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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Bartholomew Hall.
00:29Here are your top stories on Friday the 23rd of August.
00:34It's a nightmare.
00:35Medway restricted zone set to expand despite motorists flouting rules.
00:41We should be allowed to be able to come and go as we like, especially as she lives here.
00:48Not the last word.
00:50Thanet Council U-turns on swearing ban following legal threat.
00:55I think it's really appalling when people use swearing in their everyday language.
01:00And a sheepish goodbye.
01:02Maidstone's Sean Art Trail enters its final week.
01:05It will be a real spectacle, kind of colour and art and it will be very vibrant and lots
01:10of fun.
01:21Good evening.
01:22Neighbours are increasingly ignoring new traffic-free zones around some schools in
01:26Medway.
01:27That's according to data which shows the number of warnings issued to motorists entering
01:31school streets has risen.
01:33Whilst neighbours say the scheme has seen a reduction in traffic, some say it's left
01:37them trapped in their homes with taxis and other support not reaching them with fears
01:42of being fined.
01:43Our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris says the council is now planning on introducing
01:48other roads to the scheme.
01:50It's a scheme designed to make dropping children off at school safer.
01:54Medway Council introduced the enforcement to seven streets earlier this year.
01:59And it's monitored by these cameras, warnings issued to any vehicles ignoring the restricted
02:05hours.
02:06We've seen data which shows the highest number of warnings issued came in the first month
02:10of the scheme.
02:12But it's gradually been increasing, suggesting motorists are flouting the rules.
02:17Despite this, the council has confirmed a further roll-out.
02:21We've earmarked the second tranche of schools which are going to benefit from the school
02:25streets scheme.
02:27And I am aware of other schools who have approached us asking if they can be involved too.
02:33We're not trying to build Rome in a day.
02:35So what do current streets make of the scheme?
02:38We should be allowed to be able to come and go when we want, especially as she lives here.
02:44Because I haven't got a car, I suppose they won't give me a permit.
02:47And she doesn't drive, and her husband doesn't drive.
02:50I'm the only one that does, dilly me.
02:52It is a nightmare.
02:54It is.
02:55We'll just say, for example, she needs an x-ray.
02:58You need to get to the hospital early, because otherwise you can't get a space.
03:03She can't walk that distance.
03:05She can't walk that distance and get on a bus.
03:09Taxis are not allowed along here.
03:11So how would she get to any appointments?
03:13What would you say to people who are reliant on supporters and carers to pick them up during
03:17restricted hours?
03:18What should they do if they are receiving fines?
03:21Well, we've got a range of exemptions which apply to people who can be eligible for because
03:25they're a resident, because they may be dropping a child off with a disability, or indeed if
03:30they are a blue badge holder themselves.
03:33But we are not robots at Medway Council.
03:36Although this is being enforced by ANPR cameras, those tickets will be assessed by a human
03:42being and if there are extenuating circumstances, then I would encourage people to get in touch.
03:48But back on Glencoe Road, some neighbours say they have noticed fewer cars in the morning.
03:54They stop them coming up at certain times.
03:56It's the right time to do it.
03:57The kids are safe when I send my son to school every morning.
04:00There's no one hitting the curbs or jumping on the curbs or people flying up the road
04:05anymore.
04:06It's a lot safer for them.
04:07With the start of a new school year on the horizon and fines being introduced from early
04:11September, the council says that'll send a clear message to motorists and fewer people
04:16will flout the rules.
04:17Gabriel Morris in Medway.
04:19Well, Gabriel joins us in the studio now.
04:22Gabriel, some residents in Medway who don't currently live on a school street might be
04:25seeing those stats and be wondering, is my street next?
04:29When will they find out more?
04:31September.
04:32We saw that in a report.
04:33Councillor Alex Paterson, he's the new council lead for this department.
04:37He told us yesterday that in September a new consultation is going to come out and
04:42a whole new list of schools are going to be on that list.
04:46Now, we have been pushing the council to find out a list of what those schools are.
04:50We don't know for certain which schools they will be.
04:53But what we do know is he says there's an ever number of schools which could be on there.
04:57Actually, he went as far as saying he would like to see every road around a school in
05:01Medway being part of this scheme.
05:03Now, you saw in my report that we had some data showing the number of motorists flouting
05:07those rules has been increasing.
05:10Now, that could be because we're currently in a warning phase period.
05:14So if you go down a school street between the hours of eight and nine, three and four
05:17in the afternoon, your first offence, you'll be issued with a warning notice just telling
05:22you what a school street is and what it is.
05:24Medway council brought that in partially because it's quite new to the area and some motorists
05:29might not be aware of it.
05:30But they say the signage is clear now.
05:31It's been in for six months.
05:32So from September the 11th, if you go down there in your first instance, you'll be fined.
05:37It's important to note, though, if you do still at the moment, if you do go down during
05:41those hours in term time on a weekday and you've already had a warning, you go down
05:45again, you will be fined at the moment.
05:47So you won't get away with it.
05:48Maybe there's some miscommunication there, which is why we're seeing the numbers increasing.
05:51Now, Gabriel, Medway isn't the only council that's made a controversial decision in recent
05:57weeks.
05:58We've been reporting closely on Thanet District Council's swearing ban as part of a public
06:02space protection order.
06:03But there's been a change in the last day.
06:04There has indeed.
06:05I mean, this story is one which went all over the UK and national as well.
06:10I think it's important to note that councils do have these public space protection or PSPOs.
06:15And this one particularly, actually, at Thanet District Council, where they had the anti-swearing
06:19rules, they did already have that in, but it's seen quite a bit of attention lately.
06:23However, that as a whole, that PSPO had a lot of other measures in it and an organisation
06:29called the Free Speech Union had some concerns over that.
06:34They've sent a warning letter in and our reporter Oliver Leader de Sacks has been reporting that
06:39now that PSPO has been redacted.
06:42This council will not be moving, but we recognise that in responding to this challenge, we need
06:48to ensure that our position is as robust as it can be in order to protect public funds.
06:54Repeated language as what has been touted as a ban on swearing on Kent's east coast
06:59was rescinded.
07:02With previous public space protection orders expiring, Thanet District Council's replacement
07:07PSPO hoped to hit those using foul language in the pocket in perceived trouble hotspots.
07:15But last night, the council cabinet ditched the plan after the Free Speech Union threatened
07:21to launch a judicial review in the High Court.
07:26The Free Speech Union say their problem was with the vagary of the PSPO rather than the
07:32intention to tackle anti-social behaviour.
07:36But when making PSPOs, local authorities have to have particular regard to the right of
07:41freedom of speech and they must factor that into the formulation of it.
07:46And it's always the case with laws that the intent of somebody passing a law may appear
07:51to be relatively benign, but we need to look at not their intent, but the law as it is
07:56actually written.
07:57And this amounts to something of a local law in order to see what it actually means and
08:02think if my political enemies were in charge of implementing this law, what could they
08:06make of it?
08:07How could they employ it?
08:09Thanet Council say that although the proposed PSPO included a restriction preventing the
08:15use of foul language, there have been provisions regarding the use of foul language in force
08:20in Thanet since 2018.
08:24Yet when we spoke to passers-by on the streets of Ramsgate, some swore the PSPO would make
08:31the district a better place to be.
08:33It's a good thing.
08:34I think it's a really good thing.
08:35It's a good thing.
08:36Yeah.
08:37It's a really good thing.
08:38Yeah.
08:39Because you get fed up.
08:40Well, can't I, especially?
08:41You're going around the young ones, the ethnic, everything else.
08:42And you don't need it.
08:43All the other words.
08:44And you don't need it.
08:45And you don't need it.
08:46No.
08:47And I don't like it.
08:48You know, people just don't seem to care if they swear in front of children anymore.
08:52That would be absolutely brilliant.
08:53I can't stand it.
08:54I think it's really appalling when people use swearing in their everyday language, especially
09:00if you were in Spoonies yesterday and there was somebody swearing and you have children
09:04in there.
09:05And that's totally wrong.
09:06I don't think it would make a lot of difference in parts of Ramsgate in particular or Margate.
09:13The PSPO will now be redrafted.
09:17And with a public consultation to follow, last night's cabinet meeting was far from
09:22the last word on foul language in Thanet.
09:26Oliver, leader of the SACs, reporting for KMTV.
09:29Well, in national politics, the MP for Tunbridge has been touring Kent today, making his case
09:34to become the next Conservative leader.
09:36Tom Tugendhat began his regional tour in Chatham, a former Tory stronghold that was won by Labour
09:42in July.
09:43He believes that the key to revitalising his party's fortunes lies in revolutionary change,
09:48though says it's difficult to predict the direction the party should take with four
09:52years of Labour government ahead.
09:54What we need to do is we need to be bringing back Tory voters from all parts.
09:59Of course we need those who chose reform to come back.
10:02We also need those who chose Labour or the Lib Dems or those who stayed away to come
10:05back.
10:06What we need to do is offer a proper Conservative agenda that makes sure that we are investing
10:10in people.
10:11And that means investing in belonging, investing in place and giving people that sense of identity,
10:16that pride in our community that is so important.
10:18Well, look, we've got four years of opposition, which is appalling, but we've got four years
10:23of Labour overspending, under-delivering that we're going to have to correct for.
10:27So I'm not going to be making commitments on what changes need to be done, because I'm
10:30sure that Labour will be damaging so much between now and then, it's hard to predict.
10:35Police have been called to a children's play park after the body of a man was discovered
10:39in Canterbury.
10:41The discovery was made on a grassy area between Vauxhall Avenue and Broadoak Road in the north
10:45of the city.
10:46It's understood it was first spotted by canoers passing by on the River Stour, who reported
10:51the finding to police on Wednesday afternoon.
10:53Kent Police says the death is not being treated as suspicious, however the man's family have
10:57not yet been located.
10:59A report is being prepared for the coroner.
11:02Wildlife fans have been flocking to East Kent today after a scarlet ibis has been spotted
11:07at Stodmarsh Nature Reserve.
11:09These pictures show the eye-catching creature picking at the ground, as well as mingling
11:13with geese.
11:14The scarlet ibis, which is native to South America and the Caribbean, is believed to
11:19have escaped from a zoo or private collection, although it's not known exactly where from.
11:24Although it is a rare sight, some bird watchers have claimed another of the species was seen
11:28in Dorset this week.
11:30It's time for a short break now, but coming up we'll be speaking with the CEO of the Heart
11:36of Kent Hospice about their much-loved Shaun the Sheep statues that you may have seen across
11:43Maidstone this summer entering their final week.
11:47That and plenty more to come after this break.
14:36Thanks for watching.
15:06Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
15:16Now to sport, and after an all-but-perfect start to the season, Mark Bonner's Gillingham
15:21are back on the road tomorrow as they face Fleetwood as they search for three wins from
15:25three in their League Two season so far.
15:28It comes after the Gills beat Morecambe 1-0 last time out, which the boss says has provided
15:33a positive boost moving forward.
15:35I do think it gives you a little bounce in your step when you get good results.
15:39Clearly at this stage of the season you want as many as you can.
15:42There's a consequence to the games that wasn't there in pre-season, so it does make a difference.
15:46The other thing is when you win late, having gone through some of the challenges of last
15:51week, that can be good for your team.
15:53We have to keep trying to do it.
15:55We've still got some key players missing, but I think it gives others a chance.
16:00The confidence of the team overall and the squad just grows when you know you can still
16:04get results.
16:05So that will be what we're going after this weekend.
16:08Moving on now, if you live in Maidstone or are planning to visit, there's just one week
16:11left before the county town's Shaun the Sheep art trail will be coming to an end.
16:16The Heart of Kent hospice is set to put them up for auction, where it's hoped thousands
16:20of pounds will go towards specialist support for adults with a terminal illness.
16:24However, it also comes just a few days after two of the more than 100 sculptures had to
16:30be removed due to vandalism.
16:32Earlier on, I was joined by Rachel Street, CEO of the hospice on location outside the
16:37Shaun HQ in Maidstone.
16:39So, Rachel, thank you very much for joining us here today outside of Shaun HQ there.
16:45And what's been the response from this?
16:47We're heading towards the end now of the trail.
16:50There must have been a lot of happy Shaun hunters coming to the coming to the HQ during
16:55the summer holidays.
16:56Yeah, absolutely.
16:57Yeah, absolutely.
16:58The Heart of Kent hospice has had a fantastic summer with Shaun in the heart of Kent.
17:03We've had about 10,000 downloads of the app, over half a million unlocks on the apps.
17:10And the pedometer is saying that people have walked 22,000 miles.
17:14So it's been really well welcomed by the people of Maidstone.
17:17Absolutely.
17:18I mean, you and yourself and the team must be sad to see them go in a few in a week's
17:22time.
17:24Yeah, the Farewell Weekend, which is happening on the 13th to the 15th of September, will
17:29be a real kind of celebration of the end of the Shaun trail.
17:32And actually people will get to see all 109 Shaun's all together under one roof.
17:37So that'll be fantastic, but also a bit of a sad kind of time because it means that the
17:41end of the trail is there.
17:43Of course.
17:44Tell me about that Farewell Weekend.
17:45What can people expect?
17:49So the Farewell Weekend is happening from the 13th to the 15th of September.
17:54It's in Maidstone Market Hall, which is in Loch Ledo.
17:56People can get their tickets online at shaunheartofkent.co.uk.
18:02And there in the market hall, you'll be able to see all 52 large sculptures and 57 small
18:07sculptures all together.
18:09And it will be a real spectacle, kind of colour and art, and it will be very vibrant and lots
18:14of fun.
18:15Lots of fun.
18:16But, of course, in the last few days, it's not been the most positive time for the Shaun's.
18:20Two of them were, of course, vandalised.
18:22What was the team's kind of reaction to that?
18:24Because that's two Shaun's that won't now go to auction with the money going back to
18:29the hospice.
18:30Yeah, absolutely.
18:31We were just absolutely heartbroken at the beginning of this week when we found out that
18:37two of the Shaun's had been so badly vandalised that they're pretty much irreparable and won't
18:41make it onto the auction.
18:42And it's not only the team that have worked on this for the last 18 months.
18:46It's the artists that have spent many, many hours painting very detailed and intricate
18:50designs.
18:52It's the companies that have sponsored those Shaun's.
18:54And, of course, it's the community of Maidstone who are also just as heartbroken as we are
18:59that they got vandalised.
19:00We will do what we can to repair them if we can.
19:05We don't think we're going to be able to repair them in time for the auction.
19:07And as you said, we're aiming to raise £250,000 at the auction, and those two sculptures make
19:13up about £10,000 of that.
19:15So we're hoping that people rally and help us meet that target, even though we're two
19:19Shaun's down.
19:21Well, best of luck with that.
19:22Can you just remind us as well where that money will be going towards at the hospice?
19:26Because £250,000 sounds like quite a lot.
19:29£250,000 is a significant amount of money for Harker Kent Hospice.
19:34Every year we need to raise over £5 million to run our services, where we provide care
19:39and support for people who are living with a terminal illness and who are facing the
19:42end of their lives.
19:43So this money will go to that care and that support that the hospice provides.
19:48Absolutely.
19:50And such an important cause as well, affecting so many families.
19:53But then, of course, in the short term, this whole event has affected so many people by
19:57putting a smile on their face as they head around Maidstone.
20:00Just before we finish, is there a favourite, Shaun, of yours?
20:04Mine is the Olympics one that's been roaming around to lots of different areas.
20:09Yeah, the roaming one's fantastic.
20:12My Shaun is one that's actually behind me, is Seananigans, which is the Ralph Steadman.
20:17It's just beautiful.
20:18It's so intricate.
20:19It's one of those ones where the more you look at it, the more and more you see on the
20:24detail of the design.
20:25I just love it to bits.
20:26Rachel, thank you very much for joining us today.
20:28You're welcome.
20:31Now, don't forget, you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by
20:35logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
20:39There you'll find all of our reports, including this one about a couple from Tenham who donated
20:43several teddy bears from Medway Maritime Hospital in memory of their baby.
20:50Many of us have memories of a favourite teddy from when we were younger, but some here in
20:54Kent are clinging on a little tighter.
20:57Kimberley and her husband, Nicholas, lost their baby boy, Rupert, in March last year.
21:01He was born prematurely at 20 weeks.
21:04To help with her loss, she was given a bear to hold onto and now she's passed the favour
21:09by donating several teddies, hats and blankets to Medway Maritime Hospital to support other
21:14families through bereavement.
21:16I actually got my own teddy when I was in hospital with Rupert.
21:20I lost him at 20 weeks' custodian and it was just there to cuddle when I had to say goodbye
21:26to him.
21:27It was just nice to have something there and now I have him at home as well in his ashes
21:32in the teddy bear as well.
21:33They're just so important to loads of families and just having that teddy to cuddle when
21:38you're in hospital just means so much.
21:41It took me a long time to process everything.
21:44He was born in March and I didn't really understand anything until September time.
21:51And just don't judge yourself for how you feel, just feel what you need to feel and
21:55reach out and get support as well.
21:56Kimberley donating these teddy bears is so wonderful for all our families.
22:01They are such a comfort.
22:03It's something that they can hold and cuddle and actually have that tactile connection
22:08with their baby.
22:09For families going through this or have been through this because they will continue to
22:13go through it for their entire lives, it's to make sure that you lean out and ask us,
22:17you know, get all the support you can need from us, charities, friends and family.
22:22We've only got one chance to get it right and we need to do that right from the very
22:25beginning.
22:26As Kimberley holds on tight, she asks for anyone going through bereavement to reach
22:30out and seek support and to remember grieving can look different for everyone.
22:34Mahima Abedin for KMTV in Medway.
22:38Now a yellow weather warning has been issued for Kent with heavy rain and flooding expected
22:42to make it a wet bank holiday weekend on the northern shores.
22:46There is a small chance of flooding so people are being advised to check if your property
22:49could be at risk.
22:50In the meantime, let's see what the forecast is looking like across the board.
23:00Friday night we'll see lows of 15 degrees, saying cloudy across the county, 14 in Tunbridge
23:05and 16 in Dover.
23:07Heading into tomorrow, it looks like it's going to be raining with the heaviest of it,
23:10as we said before, in the north of the county.
23:13Some sun peaking through in central Kent as we go into the afternoon, highs of 19.
23:19As we go into the week ahead, some clouds remain over the skies on Sunday and Monday.
23:23It will still be hot, highs of 25 on Tuesday.
23:30And finally, rugby, football and cricket, the undisputed most popular sports here in
23:40the UK.
23:41But one Kent club is trying to get volleyball to that very same level.
23:45Invicta Volleyball Club hasn't stopped at joining the National League.
23:50They want to pursue becoming a professional club rather than just a recreational one,
23:54starting on the sand.
23:55Finn McDermid went down to have a go at Beach Volleyball.
23:59Brazil, Spain, France and now Kent.
24:02While volleyball is highly played and watched around the world, here in the UK it falls
24:06short when compared to our other national sports.
24:09One club, Invicta Volleyball, are looking to change that, starting with a three-day
24:13beach training camp in Canterbury, despite being an indoor team.
24:17It's a fantastic opportunity to train, to get a different experience of volleyball,
24:23to play outdoors.
24:24It's quite a social aspect to this version of the game as well.
24:29And this is an opportunity to play a different version of volleyball.
24:32It's great for development because there's two a side as opposed to six a side, so you're
24:35getting a lot more contact on the ball.
24:37You're able to experience the whole game, whereas indoors you've got a specialised position.
24:42Out here you're doing everything.
24:43You're passing, setting, hitting, defending, blocking, you're doing the whole thing.
24:46This beach volleyball court is unique in that it's the closest to Calais, which has more
24:51registered volleyball players than the entirety of England, showing just how popular it is
24:56in other countries.
24:57Along with this training, the club has increased their efforts to get volleyball on the map,
25:01starting with outreach programmes in schools.
25:04I've just signed an apprenticeship with Invicta Volleyball, and that entails I'm going to
25:09do a lot of coaching, a lot of advertising and advert work behind the scenes.
25:15And the outreach programme, we're going to be going to schools, ages like seven to eleven,
25:21with Volley Start, delivering coaching at schools or independently here.
25:26You can meet indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, and it's just to get kids into volleyball
25:32and expand volleyball in the community.
25:34Invicta, who have training sessions in Maidstone and Canterbury, are hoping to move away from
25:38their more recreation-based model after their promotion to the National Volleyball League,
25:42which will start in September.
25:44Now I've played volleyball for three years, but I'd never tried the beach version.
25:49Now beach volleyball has a few key differences to its indoor counterpart, you know, aside
25:53from all the sand.
25:55It's actually perfect for training.
25:57Because of the sand, it's harder to move around, and there's also only ever two players on
26:01at once, meaning you've got more time to set, dig, spike, or whatever you feel like doing.
26:06So I'm going to see if someone like me, who's been, you know, sitting behind a desk all
26:10this time, can still play.
26:12I normally rely on my height for indoor volleyball, but that didn't help me much, as the sand
26:16was a less solid surface, and my legs certainly felt the burn.
26:20It didn't help that I was just plain out of practice, but it was nice to get out into
26:23the sun and get some exercise.
26:26Well, don't be put off by my skill level.
26:30It's not quite as hard as it looks.
26:32Finn McDermid for KMTV in Canterbury.
26:34It makes it look easy, doesn't it?
26:37You've been watching Kentonite Live on KMTV.
26:39Plenty more available on our website, kmtv.co.uk.
26:43We'll be back with the late bulletin at 8 o'clock.
26:45See you then.
26:46Bye bye.