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Catch up on all the latest news from across the county with Chloe Brewster.
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01:01All the crime that's happening here.
01:03Two by two, pets sign up to receive a blessing in Canterbury Cathedral.
01:08It's just such a lovely way to experience the cathedral in a really relaxed and family-friendly way.
01:15Never too old, 79-year-old motorbike racer vows to keep competing.
01:20Nothing comes near the excitement of racing a motorbike.
01:35But first tonight, Dover was brought to a standstill by protesters campaigning in the streets against asylum seekers,
01:42with a counter-protest also making some noise.
01:45Kent police had deployed hundreds of officers after they were caught off guard at another anti-immigration protest in the
01:52port last month.
01:53And our local democracy reporter, Megan Shaw, was caught up in the chaos.
02:01One of many chants in Dover, as protesters brought the seaside town to a halt on Saturday,
02:08turning it into a sea of white and red flags and heavy police presence.
02:12I arrived early to Dover Priory Station, where I'd heard the anti-immigration protest was set to begin.
02:19It's just after 10am, and as you can see, there's no sign of any protesters yet.
02:23Though there is quite heavy police presence, we've seen officers not just from Kent police,
02:28but from the British Transport Police as well.
02:30Paul told me he'd organised the event, and had come down from Basildon in Essex.
02:35A lot of people in this country are fed up with their unelected Prime Minister totally ignoring people, yeah?
02:43Rather than address the situation, what does he do? He comes out with all this.
02:47He tries to silence the people. He's got no right to do that.
02:50People have got a genuine concern over what's happening in this country with the illegal immigrants.
02:56But a sizable number of residents disagree with Paul's anti-immigration protest,
03:02and they come out to form a protest of their own.
03:06It's just gone half past two. You can see behind me that the counter-protest has started.
03:10Just before, they were chanting things like, this is what community looks like,
03:13and you can see a lot of them have signs that say things like, stand up to racism,
03:17keep fascists out of Dover, and that refugees are welcome.
03:21These are people who are exploiting division to divide our communities
03:26when there are matters which could be bringing us together.
03:31I've lived in Dover since 2002, and I've seen things worsening year on year.
03:37I think what happened on the 5th of September was absolutely unacceptable.
03:41There was no reason for it, no reason to inundate Dover with so much hatred.
03:46Across the town, outside the Golden Lion pub, the march was about to begin.
03:51Demonstrators were waving flags, setting up homemade signs, and making some noise.
04:00It's just about three. The protest is about to start.
04:02We've got large crowds, about 100 people gathering outside the Golden Lion.
04:06We can hear people shouting on the megaphone, stop the boat.
04:09We can see lots of banners saying the English Defence League,
04:12the one behind me says deport all illegals.
04:15But why had around 200 protesters, young and old, come to Dover that day?
04:22My grandkids.
04:23Your grandkids?
04:24Yeah, to save them from the country that the government has destroyed.
04:30We've got five grandchildren, two granddaughters who are very young,
04:34and the way we feel this country is going, we fear for the future.
04:41Every single day we've heard there's a murder, rape, and all the crime that's happening here.
04:50I'm not saying it's all by illegal migrant, not by all.
04:54Maybe not a bit threatening for any residents who might be Muslims to see walking down this creek.
04:58So I personally believe that as the majority of Muslims in Britain don't pose a threat.
05:03And so it is a shame that...
05:05You're saying deport them all?
05:07Yeah.
05:08Unfortunately, anyone who would subscribe to the religion of Islam would be deported.
05:13It's about half three.
05:14The protest is well underway.
05:16We've seen England flags with heard chants after chants.
05:19We're right at the back of the protest where you can see policemen coming up the flank,
05:23as well as riot bands with their sirens on.
05:25We're headed towards the docks past the Whitecliffs where protesters are said to do their speeches.
05:29Police escorted the group down towards the coast before issuing a Section 14 order by the docks,
05:36which meant the crowd had to disperse, and ensured they were kept separate from the nearby counter-protesters.
05:43Raven is a volunteer at the British Security Project, a group that provides protection to marches like these,
05:50and chatted with me about why these events resonated with her.
05:53I do sympathise with them.
05:56I believe that we have, like I said, we have enough of our own issues with our own people and
06:02our own culture,
06:03and I don't believe that importing people from places where rape, child abuse, and that type of thing is the
06:14norm.
06:14I don't think rape and murder is acceptable anywhere.
06:20We'll leave that there for another day.
06:21The police later confirmed that no arrests were made at the event, and described it as having passed off peacefully.
06:29Other residents across the town irritated by disruptions like these,
06:33their unrest indicates it likely won't be the last march of its kind by the Whitecliffs.
06:40Megan Shaw, in Dover.
06:42A Tunbridge Wells man who stalked his ex-partner and damaged her home has admitted to free charges.
06:49Folkestone Magistrates Court heard how 36-year-old Curtis Harrison continually harassed the victim,
06:54including smashing her home and car windows and writing a letter to her young daughter.
06:59The court heard that his stalking eventually forced the victim to leave the property, as she feared for her life.
07:05He was arrested earlier this month and charged with stalking involving fear of violence,
07:10breaching a non-molestation order, and criminal damage, things he has now admitted to.
07:14Harrison has been remanded in custody, awaiting sentencing.
07:18A cold case investigation charity hopes to solve the mystery of two separate unidentified deaths at Dover's White Cliffs.
07:25Locate International has launched an appeal to ask if anyone recognises a face or belongings of a man and a
07:31woman
07:31who were found at the base of the cliffs, 20 years apart.
07:35One man was discovered at Shakespeare Cliff in 1980,
07:38while a woman was found dead at the bottom of Langdon Cliffs on the other side of the port back
07:43in 2000.
07:44Neither have ever been identified.
07:46I spoke to Scarlett Evans from the Locate International team all about the appeal.
07:50So for those of us who aren't familiar with this case, can you just recap it?
07:56Yeah, so the appeal that we've launched is about two cases.
08:00They're not linked, but aside from the fact that they're both from the same region,
08:05they both occurred in the Dover coastline area.
08:09But essentially, there were two bodies found at the base of different parts of Dover's coastline along the cliffs.
08:17One was in 1980, one was in 2000, and neither of them have ever been identified.
08:22And so we're just relaunching the appeal to try and see if there's any information,
08:28things that people, members of the public might recognise from either the descriptions of the people themselves,
08:34what they're wearing, the time of year it was, like the year itself,
08:38just to see if there's any lines of investigation that have sort of fallen by the wayside before.
08:44And investigators are said to have been baffled by this case.
08:49What is so unusual about it?
08:50Why are police at a dead end?
08:54I mean, I think the reason a lot of these cases go unsolved initially is because of a lack of
08:59resourcing,
09:00to be honest, which is a problem that Locate was actually established to try and combat.
09:04It was established by two ex-detectives who sort of saw firsthand the frustration of trying to continue with cold
09:11cases,
09:12but just not having the capacity or the resourcing to do so.
09:15So I think with these, it's a sad situation that unfortunately isn't that uncommon of people passing away
09:24without their identity or identifiable, you know, documents on them.
09:29And they might not be from the UK or they might have been, you know, removed from their family in
09:34one way or another.
09:36And it's very hard to continue pursuing the case when you don't have the resources,
09:40as these police investigation teams often don't.
09:44What are you appealing to people for?
09:47What should they, what kind of memories are you looking for from people?
09:51I think it's, it's mainly if, if there's any recognition of the, of the people that we're trying to identify.
09:59We have a depiction of Shakespeare Cliff Man, which was done by our forensic artist, Hugh Morrison.
10:07Sadly, we don't have the same for Dover Woman, but we do have a sort of list of,
10:12quite an extensive list of what she was wearing and also the possessions that she left at the, at the
10:17top of the cliff.
10:18And I think it's just to ask members of the public to take a look at the list of items
10:26that they had,
10:27the clothing that they were wearing, and just if anything sparks a memory or recognition.
10:33It's surprising what can be helpful, even if it doesn't feel like the information is relevant,
10:39because sometimes we've had people reach out with information and it helps with the process of elimination of what something
10:46might not be.
10:46It's not even, oh, I know that person and that object, but it can help us kind of narrow down.
10:53And also sometimes we've had people reach out with information that's funnily enough help with other cases that haven't even
10:59been related.
10:59So I think we just are really urging people to come forward with anything, even if they think it's not
11:05relevant,
11:06because it really can help in ways that would surprise you.
11:08Thank you so much, Scarlett. And you can find any information about what the descriptions of these people were on
11:16the Locate International website.
11:18Hundreds gathered in the Isle of Sheppey to remember a motorcyclist who lost his life.
11:23Friends and family of Louis Lenger released balloons in his honour over the weekend.
11:2839-year-old Louis lost his life after colliding with a BMW on the A2 just over a week ago.
11:34An 18-year-old man arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving has been released on police bail
11:39until December 23rd.
11:41His devastated partner, Nicky Colwick, paid tribute to the gym fanatic, who was known as a half-pint grandad by
11:48fellow bikers for his sensible influence over them.
11:52Now it's time to take a small break, but don't go anywhere, because coming up we take a look at
11:56200 activists blocking the entrances to a factory in Sandwich.
12:00Plenty more stories just like that coming your way.
13:21Thanks for listening.
13:24Thanks for listening.
15:26Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
15:29More than 200 activists blocked the entrances to a factory in Sandwich, shutting down operations
15:35for the third time in seven months.
15:43Arms embargo from below protested outside the Instro Precision factory, which they allege
15:48has links to Israel's largest arms manufacturer.
15:51It comes three years since the reignition of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
15:55While the UK government has brought in small sanctions on importing some Israeli goods, arms embargo
16:01say weapons and tech built here are still being exported for use in the conflict.
16:07A sitting-born teenager who went from a keen hockey player to having daily seizures has
16:12been using social media to campaign for her condition.
16:15Holly Dutton was just 15 when she discovered she had functional neurological disorder after
16:19months of experiencing tremors and muscle paralysis.
16:22According to the NHS, FND is estimated to be the second most common reason for neurological
16:27consultations, with up to 100,000 people in the UK being diagnosed.
16:32Following the experience, she's taken to social media to raise awareness for the condition.
16:37I genuinely thought that I wouldn't really make it to 16 because of so much uncertainty.
16:45And then in July, I got diagnosed with FND.
16:50And then I had seizures almost daily from September to around October, December time.
16:58And then between October and December, my symptoms got a lot worse and I kind of hit rock bottom.
17:06And then I decided that I should probably start raising awareness because I didn't want to
17:11see others suffer like me because I had been in five ambulances.
17:16I'd had seizures for five hours.
17:19I'd woken up, paralysed.
17:21I'd had suction and everything.
17:23Um, so I wanted to kind of get a voice out there and make some change because when I was
17:29diagnosed,
17:29it was very much you have FND and I was kind of left to my own devices.
17:39A teenager says he was banned from using a daily school minibus after playfully punching the driver.
17:45Marcus Masters says he and his schoolmates were playing a popular game where someone
17:49lightly punches another person on the arm if they spot a yellow vehicle.
17:53The family says that after that, the school put in a ban and the school agreed to offer
17:59alternative transport in time for the new school year in September, but nothing was provided.
18:03A spokesperson from Kent County Council said that the transport service in this case is
18:06operated by the school and decisions regarding a pupil's use of that service were made by
18:10the school, not Kent County Council.
18:12We're engaging with the school to better understand the circumstances and explore potential solutions.
18:19The team at a brand new paddle court saved the life of a visitor just days after opening.
18:25Forever Paddle in Boughton-1-Chelsea had been open just three days when John Robinson collapsed
18:30while playing.
18:31Manager Ben Whedon sprung into action, carrying out CPR on the 66-year-old.
18:36Ben, who previously worked as a call handler for the ambulance service, spent the next
18:3914 minutes trying to revive him.
18:42Jamie was taken to hospital and after some rest returned to the courts for a game, reuniting
18:47with the man who saved his life.
18:56A sneak peek there just quickly, but this weekend saw a slightly noisier church service than usual
19:01when hundreds of pets filled Canterbury Cathedral for their animal blessing service.
19:05The event, which happens at harvest time every year, sees all kinds of animals turning up
19:10to receive a blessing from the cathedral's dean.
19:12And our reporter Sophie Denny had a fabulous Sunday and went down to meet some of the animals.
19:23Not your typical Sunday congregation.
19:27Hundreds of pets joined in with the hymns at Canterbury Cathedral as part of their annual
19:32animal blessing service, a tradition which has been going on for around a decade.
19:37It's just such a lovely way to experience the cathedral in a really relaxed and family-friendly
19:44way.
19:45The service is always lovely and it's so nice to see all the animals there.
19:48I bought them mostly for this old man here because he's nearly seven years old, which
19:55in guinea pig years is very, very old.
19:57And he's been a little bit sick recently.
20:00So I just thought, might as well come here, get him a little blessing.
20:05We thought this was a unique opportunity to come inside with her.
20:09And plus the fact she's named, you know, her breed is named after a monastery seemed fitting
20:13to bring her inside a cathedral.
20:15After saying some prayers and singing a few hymns, the animals lined up two by two, ready
20:21to receive their blessing.
20:22We've seen creatures of all sizes getting blessed.
20:26Some very big like Nellie here, others very small.
20:30We've even seen tortoises and chickens.
20:32So where Olive comes from, she comes from a farm and usually she would be slaughtered
20:37at 18 months old.
20:39So the importance of this today is just to show that rescue hens, they've still got a
20:44lot of life left in them and they all deserve happy, loving homes.
20:47The service was held on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, the Christian
20:53patron saint of animals.
20:54There are stories about him being able to relate in such great ways, he could, people
21:00said he could speak to the birds.
21:02Now I can't speak to the birds, but I know in reading those stories that Francis is telling
21:08us to treat them seriously, don't exploit them, look after them, because God made them
21:15too, just as he made us.
21:16And for many, it's this religious significance that drew them towards the service.
21:21They're a massive part of our lives and yeah, we love them and to come and say thank you
21:26to God for everything they bring us is wonderful.
21:29And Liz and I are headteachers and executive head of her infant nursery school, which is
21:34a church school, and Pixie comes into the school, so it's lovely to have her blessed and then
21:40to share that with the children.
21:41From guinea pigs to chickens, cats and dogs, the service brought together all creatures,
21:47great and small.
21:48Sophie Denny for KMTV in Canterbury.
21:52This evening at 6.30pm, Invictus Sport is returning and Finn McDermid has a whole host
21:57of interesting guests and stories planned for the new season.
22:00He joins me on the sofa now.
22:02Finn, what can we expect from tonight and more importantly, what can we expect for the
22:05rest of the season?
22:06Well, Invictus Sport, we've been away for a while, but we are now back.
22:09I mean, it's back to our usual football highlights, whether it's league action, FA Cups.
22:14I can tell you, a little sneak peek, plenty of Gillingham fans will know this, but it's
22:18been a rocky start for their season, so they went for a nil-nil draw at Priestfield against
22:22Newport County.
22:23Fans are hopeful that when they go up against Rotherham next weekend, it'll be a bit better
22:27and you can catch all those different football highlights.
22:30We've also got plenty more coming up for your rugby news and your cricket as well.
22:34We'll also be meeting a guest.
22:35Her name is Margaret.
22:36She organises a 50K that you have to do in 10 hours.
22:40Do you think you could do that, Chloe?
22:41I don't know about that.
22:44I'm all right myself.
22:45I think I'll stick right here on the presenting sofa.
22:46But like always, it's back to the usual for Invictus Sport.
22:50So, yeah, there's plenty to expect, whether you're football, cricket, rugby, anything else,
22:55maybe 10K in 50 hours.
22:56You're a fan of that too.
22:58Yeah, not for me, but I'm looking forward to watching it.
23:01Well, it's been a warmer day today, but what do we have in store for the coming week?
23:04Let's take a look at the weather.
23:11Tonight, we'll see lows of 13 in those south towns of Tunbridge Wells and Ashford.
23:15Highs of 16 over in Margate and 17 in Medway.
23:17Clear skies throughout the county.
23:18Tomorrow, Maystone at chilly 13 degrees.
23:21Canterbury warming up to 19 degrees, a cloudy day unless you live in Ashford.
23:25Warming up in the afternoon, 20 and 21 degrees across the board with partial cloud everywhere else.
23:29And here's your outlook.
23:30A bit of rain there on Wednesday and 19 degrees dropping to 15 degrees
23:34with some sun on Thursday and a cloudy day there on Friday.
23:39So, it's proper old terminal weather now.
23:47Well, how old is too old to ride a motorbike?
23:50Well, Jim from Sittingbourne is 79 years old,
23:53and he certainly isn't letting his age or his numerous crashes get in the way of him hopping on the
23:58bike.
23:58He's a decorated racer having first competed at 15 years old,
24:02and his competitors are just as intimidated now as they were back in the day.
24:07I went to meet him.
24:09High adrenaline, revving engines and catastrophic crashes
24:13are not what you'd expect to see in the routine of a 79-year-old.
24:18But Jim Porter from Munston has had his life defined by the bike,
24:22competing since 1963 and riding from almost as soon as he could walk.
24:28I've been a motorcyclist all my life.
24:30I started racing in 1963,
24:33and I've done all varieties of the motorcycle sport,
24:36grass track, scrambling, hill climbing trials,
24:39and I got the chance to go to road racing at Browns Hatch in 1972,
24:44and since then I've been hooked on road racing.
24:46And my ultimate goal was to follow my father's footsteps
24:49and race in the Isle of Man round the TT course.
24:52And I'm happy to say I've done it, survived it,
24:55and I've had my best result was in 1986,
24:59fifth place out of 130 riders at an average speed of 92 mile an hour.
25:04Jim has had a decorated career.
25:06He recently won two major titles,
25:08coming up against racers a quarter of his age.
25:12But it's not all been highs.
25:13During a competition, another rider struck his front wheel
25:17and sent him head first into a crash barrier at 80 miles per hour.
25:22The bike was totally written off.
25:24I was totally written off.
25:26I've heard recently the marshal came to the scene of the crash,
25:30checked me over and radioed.
25:32We've lost him because I wasn't breathing.
25:34There was no pulse.
25:35And he said, we've lost him.
25:37And he said, a miracle.
25:38You gradually came back to life.
25:40So I didn't know how bad it was.
25:42After three months of rehabilitation, he was back on his bike.
25:46And he won't let his approaching 80th birthday stop him either.
25:51I've been saying one more year for five years now.
25:54I don't smoke.
25:55I don't drink much.
25:56I've never done drugs.
25:57But I've always raced motorbikes.
25:59And it's something I can't seem to let go of.
26:02My head is saying, now's the time to let go.
26:0580 years of age next April.
26:08Lots of crashes behind me.
26:10Lots of broken bones along the way.
26:11So there's a war going on between my head and my heart.
26:15You know, I've had holidays all around the world.
26:17I've tried all sorts of other sports.
26:19But nothing comes near the excitement of racing a motorbike.
26:23It doesn't sound like Jim will be hitting the brakes any time soon.
26:27Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Munston.
26:31Well, you've been watching Kent tonight live here on KMTV.
26:35There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:37Don't forget, you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county
26:41by logging on to kmtv.co.uk.
26:44You can also keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook
26:47and following us on Instagram and on TikTok.
26:50And if you have a story you think we should be covering, then please get in touch.
26:54But from me, for now, see you soon.
26:56Goodbye.
26:57Goodbye.