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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:27I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Wednesday the 17th of July.
00:32Nothing will bring him back, Folkestone hit and run driver who left William Brown in the
00:36road given 14 weeks suspended sentence.
00:41What this can possibly do is shine a light on our justice system and how it needs reform
00:45and change needs to come sooner rather than later. No more children or adults need to
00:50be left for dead on our roads.
00:51King's speech as the new parliament officially opens. We hear what the new Labour government's
00:56pledges mean for Kent.
00:58I think we'll have to see whether or not it delivers the growth that Labour say they're
01:01going to for the wider country.
01:05Back to business, Canterbury's historic market opens for trading after two years of closure.
01:11We're a city that's had a market for, well, forever hasn't it really? And we thought it
01:17was well worth bringing back.
01:27First tonight, the driver who hit a seven-year-old boy and left the scene of the crash has been
01:33given a suspended sentence at Folkestone Magistrates Court. William Brown Jr died in December when
01:38he stepped onto the Sandgate Esplanade to collect a football and was hit by a van. 49-year-old
01:44Stuart Powell from St Mary's Bay pled guilty to failing to stop following a collision and
01:48driving without valid insurance. He's been sentenced to 14 weeks in prison but suspended
01:53for 12 months, banned from driving for a year and subject to a curfew. William's mother
01:59Laura says no sentence would bring William back.
02:03A suspended sentence for Stuart Powell. 14 weeks behind bars but suspended for 12 months
02:10for the driver who hit seven-year-old William Brown Jr and fled the scene in Folkestone.
02:16Here he is leaving court the day he pled guilty back in May. It was in December when William
02:21was playing in his garden and stepped out onto the road to collect his football. He
02:26was hit by Powell's van which propelled him into another car. Despite all efforts to save
02:31him, he died there. Powell from St Mary's Bay fled the scene and would go on to tell
02:36the police he panicked when he called 999 the next day. William's mother Laura continues
02:42to campaign for tougher sentences and a 20 mile per hour speed limit in Sandgate Esplanade
02:47where William was hit.
02:49We're trying to do a petition to change the laws to extend hit and run sentencing so things
02:57like today wouldn't happen. It would be elevated to a crown court as opposed to magistrates.
03:02There's no sentence that would bring William back or it's just, there's nothing really
03:08apart from that that could make a positive change. You know, Stuart in prison wouldn't
03:13help anyone. What this can possibly do is shine a light on our justice system and how
03:19it needs to reform and change needs to come sooner rather than later. No more children
03:24or adults need to be left for dead on our roads and this hopefully can shine that light.
03:29William's death rocked the local community, the whole county and even the country. With
03:35his funeral broadcast live on KMTV, thousands watched on.
03:41I love you and I will always carry you with me.
03:47His burial was signed off by the king himself and a visit from former Home Secretary James
03:53Cleverley to the ice cream parlour created in his memory.
03:57Rather than mourn him, we try and think of positive things that William would love. Today's
04:02sports day, his favourite day of the year so it's very bittersweet, ironic that it's
04:07today but I know that he'll be dancing somewhere in heaven just like cheering us on and wanting
04:13us just to keep on moving with positive steps only. That's what he would have wanted.
04:19Despite the devastation of losing their child, William's family have shown forgiveness and
04:24finally today found some peace.
04:28Abbey Hook for KMTV in Folkestone.
04:35Following Kent's new and returning MPs being sworn into Parliament, King Charles III has
04:40set out in a speech what the new government intends to achieve. Many of the policies won't
04:44come as a surprise such as the introduction of a new state-owned power company which was
04:49in Labour's election manifesto. Others such as a gradual ban on the sale of cigarettes
04:54first announced by Rishi Sunak have been kept. As Bartholomew Hall reports, here's what the
04:59speech means for us here in Kent.
05:02From a new state-owned energy supplier to rules about the future of Parliament, today's
05:07King's speech may not have made any direct references to Kent but the pledges of the
05:12new Labour government are sure to make impact here. Many were to be expected such as reforms
05:17to planning procedures which Labour says will accelerate house building, a reference to
05:21the party's pledge to repurpose land on the Greenbelt, ending no-fault evictions to give
05:27renters what they call greater rights and protections, establish a new border security
05:32command, Labour's attempt to target criminal gangs behind small boat channel crossings
05:37and as for transport, train operators are set to be brought into public ownership whilst
05:42local councils are due to be given more control over local bus services. In total, 40 individual
05:49bills have been announced by the King with a mixture of policies taken from Labour's
05:53manifesto and others that were brought in by the last Parliament. One of the policies
05:58that's been kept from the last government is the gradual ban on the sale of cigarettes.
06:02It was deeply divisive when it was first announced by Rishi Sunak so here's what people in Gillingham
06:07think on it being kept. If they're allowed to smoke quite young and it reaches an older
06:12age it's going to put more restraint on the NHS so I think it is quite fair. No matter
06:17what the government does they will always manage to get fags. It's fair because a lot
06:23more of them will probably live a lot longer than they would have without the ban. I think
06:27it's a bit stupid, I think they're just going to find other ways to get them and it's just
06:32going to cause more harm really. It's not good for them, I don't think they should smoke
06:38but you can't please the world. MPs will now debate over the policies announced in the
06:45King's speech and vote whether or not to approve it. But with a Labour majority of
06:49174 MPs it's highly unlikely to be thrown out. It doesn't mean however that the new
06:55government is under any less scrutiny. I don't think this King's speech is particularly that
07:00ambitious. A number of the items were already carryovers from the previous Sunak government
07:05whether that be the smoking ban or indeed that be the football regulator which actually
07:09was an idea conceived following the work of my great friend and former Member of Parliament
07:15for Chatham House for Dame Tracey Crouch. So I think whilst the King's speech had a lot of
07:20great words and great one-liners within it I think we'll have to see whether or not it
07:25delivers the growth that Labour say they're going to for the wider country. That is the
07:30path of national renewal, the rebuilding of our country and we take another step today.
07:36So as the new Labour-controlled era of Parliament is officially underway just how well today's
07:43announcements are delivered could be the first marker for how this government is remembered.
07:48Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
07:50Well to discuss that smoking ban that Bartholomew mentioned there and more health headlines
07:57I'm joined by KMTV's health expert Dr Julian Spinks. Julian thank you very much. So the
08:01smoking ban first come up the idea by Rishi Sunak now implemented by Kiss-Dharma. How
08:08beneficial do you think this is going to be? I think it's fantastic news really because
08:11there's a possibility of having a generation of people who are never going to smoke and
08:17that's going to make a big difference to people's health. Also it's going to control some of
08:21the vape products that perhaps are attracting teenagers to start vaping because again we
08:26have concerns about that on long-term use. What if it pushes more people now to vape?
08:32Well I think that what will happen is if they're going to stop a lot of advertising and some
08:35of the sort of sweet flavours and fruit flavours and so on and vaping becomes less attractive
08:42then hopefully that will diminish over time.
08:44Okay and some other health headlines. More than one million extra women could have life-saving
08:49cervical cancer checks if the NHS adopt a do-it-yourself testing kit. That's what researchers
08:55have found. What are some of the benefits of these kits and how exactly does it work?
09:00Well we're getting more and more worried about the fact that more and more women are not
09:03actually coming forward and having cervical screening. This test, it actually tests for
09:08human papillomavirus. This is the virus that causes well over 99% of cancers and the way
09:14it works is it's a swab. It looks a bit like those ones we use during Covid for the backs
09:17of throats. It goes into the vagina, it takes a sample, gets sent off to the lab. If it's
09:22positive for that virus then you're asked in for further investigations. The only sad
09:26thing is the research actually showed a very poor take-up even when people were sent the
09:30test kit to do at home and there was none of the embarrassment of going to their doctor.
09:34So we'll still need to work hard to get people to have that test done.
09:36Do you think people are worried about doing it wrong?
09:39I think they might do but it's actually an incredibly simple test. Unlike traditional
09:44cytology where you've got to see the cervix and aim and do everything, you've literally,
09:48it's rather like scraping the inside of your mouth. You've just got the swab up there,
09:53move it around and it will pick up the sample.
09:56Okay, quite an important message definitely for people to not feel embarrassed to go to
10:00their doctor but perhaps do it at home themselves. Now moving on, another health headline, some
10:05new ADHD assessments tracks the movement of patients and measures three main symptoms
10:11of ADHD in attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. What advantage could this have to children
10:17and young adults as well?
10:20This is already being trialled in some parts of the UK and the idea is it gives you a slightly
10:25more objective measure as to what's going on. It actually tracks the person's head movements
10:30whilst they're doing a task on a computer and they can then spot things like inattention
10:35and impulsivity and so on as a result of it. So it adds into an assessment. It's not going
10:40to be something you do at home and it's not going to replace having skilled people doing
10:44tests.
10:45Okay and then lastly, a drug that's been found to increase the lifespan of lab animals by
10:52nearly 25%. Now this could help slow human ageing too, something that perks all our ears
10:59up I suppose. How is this possible?
11:02What they've looked at is two types of mice, one of which are missing a chemical that most
11:05of us have and the ones who are missing the chemical lived longer, they got less cancer
11:09and so on. The one health warning I would say is number one it's in mice, number two
11:14we're not certain how to suppress it and number three actually when you're young that chemical
11:18is really important for normal bone growth and body growth and so on. So it's not something
11:22that's going to drop straight into humans but it does show yet another way in which
11:26we may be able to tackle ageing and particularly things like cancer and that's got to be a
11:30positive.
11:31And it must be absolutely years before we can even begin to think of this.
11:35Absolutely right. All of these things take a very long time to get to the point where
11:38you can use them safely.
11:39Julian, thank you very much. Some interesting conversations there. Thank you. Now it's time
11:43for a very quick break but coming up we'll have more news from right across Kent. See
11:47you in just a few minutes' time.
14:47Hello and welcome back to Kent tonight.
15:16We're live on KMTV. Now just seven months into the year and the RSPCA says nearly fourteen
15:22hundred animal abuse reports have been made in Kent. While officers are still getting
15:27ready for what they say is their busiest period. It's prompted a summer campaign to end cruelty
15:32and curb the rising number of cases of neglect. Well Daisy Page joins me now with more on
15:37this. Daisy, some really shocking figures there.
15:40So as you said we're halfway through the year now, well just over halfway through the year
15:45and the RSPCA have warned that they are seeing an increase in animal cruelty. They released
15:50figures today across England and Wales there has been more than a two percent increase
15:55compared to this time last year. In Kent alone there has been one thousand three hundred
16:00and seventy two reports so far. And as we are heading into the summer RSPCA say they
16:06are heading into their busiest time. Whilst they are saying that their officers are prepared
16:12embracing themselves to put it into scale for viewers at home. Last year every five
16:16minutes a report of animal cruelty occurred during the summer months. We spoke to well
16:21you can see on the screen these are just some of the cases that the RSPCA have helped. Some
16:26dogs, some hedgehogs, some kittens as well. A bit of everything. Yeah. We spoke with Chris
16:30from RSPCA earlier to find out why there is an increase during the summer period.
16:37There's lots of reasons for this. One is just because we have better weather. So I think
16:41there's probably less places for cruelty to hide. People are outside. They might be seeing
16:46more instances of cruelty and animal neglect in general and report this to us. Unfortunately
16:52there are some sometimes some more sinister reasons as well. We know that unfortunately
16:57we have had reports across the board where people go away on holiday which is obviously
17:02more common in the summer and are leaving their animals behind. They are abandoning
17:06animals as perhaps some of those costs of things like boarding of their pet come to
17:12light. This is something that we're even more concerned about this year on the back of the
17:18pandemic a few years ago where we saw a real boom in animal ownership.
17:22So Daisy we heard a little bit about why there's such an increase in the summer there but how
17:28crucial are they especially here in the county?
17:31Yeah so for people that don't know RSPCA they are a charity and they work on rescuing
17:37animals investigating why they've been harmed and also preventing animal cruelty as well.
17:43They are releasing a summer appeal called No Animals Deserve Cruelty and the aim is
17:49to raise money to help animals who are in desperate need and to also show those animals
17:53kindness which they may have not seen before in their life. The money raised will also
18:00help those who are facing neglect and cruelty and as we saw earlier they are helping animals
18:05from cats, dogs to fish, birds and not always pets as well. We're talking foxes, hedgehogs,
18:12anything out and about that may have faced some harm in their lifetime as well. They
18:17have also said that they're hoping Kent will make a difference this year and support the
18:21appeal and hope to give these animals the help that they need.
18:25Hopefully reduce some of those really high numbers, nearly 1,400 cases so far this year.
18:30Hopefully we'll see those numbers come down. Daisy, thank you very much for those details.
18:36Next tonight, Canterbury's 700-year-old market has made its long-awaited return to St George's
18:41Street. After being scrapped in 2022, the local council have brought back the traders,
18:47met with a positive response from both buyers and suppliers. Traders will fill the city's
18:52central street on Wednesdays with fresh fish, vintage clothing, skin care stalls and more,
18:58welcoming a new era for the historic market, something the Canterbury City Council leader
19:03Alan Baldock is very pleased to see.
19:06We love our markets. We're a city that's had a market for, well, forever, hasn't it really?
19:14We thought it was well worth bringing back. It's been a bit tricky to get all the legislation
19:20together to make sure we open properly, with an exciting opportunity to, from a good start,
19:29we want to grow bigger and bigger and better, have lots more animation in the shopping area
19:34of Canterbury, full stop. The market is just part of that process.
19:39Big news for Canterbury there. Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all your
19:42latest stories across Kent by logging on to our website. That's kmtv.co.uk. There you'll
19:48find all our reports, including this one, where our reporter Finn McDermid learns about
19:52the history behind a little-known ceremony involving the Admiral of the River Medway.
19:58Take a look.
19:59500 years of tradition were broken in 2020, thanks to the pandemic. Since the reign of
20:04King Henry VIII, the Admiral of the River Medway, also the Mayor of Medway, has held
20:08court over the fisheries of Rochester.
20:10Behind me in the distance, you might be able to make out just a couple of ships down the
20:14River Medway. That is the Admiral's convoy, and we're a part of it. Now, what we're doing
20:19is we're travelling from Rochester all the way down to Sheerness. It's a tradition that
20:24goes back 500 years, and we're currently beating the bounds, marking the jurisdiction of the
20:30Admiral of the River.
20:31The beating of the bounds sees the Admiral travel from the Hawkwood Stone downriver to
20:35Sheerness. And this year, Rochester Cruising Club, who have hosted the ceremony since the
20:391960s, have restored the tradition.
20:42It's an excellent day. It's the first proper cruise that we've had for probably three or
20:48four years. The whole thing is to celebrate the beating of the bounds with the Rochester
20:52Oyster Fishery. They've been around since 1788, and they've held the Fisherman's Court
20:59virtually unbroken for that length of time. The only time that it's actually been interrupted
21:05was because of COVID. So this is the first time that we've actually been out again altogether,
21:11and it looks as though we've got everything together. The weather, absolutely typical
21:15of what we expect in July.
21:17The newest mayor of Medway, Marian Nesterov, held the Admiralty Court this weekend before
21:22setting off with his fleet following behind at a speed of six knots, while nearby ports
21:26and clubs blew cannon fire to honour the procession.
21:29Yes, it was an absolute honour to preside over the Admiralty Court yesterday. It's a
21:36tradition, like you said, that dates 500 years, and it was sadly discontinued during
21:41COVID. This year is the first year that we held it again, and I was so happy that we
21:48have the Admiralty Court again.
21:50Along the way, the procession lowered their ensign, the naval flags on their ships, in
21:54honour of the HMS Bulwark, a London-class battleship that was ripped apart by an explosion
21:59in the morning of 26th November 1914, while moored in the River Medway's estuary.
22:05To honour the 700-odd men who died in the Bulwark, the sea cadets saluted the ships
22:10as they passed, reeds were dropped and cannon fire rang out from the Admiral's ship.
22:16The day ended with the sunset ceremony, where the mayor returns to the Rochester clubhouse
22:20and the Commodore of the club officially ends the ceremony and the day's cruising, and finally
22:24makes Mayor Nesterov an official member of the club.
22:27Finn McDermid for KMTV.
22:31Following that rainy weather we've been having, as you saw in Finn's report, pretty windy there,
22:34a yellow heat health alert has been issued for Kent, with temperatures potentially reaching
22:38the high 20s later this week, so do take care if you're out and about.
22:42Let's take a look at that forecast now.
22:50Some clear skies tonight, temperatures between 13 and 15 degrees down in Dover.
22:56Tomorrow morning, slightly warmer, clear across the county, some cloud but no rain, highs
23:01of 21 over in Margate.
23:03By the afternoon, warming up to highs of 26 in Dartford, some sun coming out by the coast
23:08there, staying cloudy in some parts.
23:11And here's your outlook.
23:12There's that hot weather on Friday, clear skies but rain again this weekend.
23:27Now it's time for your pick of the papers, taking a look at what's making the headlines
23:30in Kent's newspapers, online and radio.
23:33Earlier, I was joined by Elise Opare.
23:35Okay, Elise, what's your first story for us this evening, some people not so happy about
23:39a parking ban.
23:40Yes, parents are actually really upset, there's a parking ban near the primary school, which
23:43they believe will put their children's lives at risk.
23:46They are angry at the bosses of a nearby village in Wyndham, near Canterbury, they're not allowed
23:50to use the parking space as drop-off or collection for their children.
23:53They are now forced to use the busy A257, which has no pavement, again, which is obviously
23:58risking the lives of them and their children.
24:01This ban is set to be placed in September, they found this out through a newsletter of
24:05the primary school.
24:07They have been accused of misusing the parking space in the past, that's what the village
24:11hall representatives say, as well as the primary school.
24:14The primary school has, however, declined to comment on the parking issues, but previously
24:18stopped parents using its own park as it was deemed unsafe.
24:21Okay, and your next story for us this evening.
24:25So yes, a Spanish replica of a ship was set to dock in Kent, designed on ships which sail
24:31between the 16th and 19th centuries.
24:33The 48-metre long Galleon AndalucÃa was moored at Ramsgate Hospital at Commercial Quay.
24:39It's been set along a round well, it's going to be used as a kind of a museum, as I say.
24:45The ship navigated the Atlantic Ocean to establish trade between Spain, America, the Philippines.
24:50It's now a floating museum and guests will be allowed to explore it between 10 and 8pm,
24:56between the 25th and 28th of the day.
24:58Okay, something for the summer holidays, for sure.
25:01And your final story for us this evening, something quite fun.
25:04Very fun.
25:05The stage adaptation of the Disney's 100 Wild Dalmatians is set to be in Canterbury at the
25:09Marlowe Theatre and Faye Tozer from Steps is going to be playing Cruella de Vil.
25:14The story is of course about the playful puppies and the wicked villains and it actually started
25:19yesterday, the 16th, and it will be going on until the 20th Saturday of July.
25:24And of course the musical is based on the animated movie as well as the adaptation in
25:281995, I believe it was.
25:31And we of course know Faye from Steps.
25:34The Marlowe Theatre has opened it already and this is actually not Faye's first time
25:40on stage.
25:41She's done it before in the past and she's actually really looking forward to this role.
25:43There's already been some great reviews of her performance and her singing and her acting
25:46and it should be a really good one.
25:48The display is of course loved by many children, old people.
25:52I love it.
25:53It was one of my favourite when I was growing up.
25:54Tickets are available now as well.
25:56I wonder if they're going to actually have 101 Dalmatians on stage, I'd love to see that.
26:01Very impressive.
26:02That's all we've got time for this evening, you've been watching Kent Tonight live on
26:07KMTV.
26:08There's of course more news made just for Kent throughout the evening, we'll be back
26:12with our 8pm news bulletin as well.
26:14But don't forget you can keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging
26:18on to KMTV.co.uk.
26:21You can also keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us
26:25on X2.
26:26And if you have a story you think we should be covering then please do get in touch.
26:30That's all from me and the Kent Tonight team this evening, I'll see you at 8pm with more
26:33news from across Kent.
26:35Bye bye for now.