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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Chloe Brewster.
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00:26Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:30I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top stories on Friday the 16th of October.
00:35Complaints logged. Medway Council vote to challenge the police over their handling of a historic fraud investigation.
00:43This investigation, I genuinely feel that the taxpayers of Medway have been badly let down.
00:49Hearts of remembrance. Kent families mark baby loss awareness week.
00:54You just sort of lose your identity, you lose who you are.
00:59And on the big screen, Maidstone football players unveil one of the world's biggest TVs.
01:05It's a great way of showing the community how football and technology work together.
01:24Ineffectively managed. That's what Medway Council was saying about Kent Police's handling of a major fraud investigation first opened in
01:322019.
01:33And just last night, they voted to file a complaint to the policing watchdog.
01:37This follows a seven-year probe into a council trading arm over alleged financial misconduct.
01:43The Kent Police say they closed the investigation over insubstantial evidence.
01:47Our local democracy reporter Megan Shaw was at the council meeting last night.
01:51This isn't and hasn't been dealt with in a way which most people would think of.
01:57Agreed unanimously.
01:58Meaning that Medway Council will escalate a Kent Police complaint to the watchdog over their handling of a fraud investigation
02:06that was first opened in 2019 and dropped earlier this year.
02:12We have a generally a good working relationship with Kent Police as I refer to in my report today.
02:17Things like the lie of facial recognition.
02:19But in this particular case, this investigation, I genuinely feel that the taxpayers of Medway have been badly let down.
02:26Seven years ago, Kent Police launched a probe into a trading arm of the council.
02:31That's Medway Commercial Group.
02:33After a whistleblower alleged that some of these members were using council funds for personal gain.
02:39It was then later closed.
02:41But Medway Council feel that the frequent changes in officers handling the investigation and still asking basic questions seven years
02:49later was a failing of duty from the police force.
02:53For a chamber that spends more time arguing than agreeing, all parties felt that this needed to be escalated.
03:00We're not passing, you know, our judgement on what's happened.
03:05That's for, you know, another organisation to do.
03:07And I think it's, you know, only right and just that we ensure that that third party does that job
03:14properly so that we can be happy with the conclusions.
03:18However, you know, whatever those conclusions may be.
03:21Kent Police had previously told me that the investigation was highly complex.
03:25And it was eventually determined that it didn't meet the evidential threshold for criminal prosecution.
03:31The investigation has therefore concluded and no further action will be taken unless any additional information comes to light in
03:39the future.
03:40Medway Council writing to the Independent Office of Police Conduct does not necessarily mean that the investigation might be reopened
03:48in the future.
03:49But for those disillusioned by how Kent Police went about things, this might be a start.
03:56Megan Shaw in Medway.
03:59A sitting-born man who tried to hide from police beneath a pile of clothes has been put in prison.
04:05What's up, mate?
04:07Come on, let's have you.
04:09Is it Nathan?
04:10Police footage shows the moment Nathan Austin cowered inside a pile of clothes when officers came to arrest him.
04:17He was being investigated for an attack that left a man with serious injuries.
04:22Austin pleaded guilty to the offence and will now sit behind bars for more than three years.
04:26One of the officers involved said Austin may have thought he could evade justice by hiding beneath the clothes, but
04:32officers were not fooled.
04:35A woman has been arrested for drink driving after a free car crash in the centre of Chatham.
04:40Emergency services were called to Chatham Hill shortly before half seven yesterday evening.
04:46They found three damaged cars with bits of vehicles scattered all over the road.
04:50Police believed a female driver at the scene had been drinking and driving, promptly arresting her and getting her looked
04:56at in hospital.
05:00Families across Kent have been writing the names of their children who have died on wooden hearts displayed throughout the
05:06county,
05:07all to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.
05:09By Sunday, the hearts will be taken to a Garden of Remembrance in Smarden near Ashford.
05:14Those involved say it's been important to them in making them feel less alone.
05:19Sophie Denny has this story.
05:21Little hearts carrying a big meaning, each the name of a baby who died during pregnancy, infancy or soon after
05:29birth.
05:30Dion's son James was stillborn at full term in 2017 and his loss has had a lasting impact.
05:37I was completely lost, it was completely unexpected and there was very limited support available at the time.
05:46You just sort of lose your identity, you lose who you are and it's not just you going for it,
05:52it's your whole family.
05:53Now Dion uses her lived experience to help others as a peer support worker for Thrive,
05:58the maternal mental health service for Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust,
06:04which supports people affected by baby loss or perinatal trauma.
06:08And by creating new spaces of remembrance, Thrive is hoping to reduce feelings of isolation.
06:14The Vine here in Sevenoaks is one of eight remembrance spaces created across the county
06:20to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, providing families with a place they can come to remember their babies who have
06:27died.
06:28Families have been invited to tie ribbons and write their baby's name on wooden hearts,
06:33which clinical psychologist Dr Athena Duffy says can help reduce the stigma and silence surrounding baby loss.
06:40It can feel like the rest of the world moves forward and you might be upsetting people to say the
06:44names
06:45or someone themselves might feel difficult to navigate.
06:50And I guess what we're trying to model is that it's okay to and actually the people we support often
06:55say
06:55that it feels really disrespectful not to and there's something really powerful and permission given
07:01and being able to say, you know, Dion mentioned James and really make space for those people.
07:07At the end of the week, the Harts will be relocated to a memorial garden in Smarden,
07:12created by Dion following her son's death.
07:15Baby loss can feel so isolating and there's so many other people going through it,
07:20but yet it can still feel so isolating.
07:23And I think having these spaces just creates that space for you to go, for you to be.
07:29So having these spaces for me is crucial to people moving forward and grieving.
07:35While Baby Loss Awareness Week is drawing to a close,
07:39Dion and Athena are hoping that these spaces will open up conversations,
07:43encourage people to seek support and show them that they're not alone.
07:48Sophie Denny for KMTV in Sevenoaks.
07:51A court has ruled 60,000 drivers in Kent were handed speeding fines illegally.
07:57The fines came after Transport for London temporarily lowered the speed limit
08:01on the A20 near Sidcup and Swanley services from 70 to 40 miles per hour back in 2023.
08:07Thousands of drivers were caught out,
08:09with some arguing they were unaware of any speed change on the road.
08:12Some drivers were so upset they formed a campaign group to fight against the scheme.
08:16Well, today a court ruled to change unlawful, saying the new rules were not clear enough.
08:22The local MP has called the decision a win for common sense.
08:26A former cinema that was badly damaged after a suspected arson attack eight months ago has been demolished.
08:32This is what the site looks like now, following the fire on Valentine's Day.
08:36The building was deemed structurally unsafe after the fire, and now all that remains is rubble.
08:41Before the damage, the site was supposed to see about 50 homes developed there.
08:45The aftermath of the fire has also seriously impacted nearby businesses,
08:49including Tokyo Tea Rooms, which has been closed for six months.
08:54The council plans to ban cars from the High Street in Whitstable.
08:57Harbour Street is home to many small businesses and is popular with shoppers,
09:01but it also is one of the main routes for traffic.
09:04The idea is to stop that, and it's part of Canterbury City Council's latest vision for the area.
09:09Justine Larta wandered the street to find out if pedestrianisation is really what the people want.
09:15Imagine this busy street with no traffic at all.
09:20Temporarily pedestrianising Harbour Street is one of 60 ideas Canterbury City Council has proposed for Whitstable,
09:28looking at improving the town over the next 15 to 20 years.
09:32The pedestrian safety in Harbour Street is particularly bad during the summer,
09:36when there's a lot more people on some very narrow pavements.
09:42So it wouldn't necessarily be something I think you'd introduce all year,
09:45but I think that businesses themselves acknowledge and have seen lots of near misses just outside their shops.
09:51As well as if we did some seasonal pop-ups on Sundays through October or something,
09:56it might be a way in which we could drive people in and we could organise some different events to
10:00go through town,
10:01rather than what we have at the moment is events often in the harbour,
10:04which don't necessarily push people through to those other retail businesses.
10:08Harbour Street is part of an important one-way route for traffic and public transport,
10:14linking the harbour to the high street.
10:16If pedestrianised, residents and visitors would be rerouted through residential roads
10:22and be missing a key bus stop through the town.
10:25But have the council taken this into account?
10:28Well, it needs more thinking out than effectively what we have when we temporarily close the road at Gasworks.
10:34Most people will always complain, but when they do that,
10:37they get rid of almost all of the bus stops along the high street.
10:40So it would need a regular system that people understood
10:44and would need far clearer identified bus stops in order for it to work.
10:48This is just one of Canterbury City Council's many plans for Whitstable.
10:53They want to see how decreased traffic affects footfall.
10:57But are the locals here open to the idea of this street being pedestrianised?
11:02I think it would be absolutely fantastic.
11:05I've often thought, because it gets really, really busy, particularly at the weekends,
11:09and we have a lot of visitors from all over, so I think it would be fantastic.
11:14It's a good idea, yeah.
11:16I think it would work, as long as they made provisions for the traffic.
11:22Whitstable is a very busy place.
11:24There's been times, because the streets do get so busy,
11:27you do have to step out onto the road.
11:29That has happened quite a few times.
11:31So in terms of that, I think it will make things a lot safer.
11:35If approved, the temporary pedestrianisation scheme could be launched in 2029,
11:40so the people here in Whitstable won't be seeing any change to Harbour Street for a while.
11:46Justine Larta for KMTV in Whitstable.
11:50Well, there's plenty more coming your way after the break.
11:53See you soon.
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21:01and that still rings true today before you bring a dog into someone's life that person needs to be
21:08well prepared you know they need to have enough money to be able to look after a dog you've got
21:12to feed them look after their vet bills and also they need to have the time to look after a
21:18dog
21:18they need to have the time to walk them and spend time with them give them attention and space for
21:23a dog in a home and also owning a dog is a long commitment according to the dog's trust dogs
21:28can
21:28live up to around 12 and a half years so before buying a dog you need to be prepared to
21:34look after
21:34one for a long time also rescue centres tend to see a rise in animal abandonment in the period after
21:41Christmas due to people not being prepared to look after a dog and currently even before the
21:46Christmas period local animal shelters are struggling with the volume of abandoned animals with capacity
21:52Becky Blackmore from the RSPCA spoke to our sister station kmfm recently and told us a bit about
21:59what's going on adopt don't shop is such an important thing at the moment I've been working in animal
22:06rescue for 35 years and I don't think I've ever seen the situation so bad with so many unwanted animals
22:12breeds that have really increased in recent years would be chihuahuas and then more recently dachshunds
22:17French bulldogs if you take on an RSPCA animal as soon as that animal moves out of our care there
22:23is
22:23another one waiting to come in and another one and another one so you're not only rescuing the animal
22:28you take on you're enabling us to rescue a whole queue of other animals that desperately need that
22:33space and our resources I also think it's really satisfying to take on a rescue animal the people will
22:39tell you the same they'll say that I rescued that animal but that animal rescued me there's something
22:45very special about the bond that you take on knowing that an animal had a terrible life and
22:50now you've turned all of that around for the animal so say I'm ready and prepared to adopt a dog
22:55I've got
22:55permission from my landlord where's the best place to go to find one so there's plenty of rehoming
23:01centres in Kent that are full with dogs who are ready to be rehomed so for example you can see
23:07on the
23:07screen now this is Mavis she's a staffy cross who's about two years old and she's currently at the RSPCA
23:13Birchington centre and according to them she's a gentle girl who's initially cautious but it's
23:18always excited to say hello when approached and she would suit a home with children of secondary
23:23school age and then another dog you can see on the screen is Taylor who's at the Dogs Trust
23:29Canterbury centre he's a one-year-old Labrador German Shepherd Cross he's keen to explore the world
23:34about him and enjoys squeaky toys and he is looking to be the only pet in his adult only home
23:41well thank you so much Justine and let's hope those dogs can find a lovely home in Kent very soon
23:47and finally members of a local football team went to unveil one of the largest TVs in the world
23:54Maidstone United joined the tech team to celebrate the release of a staggering 116 inch flat screen
24:01our community reporter Henry Luck has more
24:03Maidstone United have come down to Curry's in Almsford to unveil one of the biggest TVs in the world
24:13this new unit by the company Hisense features impressive technology such as Dolby Vision 2 and RGB mini LED
24:26yeah my thoughts on the telly I think it's an absolutely amazing model it's obviously 116 inches
24:32and it's a very very different to see in person rather than looking at it in a picture so I
24:39really
24:40think it's great to be able to be able to come in and see what 116 inches really looks like
24:44and I
24:45mean those colors that hundred percent of the color panel really does show how immense TVs can get
24:50and nowadays and it is an absolutely amazing model behind me is one of the world's largest TVs which
24:59goes up to a whopping 116 inches now just imagine watching a game of football on it or playing the
25:08upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 or even watching KMTV to celebrate the launch an official ribbon cutting
25:17ceremony was held by Curry's and Maidstone United yeah it's quite exciting getting to people in a
25:25professional football watch football pretty much love football watching football every day and it's
25:29quite exciting to see actual football players come in a wine person it's a pretty surreal experience that's
25:34what I would say it's a great way of showing the community how football and technology work
25:41together as you're probably aware Hisense are a big football sponsor not only do we sponsor
25:46Premier League but we also got the sponsorship for next year UEFA games UEFA championship the 2028 so
25:56yeah we are a real big football enthusiast and having grassroots football also helps big up the brand
26:04and big up the technology big up the the passion that we have in football with the world of TV
26:09technology continuing to grow we could very well see even larger units this time next year
26:18Henry Luck for KMTV in Ellsford well imagine being able to watch me in 116 inch HD what more could
26:27you
26:27possibly want but that's all for tonight on Kent Tonight live here on KMTV there's more news made just
26:34for Kent throughout the evening and don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news
26:37from across your county by logging on to kmtv.co.uk or following us on our social timelines once again
26:43thank you so much for watching see you soon goodbye