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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Chloe Brewster.
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00:32Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
00:35I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top stories on Friday the 23rd of October.
00:40Breakthrough. Kent Online tracks down key individual accused of sending two innocent people to prison.
00:47Post office ruined her life. It didn't do much for mine but they ruined her life anyway.
00:54Wet and windy. What's the latest as storm Austin hits the county?
00:58Now I'll be here in windy Herne Bay with my feet firmly planted on the ground.
01:03Give you the latest updates on the storm.
01:05And picturing the past, 80s arcade game brought to new generation through Comics Showcase in Canterbury.
01:12When you see it expressed on paper like this, it's a joy.
01:27Over the past six months, we've been following the case of Simon Edgecombe, a tenant resident who says he was
01:33wrongly imprisoned for a crime he says he didn't commit back in the 1980s.
01:37Well, today we can bring you an exclusive development in his case.
01:42As Kent Online have tracked down the businessman, Mr Edgecombe accuses of allowing two innocent people to be sent to
01:48prison.
01:48The businessman, businessman sorry, who now lives in Uganda denies any wrongdoing.
01:54Sophie Denny has the story.
01:56Following what Simon Edgecombe claims was an innocent transaction, he and a female shop worker were sent to prison in
02:05March 1983, convicted of theft.
02:09He said, have you ever had money from the girl in the post office?
02:12And I said, yes, yes.
02:15In what way?
02:16And I said, well, I sold the owner of the post office a van, which is what he'd asked for.
02:21And the girl in the post office cleared it and paid me.
02:25Simon says he's entirely innocent and accuses the businessman of allowing two innocent people to be sent to prison.
02:34And Kent Online have now tracked this businessman down to his home in Uganda.
02:39The businessman insists he's done nothing wrong and says that as far as he is aware, he and Simon have
02:45never even met or had any dealings over a van.
02:49But Simon disputes this account.
02:51It's difficult to know why he would want to distance himself if he's got nothing to hide.
02:56I suggest he probably has, because he knew full well what was going on.
03:01So he just didn't want to know.
03:03The businessman did remember the woman involved, who we have called Jane.
03:08Speaking out for the first time, Jane told Kent Online that she was often instructed to use the post office
03:14till to settle personal expenses,
03:16and that she remembers the transaction involving the van.
03:19And Simon says he's determined to overturn both their convictions.
03:24The post office ruined her life.
03:27It didn't do much for mine, but they ruined her life anyway, and they need to answer for that.
03:32However, he's faced issues in his appeal due to a lack of physical evidence or documentation of his case ever
03:39existing.
03:40But he's hoping that more witnesses will come forward to help with his case, which he feels is now in
03:46a much stronger position.
03:59For Simon, he's hoping that this latest breakthrough will be the key in overturning what he says is a miscarriage
04:07of justice.
04:08For 43 years, as I said, I've just been screaming.
04:12But since KM became involved, it's just escalated into no hope to now a 99% chance this will be
04:23overturned.
04:24Sophie Denny for KMTV in Tenham.
04:27A man who threatened fellow train passengers with a razor in Dover has been arrested.
04:34Hajir Saeed had been loudly calling a friend while drunk on a train when he was asked to keep it
04:39down by a fellow passenger.
04:41He then launched into an angry tirade where he threatened customers and staff, saying he was planning to kill all
04:47the English while wielding a razor blade.
04:50He was sentenced on Thursday in Canterbury Crown Courts to two years in prison.
04:55Saeed expressed remorse for his actions and says he's seeking help for his mental health.
05:01A Tombridge woman has been sentenced to a total of six years for fraud and burglary.
05:0641-year-old Rochelle Vincent targeted a man in his 80s, stealing his bank cards while pretending to use a
05:12toilet in his home.
05:14Using his cash, she spent £349 on takeaways, sweets and alcohol.
05:20Officers arrested Vincent in Cranbrook and later searches of her home led to the recovery of the card.
05:26Investigating Officer Detective Constable Hayley Campbell said Vincent manipulated her vulnerable victim
05:31and the lengthy prison sentence will prevent Vincent from swindling any more cash.
05:37Today, the first storm of the season wreaked havoc across the county and we sent Naila Mohamed out to battle
05:43the elements
05:44and bring you an update on what's been happening.
05:47Naila, you're looking rather windswept there. Are you OK?
05:52I am perfectly OK, Chloe. I'm just in Herne Bay where, as you can see just by how windy it
05:57is,
05:58Storm Austin really is in full force.
06:01I mean, I've had to give up on my umbrella because it was just getting turned inside out and getting
06:04blown away.
06:05But that's because winds are expected to reach up to 55 miles an hour, so it really is an intense
06:11storm.
06:12And we know it's intense because the Met Office have named it the first storm of the season, Storm Austin.
06:18Now, the Met Office never usually name a low-pressure storm like this unless they know it's going to cause
06:24damage
06:24or disruption across the entire county, which in this case it has done and it will continue to do so
06:31for the rest of the day.
06:32And usually when storms are named, it's because they're going to put in place a yellow or red weather warning.
06:39And a yellow weather warning is in place for Kent until 9pm tonight.
06:43Now, Graham Madge from the Met Office was aware of the storm for the past couple of days,
06:48but said that wetter and wilder winters are something we can be expecting more of.
06:53The indications are that we are expecting a stormier, wetter start to winter than we would normally,
07:01and that's because of the El Nino event that's happening in the tropical Pacific.
07:05There is a known connection between a strong El Nino event and what's happening in the UK in late autumn
07:13and early winter.
07:15Well, other than messing up your hairdo there, Nayla, what other impacts have there been from the wind in Kent?
07:22Well, it's a pretty important impact, this, Chloe, messing up my hair.
07:26But otherwise, the heavy rainfall has been just flooded roads across the county.
07:31Power cables have been knocked down as well there.
07:34But also trees have been felled.
07:36Because if you look outside, you'll see that most of the trees, if not all of them,
07:39are still pretty much fully leafed, which means they still have all or majority of their leaves,
07:45which means they're more susceptible to being knocked over by strong winds such as the ones in Storm Austin or
07:52by rainfall as well.
07:53I mean, you can see the images on screen now.
07:56Just how bad this wind is.
07:58It's knocking water from the sea up against brick walls.
08:03Trees are being knocked down in Dover, in Sittingbourne, and the M2, which is, you know, heading London-bound.
08:08A tree in Hive has also knocked over an overhead power cable where UK power networks had to switch off
08:16supplies to 74 customers
08:18just because they were damaged so badly.
08:21The power has come back on now.
08:23But you can really see the damage that's done there.
08:26And we heard from Toby Howe earlier, who's from the Kent County Council Highways,
08:30and he was saying the welfare and the safety of the people going out and picking up those fowl trees
08:35is really, really important.
08:37We still have people out and about.
08:39As I say, those guys and girls will be out there 24-7 as and when required if they get
08:44a call.
08:44What we've got to remember is we've got to look after their safety as well.
08:48So what I don't want is someone just to get a road open somewhere in heavy rain, heavy wind, trying
08:55to cut it down.
08:56We've got to make sure it's safe for them to do so.
08:59And what other advice has there been for people?
09:03Well, hearing from the UK Power Network's Kent County Council Fire and Rescue,
09:09the general consensus is just to stay wary and conscious of where you're going.
09:14Don't really head out unless you absolutely need to.
09:17If you're driving, be aware of spitting on the back of cars onto your windscreen
09:22because visibility is going to be really, really low.
09:24The Met Office also said in gardens there could be a threat of flying debris heading out onto roads as
09:31well.
09:31So they're just wanting people to be extra conscious of these really strong winds
09:35because anything can be picked up and thrown about, hence the yellow weather warning in place until tonight.
09:41Thank you so much for joining us, Nayla.
09:43And make sure your two feet stay firmly on the ground, OK?
09:49Well, within the last half an hour, we've heard that that same storm destroyed part of the RSPCA's
09:54Canterbury and District Animal Centre with a falling tree.
09:57On their social media, the RSPCA team confirmed that no members of staff were hurt
10:02and all animals have been moved to safety.
10:04It comes at a time when the animal charity is already under financial strain
10:09and are struggling to find the space to house all of their animals.
10:12They're now calling on the public for support and donations.
10:17And here's your weather forecast.
10:26Well, unsurprisingly, the rain and wind is sticking around this evening
10:29with temperatures sticking around that 8 to 9 degree mark.
10:32There will be clouds tomorrow. The rain seems to be clearing up there,
10:35although the wind is still 29 miles per hour near Margate and around the coast.
10:41Tomorrow afternoon, there is some more rain, but you know what?
10:44We can hope that it will be better than what it was today.
10:46It was absolutely relentless today.
10:48Going into next week, the rain continues on, with it hopefully brightening up there on Tuesday.
11:00A burglar and her accomplice have been jailed for three years each
11:04after going on a spending spree with their vulnerable victim's card across Medway.
11:10Theresa Gaskin of Fisher Street in Maidstone tricked their 90-year-old victim,
11:14who is legally blind, in her home and stole her handbag on the 3rd of September this year.
11:20Gaskin then returned to her car, where Thomas Hutchinson was waiting
11:23before the pair fled the scene and spent hundreds of pounds from the victim's card in the following days.
11:29Gaskin was later charged with burglary,
11:31and Hutchinson was charged with handling stolen goods and fraud.
11:37Well, that's all the time we have for this part of the show,
11:40but coming up after the break, we will be talking to Joe Bennett,
11:43a Folkestone man who's continuing to fight for the return of his parents from Iran
11:47after they were falsely imprisoned there nearly two years ago.
11:51We'll also be taking a look at Canterbury Comic Fair,
11:53where a popular 80s game is being reimagined as a comic book.
11:56All that and more after this short break. See you then.
12:16We'll see you then.
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16:36We'll see you then.
16:39We'll see you then.
16:45We'll see you then.
16:48So we'll see you then.
17:03We'll see you then.
17:05they don't always come but on the last two mondays um i've spoke to my mum for about 13 minutes
17:12in
17:12total but yeah it it makes the biggest difference um because you just get that moment of connection
17:22again there's varying emotions with that um but a lot of it is is reconnecting with the people
17:29that you love is is fundamentally important for us it's massively important for them um
17:35because it's their slice of normality and their their their window into the outside world i've
17:42seen that you're supposed to be meeting ed miliband to the foreign secretary next week
17:47what will you be asking from him ed has championed my parents and uh publicly a couple of times now
17:55and that i welcome you know it's a breath of fresh air he's done that off of his own back
18:00i mean he's
18:01obviously aware of the situation but he hasn't interacted with us as of yet um but also to get
18:08some full commitment you know personal commitments he we need his full political weight behind their
18:15case you know we need we've asked for a couple of things one of them is a clear answer on
18:22why
18:23the government continued to call it appalling and unjustifiable and aren't formally recognizing it
18:29as arbitrary detention and diplomatic protection again another serious assessment and explanation as
18:36to if we're not doing that why not because we've seen it being used previously and these are tools
18:42right that the government have at their disposal that they're currently choosing not to use now
18:51it's understandable at the beginning you know we go back to october sorry january 25 understandable why
18:59you wouldn't use those tools and utilize them straight away because they're you know you're trying
19:03to get a grasp on the situation but when the situation hasn't changed for this long we as a
19:11family and the legal team and the mps who are asking these questions we need a definitive answer
19:16not just a you know we're going to continue to call it appalling and unjustifiable so that's what
19:21we're going there for and i think that's why being able to hand those letters in so that he comes
19:26prepared hopefully with answers is a an important piece of what Wednesday achieved you can find all
19:34of our previous reports on our website kmtv.co.uk there you won't miss a thing and you can catch
19:40up on
19:40reports just like this one about an airport in lyd which is opening a drone development centre
19:44the first of its kind in the uk an eye in the sky above lyd airport these drones stalk the
19:53airspace
19:53it's all part of a new future flight innovation centre the first of its kind in the uk it's
20:01becoming a training ground for the next generation of aviation tech now you might know drones for their
20:07use in photography or filming but the drones being developed here are for all kinds of different
20:12uses for example i've seen one for search and rescue another for agriculture and the one behind
20:17me here that's absolutely massive for surveillance
20:21the technology is developing at a rapid pace you can see from all the drones around us today of
20:25various different shapes and sizes you know they're fueled by conflict yes innovation and it is driving
20:32really fast but our job here at lyd and the centre for future flight innovation is to provide the safe
20:39spaces to be able to train and test and and build the evidence to work with the regulators to apply
20:47these in a commercial context around farming around policing the airport is used by the home office
20:53and ministry of defense as a base for surveillance drones which fly over the channel to capture illegal
20:59boat crossings as they happen this use is one of many important operations at the airport with the
21:06training center now hosting all kinds of tech development with future investment set to bring in 70 million pounds in
21:15economic value
21:16have to have a special use airspace because a lot of the technologies need to be tested before they can
21:21be deployed in the real world
21:23the idea is that we will become the blueprint for other regional airports and they'll be able to do what
21:28we're doing in order to diversify their revenue streams
21:32this is really really exciting for south kent and for kent more broadly because at the moment there is a
21:38need to re-industrialize the country the prime minister said that as soon as he was elected and this is
21:42an example of how we can adapt our local industry to
21:46the local infrastructure that we have for the future so for example it's very unlikely we're going to have all
21:50of the freight that we have going in and out of the channel tunnel
21:53being transported by lorries in the future a lot of that's going to be done through the air and so
21:58one of the questions is well how do we get the regulations in place how do you create the business
22:03environment
22:03so that drone companies so the aviation industries who are looking at these more emerging technologies can actually create those
22:11so that we can have jobs
22:12apprenticeships skilled jobs here in folks in high than romney marsh for our young people so they don't have to
22:17travel elsewhere to that kind of job
22:19plenty of tech development ideas will take flight here in the next few years
22:25chloe brewster for kmtv in lid for those born in the 80s you might remember arcade games like pac-man
22:33space invaders or galaga
22:35but for one retro game it's been reimagined as a comic book by two canterbury students
22:40the pit was unveiled at christchurch university with game developer andy walker in appearance as a guest speaker
22:46who talked to professor alan meads about the game's development trainee journalist danielle macpherson reports
22:52keep inventing things keep making it there someone will recognize it if it's not today it'll be tomorrow
23:00these are the words of andy walker an influential british arcade games designer who has now become the subject of
23:06a project here at canterbury christchurch university
23:08where an exhibition of the comic the pit is going on right now
23:13artist sibling duo shantona shantuna are the master students who are the artists behind the comic
23:18which follows the creation of andy's game the pit the exhibition is running as part of canterbury festival
23:23and to mark the occasion they held an opening event including talks from andy walker himself and professor alan meads
23:29whose book arcade britannia includes the chapter on andy of which the comic is based
23:34it's a dream come true it's almost like too good to be true and i'm very honored that um andy
23:40could come and um attend this event
23:43no matter how much work i do this will definitely make a different kind of impact in my life and
23:48i've been working with this project for over a year now
23:51it means a lot to me i could do something for the country i love
23:54it does tell a story and it is that capture of your own thoughts emotions
24:02when you see it expressed on paper like this it's um it's a joy isn't it it's beautiful
24:09i spoke to an attendee and former student of professor meads to find his thoughts on the artwork
24:14blown away i mean i like to think of myself as a bit of an artist but seeing the work
24:19the um the comic book twins have done it's just it's incredible
24:24i think what the comic book duo captures so well in the comic is really the energy and the kind
24:29of feel of the time
24:30it's a really specific time where there were entrepreneurs like andy walker making things where it's almost a bit like
24:37only fools and horses
24:39versus the sopranos versus kind of tech bro millionaires it's a really interesting point
24:44the exhibition will run until the end of october for those interested in seeing the comic for themselves
24:50danielle mcpherson for kmtv canterbury
24:53they say you only live twice but the character of james bond has had many actors portraying him
24:59and this week's screen tests will make the final choice
25:02but did you know that ian fleming who wrote the book lived here in kent
25:07and there's plenty of connections to the books and films to be found in the county
25:11well our reporter and film fan mcfin mcdermid joins me now to tell us more
25:15finn how is james bond linked to kent
25:18i just want to say chloe i don't have bond's license to kill but i've lived here in kent a
25:22while
25:22and i've seen a few of the films so hopefully that lets me speak about the franchise
25:26there's quite a few connections you may have also noticed we have some actors on the screen there
25:30we'll get into exactly who they are later but behind them you can see the white cliffs of dover
25:34as you mentioned that was where ian fleming the original author of james bond wrote a lot of the books
25:40he lived there around the 1950s
25:41rumor had it he could actually see the white cliffs from his just just near his house
25:47and we can actually see now on the screen that is one of the james bond films
25:52i believe that is diamonds are forever that is at the port of dover with that particular james bond
25:59now this is mereworth house in mere i think kent
26:02now for anyone who particularly likes visiting this place don't worry what you're about to see
26:05is all special effects if you keep watching that doesn't actually happen mereworth house is still standing today
26:10um that i believe is from the world is uh sorry die another uh nope casino royale
26:16there's quite a few bond films uh but there's plenty there they've had uh scenes filmed at chatham
26:21historic dockyard manston airport so there's plenty of connections
26:24well finn are you in the running
26:27i had a dream to be once but uh i found myself here on a much better stage that is
26:32the kmtv sofa
26:33yes of course well i appreciate you being here and yeah they don't know what they're missing
26:40you've been watching kent tonight live on kmtv there's more news made just for kent throughout the evening
26:45and don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news by logging on to kmtv.co
26:49.uk
26:49once again thank you so much for watching
26:51goodbye
27:03goodbye