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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:37Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:42I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Wednesday 30th September.
00:46Driving change? Residents launch petition to lobby Medway Council for a one-year trial of free parking.
00:52I can spend up to £60 a month just on volunteering and coming to towns to park.
00:57A new age, local businesses in Kent give their opinion on AI use.
01:02At the moment we can use AI for advertising purposes but that's basically as far as it goes for us.
01:09And perfect pier. Herne Bay Pier has been named the best seaside experience in the whole UK.
01:15It was great. It was a great achievement and it was a pat on the back to everybody on the
01:21pier that helps run us.
01:33Before our top story this evening, police are investigating a potential murder in Deal after finding a deceased man in
01:39his home yesterday.
01:40The alleyway in Trinity Place has been taped off as Kent Police have now arrested a 59-year-old man
01:45while inquiries are ongoing.
01:47According to eyewitnesses, two ambulances, two police cars and a forensics van were at the scene all day.
01:53The police say the man was found with a serious head injury and died at the scene.
01:56They're also appealing for anyone with related information, private CCTV or dashcams in the area to contact them.
02:03Two Medway residents have gotten fed up of increased parking charges from the council.
02:07They've launched a petition asking for change.
02:10They want to see Medway council trial one hour of free parking in one car park per town for a
02:15year to see if this energises their high streets.
02:18But is this something the council, who are already tackling shortfall and rising costs, could even afford?
02:24Our local democracy reporter Megan Shaw has been finding out.
02:26Empty streets and abandoned shops.
02:30It's no secret in Medway that high streets are struggling to stay afloat.
02:34But two residents have banded together with what they feel is the solution.
02:39A 12-month trial of one hour of free parking in one car park in each of the five towns.
02:46On a monthly basis I said that I do volunteer a lot of my time and I can spend up
02:53to £60 a month just on volunteering and coming to towns to park.
02:57And that, you know, for a small family, you know, one day's parking could feed a family.
03:05Neil and Lauren have grown frustrated with rising tariffs in council-owned car parks
03:10and have launched a petition to try and get Medway council to listen.
03:13In February, Medway council raised parking tariffs across the board, with an hour's parking going up from £2.40 to
03:21£2.90.
03:22One exception they did make was cutting half an hour's parking down to just a pound.
03:28But despite persistent financial shortfall, Neil and Lauren think the council could have gone further.
03:33It doesn't matter if it's a night out or a restaurant or you're just popping into the shops to grab
03:38some products.
03:40Whatever you're doing, the first thing you're going to be met with is a £3.30 charge.
03:44And when you talk about retail and the challenges retail faces in terms of online retailers,
03:48lots of companies like Amazon, you know, now offer free delivery.
03:51So if I can get the same products on Amazon for the same price,
03:54but the first thing I do if I want to go and get it myself is pay £3.30 to
03:57park, people are not going to do that.
03:58Between rising essential costs and persistent shortfall, Medway council, however, is already squeezed for cash.
04:06I suspect the financial burden of this particular request will be substantial,
04:10and that's at a time when we are finding it challenging because of the pressures like adult social care on
04:16our budget.
04:17But of course, I welcome any petition from anybody from across Medway.
04:20In Medway council's budget for this financial year, he anticipated it would earn £10.7 million from parking across all
04:28five towns,
04:29which is an increase of £2.2 million following hikes that came into play this May.
04:35Medway council estimated that Neil and Lauren's petition would cost around £1.6 million,
04:41though Neil, who's the chair of Reform UK's Chatham and Aylesford branch,
04:46feels the cost will be worth the benefits felt in the high streets.
04:49You know, it's true that the more you put parking up, the less people will park.
04:53So the more you put the costs up, the less people will park.
04:54So ultimately, in the long run, that income generation is going to disappear
04:57because when you make the town so unattractive through years of increasing parking that nobody uses it anyway,
05:03you've lost that income.
05:03The petition is open until the end of November, and with just over 100 signatures collected so far,
05:10even if it isn't debated in the council chamber,
05:13Neil and Lauren might have to just keep driving for change.
05:17Megan Shaw in Medway.
05:21A Maidstone Crown Court jury has heard that a suspect wanted by police following a fatal stabbing
05:27was found lying in long grass almost 90 miles from the alleged murder scene.
05:31Shaheen Bullocker was arrested in Milton Keynes 24 hours
05:34after Vladimir's Permanovs was fatally stabbed in Gravesend.
05:38The 33-year-old died from a stab wound to his heart.
05:41He was not personally involved in the dispute over money,
05:44which prosecutors say led to the incident.
05:46Our reporter, Maisie Walker, is in the studio to tell us more.
05:50So, Maisie, the trial is still ongoing at this stage.
05:53So what can you tell us about what's been heard in court so far?
05:56Well, Vladimir Permanovs died after being stabbed in Gravesend last year,
06:00and this happened during, reportedly, an argument about money.
06:06Shaheen Bullocker was arrested in Milton Keynes around 24 hours later,
06:10and they found him lying in the grass around 90 miles from Gravesend.
06:14He denies being involved in the killing and told the police he had been involved in an argument,
06:20but he said he was just trying to protect his girlfriend, Erica Korosak.
06:26She was also arrested in Milton Keynes, just two minutes after him.
06:31I see. And what happened leading up to their arrests?
06:34Well, an Uber booked through her account left Gravesend within hours of the stabbing,
06:39and Kurosaka told police that she had been running because she was scared
06:44and didn't really understand what was going on.
06:47She gave no comment during her formal police interview
06:50and said later that there were three people involved, herself, her boyfriend, Bulicka,
06:55and her friend, and a friend, Sheho.
06:59Olnit Sheho is accused of being the one carrying out the fatal stabbing,
07:04and he left Gravesend at around 4 a.m. the following morning
07:08and was driven towards Watford, and you can see on the screen now
07:11him allegedly leaving the scene holding a knife
07:14before then discarding the clothes to what seems to be a bush.
07:18The driver was later arrested too and pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
07:25Police said that Sheho left the UK within days of the stabbing
07:29and returned to Albania and was then arrested on February the 12th.
07:34When he returned to the UK in May, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport,
07:38and through a translator, he said the incident was just self-defence.
07:42But since then, a jacket has been linked to Sheho,
07:46which was found under the bushes of Allenbrook Road in Gravesend.
07:50Blood was also found on that jacket, and it was said in court
07:54that this provided extremely strong support that the blood belonged to Sheho.
07:58So, Bulica and Kurosaka and Sheho are all on trial over Perinov's death,
08:08and prosecutors allege that all three were acting together
08:11with the intention of seriously harming him.
08:14I see.
08:15As you mentioned there, Maisie, this trial is still ongoing,
08:18but we'll follow it as it resolves.
08:20Thank you so much for your time.
08:22At the Labour Party conference, Andy Burnham said he thought Britain
08:25should be at the forefront of AI and technological development.
08:29He even liked it, the Industrial Revolution.
08:32But here in Medway, how is it actually being used?
08:36And can we see businesses on our very own high streets adopting it
08:39for their own day-to-day use?
08:41I'm not too sure, but our reporter, Naila Mohamed, is about to tell us.
08:45Is AI the new Industrial Revolution?
08:47Well, that's what Andy Burnham said, speaking at the Labour Party conference yesterday.
08:52When Britain takes the presidency of the G20 next year,
08:57I will show our newfound confidence as a country,
09:02and I will show it to the world by putting AI centre stage.
09:07We led the world's first industrial revolution
09:11from the Midlands and the north of England.
09:13So why can't we lead the next?
09:15We can conference, and we will.
09:17With AI adoption on the rise on a large scale,
09:21how are local businesses keeping up?
09:23I've been knocking on the door of local businesses in Rochester,
09:26asking how or if they use AI in their day-to-day use.
09:30One business said they didn't like the thought of AI,
09:32and would prefer to create their own content
09:35and promote the business themselves on social media.
09:38A team member from another business was indifferent to AI,
09:42saying that it was going to happen anyway.
09:44But other businesses along the high street say they use AI for different things.
09:50For this business, AI adoption is still very new.
09:54At the moment, we can use AI for advertising purposes,
09:58but that's basically as far as it goes for us.
10:00It's just online apps that we can use to just sort of upload images
10:05and try and work with it to just make our own advertising
10:08a little bit better than what we could do if it was doing it ourselves.
10:10And for this business, AI is a tool that helps with the easier tasks,
10:14like research and social media.
10:16But business owner Glinda is aware of using it too much.
10:20So it's got its place.
10:21It's really useful.
10:23It can save you a lot of time,
10:25but it's not foolproof,
10:28and it doesn't completely replace that human element.
10:32We do use it for some of our social media posts.
10:35So I had an actual image of someone in pirate costume with a parrot,
10:41and I took that picture outside of our shop.
10:43But then I gave that to AI
10:46and asked it to generate a social media post for me,
10:51which was an awful lot quicker.
10:53In the meantime, pressure is on for businesses to remain authentic.
10:57I think what we're seeing then is brands are becoming more conscious
11:01about being trusted and that authenticity.
11:03And so actually there is a shift away from the automated
11:09and sort of generic stuff,
11:11which has sort of been out there for a while,
11:13towards a slightly more personalised touch,
11:15recognising you need to be genuine and authentic.
11:17With the Prime Minister opting for Britain to be
11:19at the forefront of new technological advances,
11:22will local businesses be able to keep up?
11:25Nayla Mahamud for KMTV in Rochester.
11:28Coming up after the break,
11:30we'll be speaking with our health expert,
11:31Dr. Julian Spinks to take us through all the latest health headlines,
11:35like Andy Burnham's announcement of plans for a national care service.
11:39We'll also hear about Herne Bay's peer winning the best seaside experience of 2026,
11:44and meet a history YouTuber searching the county for hidden bomb shelters
11:48before they naturally decay.
11:50We'll have all that and a lot more from around the county
11:53after this very short break.
11:54So don't go anywhere.
11:55We'll see you in just a few minutes.
11:58See you very soon.
11:58Bye-bye.
12:26We'll see you in the next one.
12:35We'll see you in the next one.
13:09We'll see you in the next one.
15:53Thank you so much for joining us, Julian.
15:55First of all, it's been dominating the headlines recently, the National Care Service, free at the point of use. Andy
16:00Burnham says everyone will contribute and everyone will be covered. It's been likened to the NHS in terms of its
16:06infrastructure, but everyone reports from Labor Aid say we're actually closer to the Scottish social care approach. As someone who's
16:13worked in healthcare, do you think this is the right move to be making?
16:16We definitely need better social care.
16:19There are decisions I make about admitting people which are more to do with whether they have got care at
16:24home than actual need for admission.
16:26And so if we can get that right, reduce the pressure on hospitals and also means people are happier, maybe
16:32stay in their own homes rather than end up in residential and nursing homes.
16:35Are there pitfalls, do you think, with the NHS that we might want to avoid with this new NHS?
16:40I think we have to learn. It's not going to have an unlimited amount of money. So there's going to
16:45be a degree of something we need to do. But at the same time, I think the two integrated together
16:49are the best answer.
16:50I see. Moving on, a critical incident has been declared at William Harvey Hospital beds are full and attendance levels
16:57are high. And it's also been reported that eight babies who were unfortunately stillbirths might have survived if better care
17:05were available.
17:06Well, that specifically last one was at the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, I should say. And William
17:12Harvey is part of that East Kent Hospitals Trust.
17:15So is this something that we now are getting used to seeing is this kind of quality of care in
17:19hospitals?
17:19Well, yes, the A&E problem very much goes back to the care problem again, because it's not just getting
17:24people in, it's actually people getting out and back to their homes, which block beds.
17:29The maternity side, it's worrying because actually there were lessons they didn't learn. And so there was a systemic problem.
17:36And the report has shown 20 major things they need to be doing to actually reduce the risk of it
17:41happening again.
17:42I see. And for our final story, a mother from Whitstable passed away from a brain bleed. She was told
17:48by doctors it was just migraines.
17:51This is Octavia Hughes, first went to her GP, then QEQM's A&E department and was told the same thing.
17:57What can be done from a patient's perspective to avoid situations like this?
18:01It's a very sad story. She has something called a veritable dissection, a tear in a blood vessel in the
18:06neck, which affected the brain.
18:08It's rare overall, but actually it's one of the more common causes of stroke in younger people.
18:14The symptoms can be very, very similar to things like migraine, which is what she was told.
18:19What I think they missed was the deterioration. Maybe the first doctor might not have spotted it, but actually when
18:25it's getting worse, also it's continuous.
18:27Migraines tend to come and go. So maybe actually they missed the chance to make a difference.
18:32And there's this concern that women are more likely to have their problems dismissed as anxiety and other things than
18:38men.
18:38I think plenty of patients themselves can worry they're coming off as overly anxious or overly worried about certain things.
18:45But how can we make sure that we're getting the best care that we can without, you know, in these
18:51types of dangerous situations?
18:52I think still seek help. And if it's getting worse, particularly if it's deteriorating a lot, seek it again and
18:59escalate it and so on.
19:00Because I am a GP. I don't get it right first time every time. So sometimes I rely on someone
19:05coming back.
19:06I see. Thank you so much for your time.
19:18Next, a retired Kent police dog has won a national crime fighting award with his handler.
19:24PC Daniel Carter and police dog Boss won the crime fighting duo award from the Thin Blue Paw Foundation.
19:30Boss was originally a rescue from Norfolk, trained to join PC Carter on arrests, where in three years he assisted
19:36in more than 100 arrests by tracking suspects.
19:39The policeman's family were the ones to nominate the pair for the award, which they were presented with in London
19:43earlier this week.
19:44Boss is now retired, living in the Welsh countryside.
19:48The Kent Coast has won many awards over the years for its beauty, safety and cleanliness.
19:53For the latest addition to the county's trophy cabinet goes to Herne Bay Pier, named the best seaside experience of
19:592026.
20:00Locals have said the award, voted on by the public, means a great deal to them and everyone who works
20:04on the pier.
20:05Justine Latter reports.
20:07People do love to be beside the sea, especially right here in Herne Bay.
20:13The pier here has recently been named the best seaside experience in the whole of the UK.
20:19Defeating other favourites from Wims in Scotland, all the way to the Shell Grotto in Margate, Herne Bay Pier has
20:27come out on top.
20:28We were really so excited. It was great. It was a great achievement and it was a pat on the
20:35back to everybody on the pier that helps run us.
20:38So all of the trustees, all of the members, a myriad of volunteers who all worked really hard for us.
20:45The winner of the Bucket and Spade Award was decided on by a public vote and there were lots of
20:51positive reviews.
20:52When they did their little tick to vote for us, they were also encouraged to write a little, just a
20:58little snippet, a little sentence or two about what the pier meant to them.
21:02And there were about 600 comments and reading them was absolutely heartwarming. It was, I was almost in tears.
21:09Although it's a bit quieter here today, Herne Bay Pier can see around 8,000 visitors in just one day
21:16during the summer months.
21:17But what do the locals and regulars here think about their award-winning pier?
21:22I can really see there's been an awful lot of money invested and I will say a lot of community
21:28pulling together to make it a special place. It's really lovely.
21:33I really love all the different stalls that are here now. There's really good quality food, lovely coffee and if
21:40you like real ale, that craft ale bar is lovely.
21:42There's some nice eateries there and there's a nice little bar. It's a friendly environment. I highly recommend it.
21:49Herne Bay Pier was also the runner-up in the Pier of the Year Awards a few months ago.
21:54So what do these awards mean for the wider Herne Bay community?
21:58I think it's going to be hugely good for Herne Bay as a whole. We do struggle a little bit.
22:05We're surrounded by a lot of very popular resorts and we're not always top of the list but I think
22:12we're going to make it. We're getting there.
22:14As this proud team are now getting ready for the colder months, they're excited to be welcoming more visitors to
22:20the best seaside experience in the UK soon.
22:24Justine Larter for KMTV in Herne Bay.
22:28Not exactly a sunny seaside there for Justine but let's see if it'll improve over the weekend. Let's take a
22:33look at our weather.
22:39It's a cool one tonight. Lows of 15 in Tunbridge Wells. Highs of 17 degrees in Dover.
22:44Margates having some clear skies there. Sorry, clear skies in central Kent I should say.
22:49Tomorrow morning staying cold, 15 degrees in the west, slightly warmer in the east.
22:53And as we get into the afternoon, highs of 21 in Dartford and Maidstone. Lows of 19 in Margates and
22:57partial cloud everywhere.
22:59And into our weekend staying quite mild at 20 and 21 degrees. The sun disappearing on Saturday, still hiding behind
23:05some clouds on Sunday.
23:15A YouTube historian is trying to learn as much as possible about World War II bomb shelters.
23:21Daniel Osborne, who runs the channel Phoenix History, says time is running out for these sites as they decay.
23:26Recording them gives historians a chance to learn about life back then.
23:30Our community reporter Henry Luck has the story.
23:32You might not think a place like this has much significance today.
23:38But these air raid shelters served a major purpose over 80 years ago during World War II.
23:46YouTube historian Daniel Osborne is looking for undocumented World War II air raid shelters, caves and secret tunnels normally found
23:59in people's gardens for his channel Phoenix History.
24:04Daniel and his team are trying to find out the full picture of bombing during World War II because no
24:12two safe spaces were ever the same size or shape due to resources and family sizes.
24:19Our passion is history in general and the main reason is because our motto is because history matters and fundamentally
24:25that's because it gives us an opportunity to look into a glimpse into the past and to understand why we
24:31needed to build air raid shelters in this instance for example.
24:33And to basically remind people who are not in living memory to understand how much of a threat it was
24:41during World War II and the constant bombardment at times of bombs and planes dogfighting etc etc all over the
24:48Kent countryside.
24:49An underground bunker like this was designed to help people get as under the surface as possible during World War
24:57II bombings and there was also an escape hatch so that they could easily get out once bombing was done.
25:05Right now they're asking anyone who might have or live near a shelter to reach out to them.
25:12It's really important that we get those last chances because fundamentally we're now in a sort of like time of
25:19life now where a lot of these structures are now going to be lost to history full stop so if
25:23we have the opportunity to go in there and document them before they disappear all the better for it.
25:28In a couple of years once enough information is gathered Phoenix History will be looking to archive their findings for
25:36private historical documentation.
25:39So that history doesn't remain underground.
25:44Henry Luck.
25:45The KMTV.
25:47In Gravesend.
25:50Just before we go, a boxing gym in Sheerness held its last session today having coached thousands of youngsters over
25:57its 50 years being open.
26:00Sheerness Boxing Club coached the likes of pros like Dave Jones, Martin McDonough and Tyrone King.
26:05Its decision to close has come after a decline in participation but the choice of owner Steve Brum to step
26:12away has been met with an outpouring of love by local residents.
26:16Many praised Steve's hard work and dedication over the years and with pro boxer Annel Massey saying she owed her
26:22boxing career to starting off with the club.
26:29You've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
26:32As always there's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:35And don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging on
26:39to KMTV.co.uk.
26:41You can also keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following our Twitter.
26:46And if you have a story that you think we ought to be covering then please don't hesitate to get
26:51in touch.
26:51But that is all the time we have.
26:53Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you very very soon.
26:56Goodbye.