDermid and here are your top stories on Friday, the 4th of September.
00:38Challenging stigma. A Tunbridge couple share their daughter's experience of body dysmorphic disorder.
00:44Sometimes she'd actually think that people in the street were being sick because they could see her.
00:51Swap and Shop, a community store in Chatham, are giving away free uniforms all year round.
00:56Looking at the high response and the amount of uniforms we've gone for a while, I'd say there isn't a
01:00lot of support or isn't enough support.
01:02And if there is, there's not enough awareness about it.
01:05And from black and white to Kent Tonight, we mark more than 70 years since the first time the presenter
01:11appeared on our screens.
01:22A couple in Tunbridge are hoping to fight the stigma surrounding body dysmorphic disorder.
01:28Mike and Holly Poundsford, whose daughter Emily lives with the condition, say that not enough people know about it.
01:34It affects 1 in 50 people here in the UK.
01:36And just a warning that this story from Sophie Denny discusses topics that some may find upsetting.
01:42For Mike and Holly Poundsford's daughter Emily, body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD, overtook her life.
01:51She would be actually frightened of even things like aeroplanes going over.
01:56She'd tend to sort of want to hide because she'd be frightened that it might make people feel sick to
02:02look at her.
02:03And sometimes she'd actually think that people in the street were being sick because they could see her.
02:09BDD is a mental health condition characterised by a disabling preoccupation with perceived defects or flaws in appearance.
02:18But unlike common misconceptions, it isn't vanity or self-obsession.
02:23You see somebody looking in the mirror all the time, you might think, oh, they're very vain.
02:26They think a lot of themselves.
02:28But actually, the problem is very low self-esteem.
02:31There's real worry and anxiety about what they have.
02:34I think some people look in mirrors a lot, which is what Emily did.
02:38So we constantly had sort of mirrors being broken.
02:41You might have noticed there's a big mirror on the drive on the way in because Emily likes to check
02:45herself.
02:46But I think a lot of people with BDD have the opposite.
02:49They won't look in mirrors.
02:50Living with BDD can be very restrictive.
02:54Even everyday things like getting in the car can feel very overwhelming.
02:59And that's because you can see the number of mirrors and other reflective surfaces that are just here in the
03:05car.
03:06BDD affects 2% of the UK population.
03:10But stigma surrounding it can prevent people from seeking help.
03:14People who have BDD feel really ashamed about what's going on about themselves.
03:19But they don't need to feel ashamed because it's an illness that they have.
03:24And at its most severe, BDD can lead to death.
03:28It's a very significant proportion who will attempt to end their life because of the BDD.
03:34Not just because of depression associated with BDD, because they just feel so disturbed and depressed about their perceived unattractiveness.
03:44Treatments include cognitive behavioural therapy and sometimes medication.
03:49And Mike and Holly hope that sharing their story will encourage others who may be struggling to seek help.
03:56I think recovery is possible.
03:58I think, you know, there's hope.
04:00People, when they're in the midst of their BDD, they can feel despair.
04:05But actually people recover and people get the support, they get the help and they live a normal life.
04:10Sophie Denny for KMTV in Tunbridge.
04:14And if you've been affected by this report, you can find support through the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation website or
04:21contact the Samaritans on 116 123.
04:25Next, a drug dealer who tried to hide a cocaine-filled sock from police by throwing it from his car
04:31has been imprisoned.
04:33A seed debacle was pulled over by officers at the Ridgeway in Tunbridge on the evening of the 15th of
04:38March.
04:39Police found the tied-up bright white sport sock containing five deal bags of cocaine.
04:44His car was also searched and officers found £245 in cash and a list of names suspected to be drug
04:51buyers.
04:51He admitted to the charge of being concerned in the supply of cocaine at Maystone Crown Court and was given
04:56a custodial sentence of one year and nine months on the 1st of September.
05:01There have been calls for action in Dartford to tackle the problems caused by boy racers.
05:06You can see footage here now of some of those racers.
05:10Residents living in Bob Dunway have said they've had to put up with significant noise and disruption as troops drive
05:15around the bridge estate.
05:16They added the issue has been going on for more than a year, leaving people frustrated, annoyed and running out
05:22of hope it'll be fixed.
05:23Residents, councillors and the MP are now calling for AI ANPR cameras to be installed to try and fix the
05:29problem.
05:29Chief Inspector Sarah Rivett said Kent Police will continue to work closely with Dartford Council to enforce a public spaces
05:35protection order in the area.
05:38With the cost of school essentials continuing to rise, the back-to-school bill can be a real worry for
05:44families.
05:44But a new community shop in Chatham are helping to take some of that pressure away by giving out school
05:49uniforms and PE kits for free.
05:52Kristen Hawthorne went down to the shop and has been finding out what other help is available for families in
05:57Medway.
05:58As the cost of living continues to increase and the average price of a school uniform and PE kit stands
06:04at about £400 in Medway, the new school season is a challenge for many families.
06:10But a community shop in Chatham has been working to change that and has been giving away free uniforms, something
06:16they plan to do all year round.
06:19So when it comes to a free school uniform it is about supporting the community.
06:22So it isn't just free, we operate a swap shop as well.
06:26So as people have got children that are growing up, they grow out of the uniform.
06:30We've got all sizes for all shapes and all schools so basically they can come down, they can bring the
06:36school uniform that they don't need anymore and can swap it over for a larger size.
06:40Obviously from the free school uniform side the idea is to make sure that everyone's got everything accessible to themselves
06:45and that's really hard at the moment.
06:47And part of what we do through Frift and Thrive and Revival with the uniform is supporting people, supporting the
06:53community that are struggling.
06:55It's hard now, it's hard for people to be able to get what they need.
06:58So they're giving away free school uniforms but they're also helping prevent the build-up of landfill and getting local
07:05prisons to wash and repair the clothes so it gives them jobs as well.
07:08We've gone through so many school uniforms and a lot of that's been through donation and people donating to us
07:14to be able to come through.
07:15So although it's new, we've found in the last half term we've probably gone through around about 500 or 600
07:21uniforms for people going back to school and it's been welcomed with open arms which has been great.
07:27Despite school having started already, the shop was still very popular and is clearly already an asset to the community.
07:33Looking at the high response and the amount of uniforms we've gone through, I'd say there isn't a lot of
07:38support or isn't enough support and if there is, there's not enough awareness about it.
07:42So what we're trying to do is obviously create awareness with ourselves.
07:46So what other care is available for families in Medway?
07:49Well I think it's fantastic we see organisations like Thrift and Thrive and there are others across Medway often linked
07:55directly to individual schools, sometimes run by things like PTAs, but also certainly church and other faith groups also do
08:03this.
08:04And of course we recognise that for this time of year there can be financial pressures far beyond perhaps just
08:10the school uniform although that can be important.
08:13So any Medway residents, if you're in financial challenge or you know a family who is, I'd encourage you to
08:18look at the Crisis and Resilience Fund, all that information can be found on the Medway Council website.
08:23With the cost of school essentials continuing to rise, this community shop is showing that help doesn't have to come
08:29with a price tag.
08:31Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Chatham.
08:35A new local plan has launched in Ashford this week asking residents and businesses to have their say on the
08:41future of their town centre.
08:42The council say it will help encourage growth in Ashford's economy and housing stock while also seeking to protect the
08:48borough's valued assets.
08:49But with several businesses closing within the last year, some traders report a decline in customer spending.
08:57Ashford is at a crossroads.
09:00Several businesses have closed their doors in recent weeks.
09:03The scenes don't quite add up with the figures from the council.
09:07According to their annual report, it says that the rate of empty shops had fallen in January this year.
09:12A new local plan has been launched this month with the aim of shaping where and how development takes place
09:18across the town.
09:19Ashford Borough Council say that it's keen to work with local businesses and retailers.
09:24And while there has been an increase in footfall here on the high street, it's not necessarily felt by some
09:29of the people we spoke to today.
09:31It just seems to be getting quieter and quieter, noticing a lot of shops closing.
09:36It has been quite quiet over the past month or two-ish.
09:40It's quite a busy little town. I don't see, I know a lot of people are quite negative about the
09:46footfall, but I mean, we do, we do fine.
09:49I don't know if that's because we're established or...
09:51Ashford Council told Kent Online that footfall is up 2% in the town centre.
09:56They told us that town centres remain under pressure, but it's supporting businesses through grants, events and regeneration,
10:03including plans to bring the former Odeon back into cultural use.
10:08They also say that town centres across the country are facing pressures from the cost of living, online shopping and
10:15changing working patterns.
10:16Lesley Riding, who manages an independent, low-cost grocery shop, thinks that access, parking charges and the costs of fuel
10:24are primary issues.
10:25A lot of the shop environment is about social contact, and especially the small independent shops.
10:33So I think making a bit more like the traditional shopping environment, instead of the big, you know, neon-lit
10:41supermarkets.
10:43While Ashford's figures suggest some signs of improvement, I asked several people what they wanted from their high street.
10:49A street that represents the community, because right now what I see is people just going about their lives, not
10:56really caring about where they live.
10:58I don't feel like there's not a lot to come here for other than to eat.
11:02And it would be nice to see that variation, because then you would see the customers come in.
11:09The consultation process is open to residents and businesses until the 23rd of September.
11:14The question now is whether Ashford's plans for the future can translate into a town centre that works for businesses
11:22and residents today.
11:24Elliot Lawton, KMTV News, Ashford.
11:27Thank you, Ashford.
12:04Thank you, Ashford.
16:54Thank you for joining us, Graham.
16:55First of all, what is El Nino and when can we expect to see its impact?
17:00So El Nino is a pattern of climate variability in the tropical Pacific where certain sections of the Pacific start
17:08to warm quite dramatically.
17:10Normally, we would expect sea surface temperatures to start coming up around one and a half, two degrees above average.
17:16But what we're seeing this year is temperatures above three degrees already.
17:22And there is capacity for those temperatures to increase.
17:25Now, what an El Nino does is it actually affects other parts of the world.
17:31So that heat that's building in the tropical Pacific will go into the atmosphere.
17:36That will have an impact of raising global average temperatures by possibly as much as a fifth of a degree
17:44or more.
17:45And it's quite likely that next year will be the warmest year on record globally.
17:50But in addition to that, there are other impacts such as increased prospects for drought in a region stretching from
17:57India all the way down to Southeast Australia.
18:00That could have the effect of affecting food security.
18:05Clearly, crops in those regions may well be affected.
18:08And there's also with that dryness, because you've got much drier conditions, drought conditions in some locations, that will lead
18:16to potentially an increase in wildfire risk for those regions as well.
18:21I see. I mean, we've been seeing some headlines saying that Brits need to stock up on food and drink
18:26and things like that.
18:27Is that something that people are going to need to do here in Kent?
18:31What should they be putting in an emergency supply kit?
18:33So that is a very dramatic take on what we're likely to see.
18:39We have to remember here that the event itself is happening in the tropical Pacific, which is almost as far
18:45away from the UK as you can get.
18:47So it's true to say that El Nino will have an influence on the British weather, but it's just one
18:54of a number of drivers that we have.
18:56So we're in the UK, we're sat on the edge of the Atlantic, we're heavily dominated with our weather in
19:03terms of what happens in the Atlantic.
19:05We're also quite close, relatively speaking, to the Arctic and to continental Europe.
19:10So we have drivers coming in from those regions as well, with the El Nino signal being an additional driver.
19:18So what we're likely to see is an increase in rainfall this autumn.
19:24And on that, let's have a look at our weather forecast.
20:08One author has turned the facts she's picked up for her guidebooks into a look at Kent's history of romance.
20:14Her book, Love Stories, Passions and Heartbreaks, is filled to the brim with tales that follow the hopeless romantics of
20:20Alden Kent and shedding more light on its partnerships of the past.
20:24I spoke with author Liz Foster about this more.
20:27Well, thank you so much for joining me, Liz.
20:29We're going to be talking about love stories, passions and heartbreaks from across Kent's history.
20:34And I'm aware you've picked up these stories from your Quiz Trail book.
20:37So tell us a bit about what Quiz Trail is and how that informed your book of love stories.
20:42Yes.
20:42So I make Quiz Trails with my two daughters, Becky and Laura.
20:46And we started about six years ago in Rochester.
20:50I was living in Rochester.
20:50And we wanted to make a little book about the history of Rochester.
20:54But there are lots of guidebooks and there are a lot of very thick history books around.
20:57But we wanted to make it so that you could have a lovely day out in Rochester and learn what's
21:02going on.
21:03So we added clues along the way, especially for children as well.
21:06So we've got adult and children clues so that everybody can go and have a lovely day.
21:10But while we were researching, we've now made about 40 Quiz Trails and really enjoy making them.
21:17Along the way, we were picking up all these fantastic stories of all these romances and the good ones and
21:24the bad ones and who misbehaved and breakups and crimes and all sorts of things.
21:30So we thought it would just make a lovely collection to put them together for Kent of what did go
21:35on, you know, in the real world sort of thing.
21:38So it's been really interesting to put them all together.
21:41Amazing.
21:41And I mean, sometimes you can have so much gossip, you don't really know what to say first.
21:46Was it a bit tricky picking which stories to put in the book?
21:49No, I think there are certain ones that jump out and we kind of have between us a campfire test.
21:54Where is it the sort of story you would tell your friend over a campfire or sitting around a campfire,
21:59not on it?
22:00And would it be interesting enough, you know, to pass that story on?
22:03So they've all passed our little campfire test.
22:06I don't suppose you have any that sort of maybe warm the heartstrings?
22:09Oh, one of my favourites is Benjamin Disraeli, who was the MP in Maidstone for a time before he became
22:16prime minister.
22:17He was absolutely in debt, brassic, no money.
22:21And all his friends were saying, we know what you're looking for in a wife.
22:24You're looking for money.
22:26And there was another MP who had died and left a massive inheritance to his wife.
22:31So Mr Disraeli made his way in with this Mary Ann, married her, and as the gossip all went, married
22:42for money.
22:42But they absolutely loved each other.
22:45They had the most wonderful marriage.
22:47They were in each other's pockets.
22:50Everything went really, really well.
22:51She died before him.
22:52She was 20 years older.
22:54And he was absolutely devastated and never really got over it.
22:58So he'd found something far more important than money.
23:01He'd found love.
23:02I suppose I'm curious if you have any words of advice for anyone who maybe wants to get off the
23:06dating apps.
23:07Is writing a letter in 2026 a declaration of love?
23:10That's a bit slow nowadays.
23:12I think it must have been heartbreaking, mustn't it?
23:15To have posted a letter, waited for it to arrive somewhere, waited for that person to send you a letter
23:20back and say, give me texts any day and a phone call.
23:25Brilliant.
23:25Well, thank you so much for your time, Liz.
23:29And today marks 71 years since the first British news presenter appeared on screen, maybe a bit better than me.
23:36Before then, a 20-minute evening news segment contained a series of graphics and illustrative videos.
23:44Justine has the story about news presenters who are better at presenting than me.
23:47Let's see it.
23:48On September 4th, 1955, the BBC broadcasted a TV news segment with a presenter on screen for the first time
23:57ever.
23:58Instead of seeing maps, illustrations and graphics, viewers were met with the person reading them the news.
24:05That was Kenneth Kendall, pictured here in 1980.
24:08ITV News launched just a few weeks later.
24:11Here's a taste of how their presenter, Barbara Mandel, read the news back in the 1950s.
24:17...and an airport this morning for Geneva, where the meeting of the four foreign ministers resumes today.
24:23With him was Mr Shakbra.
24:24At KMTV, we launched our presenter-led news 62 years after the BBC.
24:30Here are some faces that you might recognise doing their first pieces to camera on the channel.
24:35This is just one of the many events taking place across the UK to celebrate and recognise volunteers.
24:41I'm here on the streets of Dartford, where these postboxes have been causing quite a stir.
24:46Groves End Town Pier has been a super popular destination for the people of Kent today.
24:50And that's because the Spanish Galleon has just arrived here a few days ago.
24:54But presenting live on screen isn't as easy as you might think it is.
24:59You've got to sit up straight, be directed by the gallery in your ear, all whilst reading the autocue at
25:06the same time,
25:07and maintain your composure if things go wrong.
25:10Why don't you try giving it a go at home?
25:14And there you have it. TV news with a presenter on screen still going strong today.
25:22And Justine joins me now in the studio. So, Justine, what more can you tell us?
25:26So, as I was explaining just there, presenting on screen isn't very easy,
25:31especially if you haven't rehearsed your script before.
25:33So, I'm going to make it a little bit more difficult for you now
25:36and give you some fun, newsy tongue twisters to see if you can read them straight off the bat.
25:41Do you want to give them a go?
25:42Let's do it. Right before this, you may have heard I already tripped over my words reading my normal script.
25:47So, this is going to be quite impressive.
25:48Shall we have our first one?
25:49OK, here we go.
25:51Two tight-lipped tourists tottering towards the Thanet turn-off.
25:55Two tight-lipped tourists tottering towards the Thanet turn-off.
25:58OK, yeah, that one's quite hard.
26:00OK.
26:00You've got it, though.
26:00You've got it, though.
26:01We're just about...
26:02This is scary.
26:03OK.
26:04Four fat pheasants flying frantically over Favisham.
26:06Four fat pheasants flying frantically over Favisham.
26:09All right.
26:10OK.
26:10We're getting there.
26:11We're getting there.
26:11OK.
26:11I can see in my periphery this one's big.
26:14Here we go.
26:14So, nine nimble non-partisan newsreaders navigating the notoriously knotted networks of Gillingham,
26:23Gravesend and Canterbury.
26:24OK.
26:24Well, there you go.
26:25There we go.
26:26I feel like I need some applause.
26:27No, it's OK.
26:28Don't worry.
26:29You put it down, though.
26:30Just about.
26:30Very quick on that.
26:31Well, I presented the politics show earlier.
26:34I think that was only slightly easier.
26:36So, yeah.
26:36Well, that's all the time we've got.
26:37Thank you so much for this little history lesson into broadcast TV, Justine.
26:40That's all the time we have.
26:42You've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
26:45There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:47Thank you so much for watching and see you very soon.
26:49See?
26:50I can present.
26:50Good night.
26:52We'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time
26:52we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time
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27:02we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time
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27:05we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time we'll see you next time
27:06we'll see you next
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