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00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:31Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:35I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Friday, the 18th of September.
00:40Freedom of Kent. Kent County Council awards British Army's Brigade of Gurkha's prestigious honour.
00:46They live in Maidstone and Folkestone and they are a wonderful part of the local community
00:50and we wanted to really recognise their service to the British Armed Forces
00:54and the fact they have fought and died for this country.
00:57Tree takeover. Maidstone reacts to its first new pocket park in the town centre.
01:03I think the town is actually becoming more and more attractive.
01:06I've only lived here for two years and it is changing in a positive way.
01:11And bridging the gap for bison.
01:13Kent Wildlife Trust built bridges near Canterbury,
01:16letting the species explore a new part of the woodland.
01:19We can have them create a diverse array of habitats all across the site.
01:34Kent Police say they've been ramping up their vigilance on organised criminal businesses in Maidstone.
01:39This includes warrants being carried out where they might suspect illegal activity,
01:44like selling illicit tobacco or counterfeit goods.
01:47We can see some of those warrants being carried out now.
01:52Police!
01:53Police!
01:54Police!
01:55Police officers do a warrant!
01:57Police!
01:58Police!
01:59Police!
01:59Police!
02:00In the last six months, 13 businesses have been closed or evicted by Kent Police
02:05with the help of Trading Standards, with nine people arrested.
02:08In the visits, officers found illicit tobacco, cocaine, cannabis, cash and drug paraphernalia,
02:13with some hidden in different parts of the stores.
02:15PC Tom Cunningham said,
02:17These products put members of the community at risk,
02:19and we're being proactive in finding these items and removing them from our town centre,
02:23holding those responsible to account.
02:26A special ceremony for those who served. That's Kent County Council's award for the Brigade
02:32of Gurkhas, the elite fighting force that Britain has relied on for over two centuries.
02:36Our local democracy reporter Megan Shaw was there when they were honoured with the freedom
02:40of the county yesterday.
02:42The first meeting of the county council today, which has been called for the purpose of considering
02:46the granting of the freedom of the county to the Brigade of Gurkhas.
02:49Not your average meeting in the Kent County Council chamber, as the British Army's Brigade
02:54of Gurkhas were granted the freedom of Kent, a civic honour in recognition of their 216
03:01year service to the country, supported enthusiastically by all parties alike.
03:25The county is home to two Gurkha battalions, an air assault infantry unit in Folkestone,
03:32while the Queen's Gurkha engineers are at Maidstone's Invicta Park barracks.
03:36The county is home to two Gurkha battalions, an air assault infantry unit in Folkestone, while
03:36Kent has a well-established Nepalese community, particularly in these two towns.
03:41They are fearsome, they are courageous, they are supremely loyal, and it's not just about
03:46the soldiering, it's about their families, of course, as well, who come over when they
03:50serve with the British Army. They come here and they live in Kent, they live in Maidstone
03:53and Folkestone, and they are a wonderful part of the local community. And we wanted to really
03:58recognise their service to the British Armed Forces and the fact they have fought and died
04:02for this country.
04:12The award doesn't grant any special privileges or monetary rewards, but does manage to shine
04:18a light on centuries of service to the British Crown.
04:21It's really important to me and to the brigade of Gurkhas itself, but ultimately what's really
04:26important is, as you're right to point out, to the two Gurkha majors that were with us.
04:31These are people who have come to Kent, come to the United Kingdom, over 30 years ago, and
04:36they've made their home here. And they're the people that it really matters, they're the
04:40people that it's really touched, and they, as you saw from the speeches today, are truly
04:43grateful on behalf of the community.
04:45And the promise of more camaraderie to come.
04:58Megan Shaw in Maidstone.
05:01A teenager who piloted a mega dinghy that carried 165 migrants across the Channel has been sentenced
05:08to two years and three months at Canterbury Crown Court.
05:12Chan Atak, who is from South Sudan, steered the dinghy for the part of the 24-hour journey
05:16that, according to the judge, risked the lives of all those on board.
05:20The boat reportedly had two engines, one of which didn't function.
05:23The vessel began to deflate, needing rescue by the Border Security Command.
05:26He pled guilty at Canterbury Crown Court to endangering others during a sea crossing entering
05:31the UK without leave.
05:33A Maidstone drug dealer who traded drugs for Pokemon cards has been imprisoned.
05:39Jack Young-Larter appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday and has been sentenced to
05:43three years and four months in prison.
05:44He's also been told to give up his trading card collection.
05:47Sophie Denny joins me in the studio now to tell us a little bit more about this story.
05:51Sophie, can you tell us a bit about what happened here?
05:54It's not the kind of story we see every day.
05:56No, definitely unusual, that's for sure.
05:58So, as you've just said, Jack Young-Larter, he is a cocaine dealer, sorry.
06:03And he's been sentenced to just over three years in prison after pleading guilty to the
06:09supply of cocaine, being involved in the supply of cannabis and also the possession of criminal
06:15property, which includes these Pokemon cards.
06:17So, what happened really is that he asked substance users, as you can see on the screen there,
06:24to pay off their drug debts by stealing collectible Pokemon cards, many of which are quite high
06:30in value.
06:31Now, police carried out a search warrant on his property in May earlier this year and we can
06:36actually see some footage of that now.
06:44So, there you can see them speaking to Jack Young-Larter right there.
06:50They carried out this search and seized two mobile phones, nearly 110 grams of cannabis and more than 25 grams
06:57of cocaine.
06:58They also found £2,000 in cash and a box of rare collectible cards, these Pokemon cards that have now
07:05been seized.
07:06And on his phone, you just saw some messages there.
07:08These messages showed that Jack Young-Larter was supplying cannabis.
07:13They also had videos of him stashing the drugs for his customers.
07:17And as we can see here, again, the messages showed reference to how these drugs were paid for.
07:23So, cash, bank transfers, but also trading Pokemon cards.
07:28Now, he was arrested during the search and we can see a clip of his police interview.
07:34Okay.
07:35We also found some Pokemon cards in the flat today.
07:40Tell me about those.
07:41No, Conway.
07:42Had you asked anybody to acquire Pokemon cards for you?
07:45No, Conway.
07:46The friend says, yo, uncle, instead of paying me the £40 you owe me,
07:51can you or can you get someone you know to rob me a box or tins of Pokemon cards and
07:56I will take off your debt?
07:58And also, if you get loads, I'll pay good for them, heart.
08:01I got 10 out of 10, Yola.
08:03And the person says, okay.
08:04What does that mean?
08:06No, Conway.
08:07And what else have the police said about this?
08:09Yes.
08:10So, obviously, he appeared in court on Thursday, Maidstone Crown Court.
08:14And in response to his sentencing, we have a statement from them.
08:19The investigating officer, Detective Constable Emily Hill, said that Jack Young-Larter is rightly serving time behind bars for taking
08:28advantage of vulnerable members of the community for his own financial gain.
08:33She said that in court he attempted to mitigate his crimes by claiming family commitments should be taken into account
08:40when the judge was sentencing him.
08:42However, the judge didn't accept this as a reasonable mitigation for his sentencing.
08:48She also added that trading Pokemon cards is a fun activity for people of all ages, but that substances are
08:56really dangerous and they can destroy communities and potentially leave friends and families bereft.
09:02I see.
09:03Thank you so much, Sophie.
09:06The final few trees have been planted in one of Maidstone Town Centre's new pocket parks.
09:11The Maidstone Borough Council say the new spaces will increase footfall and biodiversity, as well as soften the town centre's
09:17so-called hard edge.
09:19But local reaction hasn't all been positive, with some saying they didn't ask for the new developments.
09:23Well, our reporter Justine Larter was down there earlier.
09:27Planned drainage works made pretty.
09:31This is Maidstone Borough Council's latest upgrade to the town.
09:36Around two months since works began, Maidstone's first new pocket park is now open.
09:42The feel of a place has a lot to do with whether people want to go there and if they
09:47go there, whether they buy anything or come back again.
09:51So it's all about improving the look and feel of the town.
09:54There's been a mixed reception to the new pocket parks here in Maidstone.
09:58Some people think they're a great addition to the town, others aren't so sure.
10:02I think it's a complete waste of money.
10:06You know, we pay enough taxes as it is and we could do with more seats down the High Street
10:10and places like that instead of just there.
10:13People do judge by the way things look, but I think it looks quite pleasant, to be honest.
10:17I like it.
10:18I'd sit there and have a coffee.
10:19I would.
10:20Me too.
10:21I would.
10:22You're not shopping here.
10:23You're shopping in town where the shops are and the restaurants are.
10:26There's nothing here.
10:27This is a waste.
10:28Two was enough.
10:29Not ten each side.
10:30We need far more green spaces and green bus stops and to have them spotted round.
10:37I think there needs to be much more of this round Maidstone generally everywhere.
10:43I think the town is actually becoming more and more attractive.
10:46I've only lived here for two years and it is changing in a positive way.
10:50So I think anything that makes it nicer is a good thing really.
10:55But this project hasn't all been straightforward.
10:59There have been delays to construction and the complexity of the location made carrying out the work more difficult.
11:06The challenge we've probably had is probably the utilities.
11:09It's the actual civil engineering side of things.
11:11This is a high street and it's full of cables and electrics and what have you.
11:17So we've had to do a lot of work to get to this stage now.
11:20You're seeing the pretty things at the moment but the actual planning and the design and the actual digging up
11:27the road have been quite problematic.
11:28But as I said we're at the other end now.
11:31This is just the start of Maidstone's upgrades with a new regular sized park near Maidstone East Station being planned
11:39by the council.
11:40Justine Lata for KMTV in Maidstone.
11:45Well coming up after this short break we'll hear all about the refurbishment and reopening of the winter gardens.
11:50As well as these new bison bridges installed in Canterbury.
11:54And a man who appeared on Dragon's Den with his pop-up pubs.
11:57All that and more after this short break.
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22:57in um covid really when unfortunately all of the bars and hospitality had to shut during covid um
23:04and as a family we like like a weekly drink to just chill out and catch up so uh found
23:10an inflatable
23:10found an inflatable pub uh and then we just used that in the garden and then when restrictions
23:15lifted i put it up to see if anyone wanted to hire it and uh yeah it just uh blew
23:21up really
23:22literally all right very good um well tell us a bit about obviously on dragon's den you
23:27unfortunately didn't get uh any uh bids put in uh unfortunately but tell us a bit about uh
23:32the kind of feeling going on from that and the future plans for the business as well
23:36no the response and everything online has been very positive and i'm grateful for all the nice
23:42messages and the support from friends family and the customers that we've had in the past so thank
23:47you to to everyone and so just carry on doing what we're doing it's been growing well and organically
23:53for the last five years and um yeah we've got some big plans in place we want to franchise it
24:00out
24:00and uh obviously grow our beer line and spirit line so yeah i do have to ask i can imagine
24:05it might be a
24:06bit difficult to serve drinks on a surface like an inflatable pub i was thinking about the logistics
24:11of it what's it actually like inside so it's it's like a marquee really so it's an inflatable pub like
24:18marquee and inside we can put rustic bars flooring fridges draft beer fruit machines um so everything
24:25that you see in a normal pub we can put in our inflatable pub um so yeah and what kind
24:30of uh
24:30events does it tend to be is anything unexpected or it tend to be the sort of standard weddings
24:35parties that kind of thing yeah the standard weddings parties corporate events uh and also
24:41like dry hires which people can hire it so we drop it off in the morning they can have it
24:45all day
24:46do what they want with it and we can pick it up during the night and do you think you
24:50could almost
24:51expand on on the business maybe uh in in inflatable bar stools inflatable dartboard i think i think you
24:57can really go go a bit ham with it yeah it's it's limitless it's uh my brain goes a bit
25:03crazy sometimes
25:04but i have to pull myself back and uh just stick with the inflatable pubs we've also got unique bars
25:09so
25:09uh london black taxis with beer pumps on the side and piano bars with beer pumps on the side so
25:15i think i've hit my uh limit at the minute i think if i was drinking in a pub and
25:20uh anything
25:21happened like it it flew away or something i'd be a bit surprised is it is it tied down how
25:25does it
25:25sort of stay stable it's it's anchored down it's tied down and it weighs 300 kilograms so it's not
25:31going anywhere so oh brilliant right and um well i suppose have you got any other plans about how you're
25:37going to uh discuss it live on air you've you've done this you've done dragon's den are there any other
25:42future plans to you know spread the word about the pop-up pub no i i think i'm all mediaed
25:47out i'm
25:48very grateful but uh it's uh been quite surreal overwhelming and uh yeah we've uh yeah we'll see
25:54uh what happens brilliant well thank you so much for joining us and uh it's probably a good thing that
25:59you're mediaed out because i think that's about all the time we have uh thank you so much for joining
26:03us
26:04thanks so much cheers well you've been watching kent tonight live here on kmtv and as always there's
26:14more new news made just for kent throughout the evening maybe not about pop-up pubs maybe some
26:19other stuff as well don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your
26:23county by logging on to our website that is of course kmtv.co.uk you can also keep us on
26:29your social
26:29timelines by liking our facebook and following our tick tock and if you have a story that you think
26:34we should be covering then please don't hesitate to get in touch we also have a series of special
26:39programs that you can watch on our website like the kent politics show which you might have seen
26:44earlier but that is all the time we have thank you so much for watching and we'll see you very
26:48soon
26:49goodbye
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