Catch up with all the latest news across your county with Bartholomew Hall.
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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 11th of October.
00:32Sweeping the streets.
00:34Fatal stabbing sees Canterbury High Street cordoned off as investigations begin.
00:39I can't believe it.
00:41This is Canterbury.
00:42A young person, so sad.
00:46Ground down.
00:47Dartford Cafe closes as regeneration roadworks kill business.
00:51I've lost all my morning trade and most of my lunchtime trade.
00:55And having the big conversation.
00:57Hundreds descend on Youth Wellbeing Convention to mark World Mental Health Day.
01:03It's very important because I think young people are especially susceptible to vulnerability
01:08around mental health.
01:18Good evening.
01:19Four people have been arrested after a man in his 20s was stabbed to death on Canterbury
01:23High Street last night.
01:25Throughout the day the city's centre has been cordoned off with many shops closed as
01:29a forensic investigation team have continued inquiries.
01:33Fitbit Dermot was at the scene earlier.
01:39For tourists, day trippers and even residents the last thing they expected to see was police
01:43tape and a forensic team in the middle of Canterbury High Street this morning.
01:48It's the scene of a murder investigation launched after a man in his 20s was discovered with
01:53stab wounds near the junction to St Margaret Street, which officers were called to at half
01:58past eleven last night.
02:00Four people have now been arrested in connection with the incident and a large police cordon
02:04has been deployed at the site, with shops and banks within the cordoned off area closed.
02:10Police and forensics teams were in attendance behind the cordon with members of the public
02:14standing at the police tape.
02:17It's a tragedy, but it's not surprising.
02:20That's what people in Canterbury have been telling me this morning.
02:23The Canterbury's historic high street has been forced back into the present because
02:26of this incident and multiple streets have had to be cordoned off.
02:32Now behind me they are sweeping St Margaret Street, which is a road that just comes off
02:37of that main portion of the high street.
02:39There's multiple cordons all across the city.
02:43Canterbury Business Improvement District were also at the scene, directing the public on
02:47how to get to the other side of the high street.
02:50After a private ambulance left, the authorities also began sweeping the streets, first with
02:55multiple officers going down St Margaret Street and then using drones.
03:05One visitor told me how she was shocked to discover it this morning, having heard about
03:09the killing from a passer-by.
03:10She said, no, there was a murder here last night, a young man, and I said, what?
03:18I can't believe it.
03:19This is Canterbury.
03:20A young person, so sad, just round the corner from here.
03:27When asked, the officers stated they had no knowledge of when the cordon could come down.
03:31We will have more on this story as it continues to develop.
03:34Finn McDermid for KMTV in Canterbury.
03:37Well, speaking of developments, Finn is here now in the studio.
03:40You have a bit of an update from the police today.
03:43Yeah, that's right, Bartholomew.
03:45The very latest news that came in, according to Kent Police on X, is that four men remain
03:50in custody as part of this ongoing investigation, and we do now know that officers are currently
03:56working to reduce the size of that police cordon.
04:00You can see the police tape in the photo there.
04:03Originally, it was a very large cordon.
04:06It was spanning from St Margaret's Junction all the way down just past Lloyd's Bank there
04:12on the high street.
04:14Also, it's been released that the four men arrested were all in their 20s, as well as
04:19the victim, who we now know is 23.
04:22As part of that investigation, it has been released that there were additional searches
04:27carried out at properties in Herne-by-High Street and near Pine Tree Avenue in Canterbury.
04:33So, yeah, that's all very interesting, and there's going to be more developments.
04:38I think at this stage in the investigation, it's too soon to make any claims about anything
04:43we don't really know, and when I was down there earlier myself, it was very hard to
04:47see what was going on.
04:49It was, in fact, a layered cordon, which means that there's a certain level that the public
04:55can't get by, but then there's another layer within that that only the forensics team were
04:59allowed in.
05:00So, it's still very new, very fresh, and we only know this much so far.
05:05Finn, thank you very much for those extra details.
05:09Moving on, a man's been sentenced to prison after running over a Kent police officer who
05:13attempted to pull him over for speeding.
05:1524-year-old Barry Rossiter from Ashford sped off after knocking PC Adam Stalton to the
05:20ground whilst driving a Vauxhall Vectra in January of this year.
05:24Canterbury Crown Court has heard that Mr Rossiter then, after making his mistake, drove dangerously
05:30on the wrong side of the road before mounting a pavement and colliding with a vehicle carrying
05:34elderly passengers.
05:36After pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, Mr Rossiter's now
05:41been handed a prison sentence of 10 years.
05:45Well next tonight, a bit more of an upbeat story now, with pop star Olly Murs as the
05:49first name to be announced for the Margate Summer Series at Dreamland in 2025.
05:54The former X Factor contestant has performed at the venue before, back in 2023, and it's
05:58one of his many stops along his run of tour dates next year, including the O2 Arena.
06:03The Coastal Concert is going to take place on August 15th, with Olly being joined by
06:08award-winning artist Lamar.
06:10The summer series had a run of shows last year as well, featuring artists such as Rudimental
06:14and Polona Faith.
06:18A Dartford cafe has closed permanently after Regeneration Works, saying roadworks have
06:22killed footfall and made it impossible to pay rent.
06:26Alison's Pantry was set up by Jason Astle in memory of his partner, who died during
06:30the pandemic, but he says it's impossible for the business to survive.
06:36Dartford Borough Council says it's working to resolve issues facing businesses, and that
06:40these works are vital.
06:43Last orders for a Dartford cafe struggling to get feet through the door.
06:48Alison's Pantry says roadworks at the intersection with Highfield Road, West Hill, Spital Street
06:54and the A226 have driven people away, and that it can't afford to continue.
07:01We've got roadworks, basically none outside the shop, that's removed 85% of my trade.
07:10I've lost all my morning trade and most of my lunchtime trade, and it's no longer able
07:14to sustain that up for any time to keep paying the bills.
07:20The works, which started on August 28th, are part of regeneration efforts for the town,
07:26and are expected to last for another five months.
07:31But for Jason, who started the business in his partner's memory, this isn't good enough.
07:37Yes, so the roadworks are on now until the end of March, and that's only phase two, and
07:42there's another two more phases with no timescales given.
07:45If customers are coming by car, they have to wait in the long queues, and then have
07:50to do a detour to get in and out, and it's just taking them forever so that they don't
07:56have time, especially if they've gone to breakfast break or lunch break.
08:00People walking, if they're coming further around from Dartford, they're instructed basically
08:05not to come past the shop.
08:07Dartford Borough Council, who believe the works are vital, say they have been in close
08:12contact with businesses since they began, and are working with their contractor to address
08:19any issues raised by businesses during this time.
08:25But for this pantry, the writing is already on the wall.
08:30Oliver Leeders-Saxe for KNTV in Dartford.
08:35In sport, the board of Gillingham FCs voted to remove former club chairman and owner Paul
08:39Scalley as director.
08:41It comes after Mr Scalley spoke out about the vote, saying he'd felt isolated from the
08:45club, claiming there was an attempt to destroy him.
08:49The now owner, Brad Gallinson, told around 400 fans at an open forum on Thursday evening
08:54that he was frustrated in what little could be said about the departure.
09:00I've invested 29 years of my life in trying to enable the club to fulfil its huge potential.
09:07Other words of now ex-director and former owner of Gillingham FC, as the club's board
09:12of directors have overwhelmingly voted to reject his involvement.
09:16Back in 1995, Paul Scalley purchased the Medway club for a grand total of one pound, taking
09:22on debt estimated to have been up to two million pounds at the time.
09:26What followed was a golden era for the club, spending five years in the championship, making
09:30three trips to Wembley and rebuilding Priestfield Stadium.
09:34But in recent years, the relationship between Scalley and the fans has started to drift.
09:39I think we need to draw a line under what's been in the past.
09:42There's been good, there's been bad, there's all sorts of controversy, there's a lot of
09:46things been stated about the former chairman, the owner.
09:50It's time that we did move on.
09:52We've got new owners in the club who are very positive.
09:55So after relinquishing ownership in 2022 to American business tycoon Brad Gallinson, Scalley
10:01remained on the board, but following what the club has described as an investigation,
10:05a vote has now been passed to remove him entirely.
10:08However, writing on his website, Scalley says he believes he or someone of his choosing
10:13is entitled to remain on the board of directors, something the club has rejected as a legal
10:17misconception.
10:19It's expected now that Scalley, who still has a 30% minority stake, may look to challenge
10:24the decision.
10:25Obviously, we would think there would be at least one question about the board of directors
10:29issue that's been going on.
10:30At a fan forum, the issue was quickly raised, but Mr Gallinson says his cards were forced
10:35to stay close to his chest.
10:36We are very frustrated with how little we can say about it.
10:39So number one is that Mr Scalley was removed as a director earlier today, both at the football
10:46club and GFC Holdings.
10:49So that was concluded.
10:54So whilst fans hope to see how this off-pitch drama plays out, the hope is that Gillingham
10:59can keep its eye on the ball on the pitch and move forward into a new era of stability
11:04and success.
11:05Bartholomew Hall for CAME TV.
11:09Time now for a very quick break, but coming up, I'll be joined here in the studio by our
11:14politics show producer, Oliver Leder de Sacks, to take a look back at Kent's week in Westminster.
11:20And Henry Luck has been looking into the importance of maintaining emotional health in his visit
11:24to Kent County Council's big mental health exhibit.
11:28Plus, we'll have the weather and of course, looking back over some of those beautiful
11:31pictures of the Aurora Borealis showing up in Kent over the night.
11:36Don't go anywhere. We'll have plenty more after this break.
14:57Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live on CAME TV.
15:17Now Friday means another episode of the Kent Politics Show here on CAME TV.
15:21And if you missed tonight's show, it was another cracking one.
15:24Joining me in the studio is the show's producer, Oliver Leder de Sacks.
15:27Thank you very much for being here, Ollie.
15:29But you're also going to take us a bit through Kent's week in Westminster as well.
15:33What can you tell us about this week?
15:34A lot of delays, delays of the Lower Thames Crossing, obviously a huge infrastructure
15:39project, 15 years going and we still have not a single shovel in the ground after the
15:45decision was delayed till next year.
15:46Delays on the exit entry system due to the EU.
15:50The other thing I think can really say for definite was the Conservative leadership context.
15:55Next couple of rounds, Tom Tugendhat out, James Cleverley shockingly out as well.
16:01It's a battle of the hard right for the party now.
16:03Robert Jenrick, Cammy Balladoc, it's all to play for for them.
16:06And of course, it was a topic that made it onto the Kent Politics Show this evening.
16:10What can you tell us about that?
16:11Well, Clare Pearsall, the former government adviser on immigration, in fact, has some
16:15quite strong words on it, as did Jonathan Hawkes, the opposition leader at Dartford
16:20Borough Council for Labour.
16:21And we're hearing about their debate right now.
16:24Chasing after reform voters when you are looking like you are the light version of
16:29reform is never going to work because people are just going to go for the full fat version
16:33and have done with it.
16:34But I think that the Labour Party also needs to perhaps have a look and see what mess
16:39they're in at the moment after the first hundred days.
16:41It hasn't gone terribly well.
16:43You need to have a good team around you.
16:45And I think the Conservative Party could send you a salutary lesson in looking at the
16:49individuals you have and who is in your cabinet.
16:51Well, I read it like I read it.
16:52While the Conservative Party are looking inwards at the moment, Labour are delivering for residents
16:57in Kent, whether that's the New Deal for working people, whether that's taking railways back
17:01into public ownership, whether that's their GB Energy.
17:04Other than that, if you're a vulnerable pensioner, I think that you're not going to feel quite
17:10so happy with your decision.
17:12Well, Ollie, it looks like another cracking episode, of course, can be watched on our
17:16website, kmtv.co.uk, or repeating over the weekend, of course.
17:20Ollie, thank you.
17:21Moving on now, frustration for drivers as Kent motorists have been forced to use a contraflow
17:26system to get through to the A229 tunnel single lane under 50 mile per hour restriction.
17:33It's the Thanet Way one up towards Whitstable.
17:36However, earlier this month, it was reported that the tunnel would have to stay partially
17:40closed until the end of October.
17:42So what is taking so long?
17:43Finn McDermid has been to the tunnel to find out more.
17:47The infamous A299's tunnel contraflow system is going to be lifted this month after being
17:51extended to the end of October, which the public weren't pleased with.
17:55The engineers and officials tell us they can reopen the tunnel fully once the fans are
17:59refurbished.
18:00In June, it closed the London bound side around the clock, forcing cars through a single lane
18:04each and putting a 40 mile an hour restriction on the tunnel after an issue with the jet
18:08fans was discovered during an inspection.
18:11The original plan to replace the fans was said to take three months, but after realising
18:15this would need an entire reconstruction and redesign, meaning the contraflow would
18:19last up to 12 months, they then decided to refurbish the existing fans, leading to the
18:24end date of October.
18:26There are not many places that you can get fans.
18:29You can't walk into a DIY store.
18:31These are incredibly large bits of equipment.
18:33A decision was then made actually, having looked at it, having got the consultants in
18:37and seeing what could be done.
18:39If we were to get a brand new set of kit in, up to modern regulations, that would involve
18:44having the contraflow in place for a significantly longer amount of period, perhaps 18 months,
18:49perhaps longer, whereas the decision was made actually by a lot of the hard work of the
18:52crews here and the team.
18:54Now there's 32 fans in total in this tunnel, 16 either side, and they take 17,500 watts
19:02to power.
19:03That's roughly equivalent to the daily power it takes for an average household in the UK.
19:08So getting them replaced or refurbished is no small feat.
19:11The fans are two metres long, and they're there primarily for safety, able to push smoke
19:15out in the event of a fire, and on a day-to-day basis, they keep the air clear.
19:19While the tunnels have more fans than they actually need, it's part of their many safety
19:23practices they comply with.
19:25So whilst there are 16 fans in both bores, so there's 32 overall, we can operate the
19:31tunnel safely and meet the best practice with 14.
19:35That means that if we do have a failure, we don't have to shut the road, we don't have
19:38to put the contraflow on, we can operate the spare fans, so to speak, to achieve the
19:43same end and move the air, move the smoke, and allow access.
19:47While the tunnel used to be at the national speed limit of 70, evidence has come to show
19:51that won't be safe, leading them to keep the 40mph limit even after the contraflow
19:56is finished.
19:58The efforts of the engineers aren't all just to keep up, however.
20:01They have their sights set on installing a new ventilation system that can last the next
20:0525 years, and they say the refurbished fans will give them the time to properly implement
20:10this change.
20:11Finn McDermott for KMTV in Chestfield.
20:14Now don't forget, you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across the county
20:18by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
20:22When you get there, you'll find all of our reports, including this one about an increase
20:25in young people turning to vaping across the county who haven't previously smoked cigarettes.
20:31A new study has found that 1 million people in England vape, even though they had never
20:36smoked regularly beforehand.
20:38The amount of people using vapes in this way has dramatically increased in the past few
20:43years as figures show that in 2021 the amount of people using vapes was 1 in 200, but this
20:50year it has risen to 1 in 28.
20:53This increase has been largely driven by young adults who had never regularly smoked before.
20:59It has also been found that vape sales are the highest amongst people aged 16 to 24.
21:04I've been stood outside of this vape shop in Gillingham for about an hour now, and I've
21:08already noticed a lot of young people coming into the store, buying vapes, and showing
21:12a lot of interest in different flavours and varieties that they have to offer.
21:16I think mostly the packaging as well, and the flavours as well, yeah.
21:20I feel like they do put the flavours out for kids, like strawberry unicorn and all stuff
21:25like that.
21:26I think it's good for young kids, and how colourful they are, whereas if you bought
21:29cigarettes they'd be like, it says on it this will kill you if you smoke it, but actual
21:33vapes are all colourful, like this one is literally bright green.
21:38Health experts are concerned with these new findings, and suggest stricter regulations
21:42to make the vapes look less appealing.
21:44We do worry about younger people taking up anything with nicotine in it, because of the
21:49fact that certain things like their brains are still developing, and their bodies are
21:53still developing, so the effect of nicotine is likely to have a larger effect.
21:58Also if they get hooked in childhood or teenage years, and they carry on for longer term,
22:04that's a longer period of time during which they're exposed to potential hazards, and
22:08that can then lead to problems.
22:10Although plans have already been made to ban disposable vapes, many brands have already
22:14started releasing reusable products, which are marketed in the same way and have the
22:19same appeal as the disposable ones.
22:21Kristin Hawthorne, KMTV, in Gillingham.
22:26And plenty more reports just like that available on our website, as I said, kmtv.co.uk.
22:31Now let's take a look at the weather over the weekend.
22:40Cool start tonight then, with lows of 9 degrees in Maidstone, Chatham and Sunbridge Wells.
22:46As we head into Saturday morning, we have some sunshine in areas around the Margate
22:50and Ashford Way, climbing to a warm 12 degrees.
22:54Here's the afternoon, expect a cloudy sky, temperatures in the east reaching 13.
23:00Here's the outlook as we head into next week then, sunshine and clouds again for the rest
23:04of it, 17 is your high.
23:16Finally this evening, around 200 children from schools across Kent have come together
23:19this week for Kent County Council's Big Mental Health Conversation Exhibition.
23:26Taking place close to World Mental Health Day of course this week, the event highlights
23:29the importance of maintaining emotional health through a variety of workshops and therapy
23:34sessions.
23:35It comes as more and more children are accessing wellbeing services here in the county, as
23:38Henry Luck has been finding out.
23:41It's a topic that often goes under the radar, but more young people are opening up about
23:46it.
23:48To mark World National Health Day, Kent County Council invited pupils and students to Maidstone's
23:55Detling Showground to show them the importance of emotional wellbeing for its third annual
24:01Big Conversation event.
24:03World Mental Health Day was established in 1992 by Richard Hunter, who was the Deputy
24:10Security General of the World Federation of Mental Health.
24:15It has the goal of spreading awareness on the topic of emotional and psychological wellbeing.
24:21It's very important because I think young people are especially susceptible to vulnerability
24:25around mental health, and especially young men and boys don't tend to talk about things
24:29like this, so to have the ability to all come together and really be open about how we find
24:34our mental health and what we can do to improve it is really useful for students and I think
24:37it's a great event for them.
24:39A marketplace with organisers such as MIND were displayed alongside therapy pets and
24:45mindfulness workshops.
24:47Standing behind me is the pony Taffy and she is serving as a therapy pony here at Detling
24:55Showground.
24:57Ponies are often used as therapy pets because of their calming nature.
25:02Supporting Kent County Council is the NHS, who have seen more and more young people use
25:09their services in the past year.
25:11So we are getting more and more children using our NHS services, so it's really important
25:17that we work together with other partners to ensure that we are providing as many services
25:22to as many children as possible.
25:25Kent County Council is also trying to fund a new therapeutic support service to report
25:30the current counselling service for children and young people, hoping to continue breaking
25:37down barriers.
25:38What we're finding is that there are too many young people for us to offer that service
25:42in a very sensible way, they're having to wait and it's a one-to-one counselling service.
25:46So we're consulting with young people about perhaps offering a slightly different service
25:51whereby we're looking at group work, therapeutic work and there'll still be one-to-one counselling
25:58but a much greater spectrum of mental health support.
26:03Henry Luck for KMTV in Maidstone.
26:08Now just before we go this evening, did you catch a glimpse of the spectacular Northern
26:11Lights shining over Kent last night?
26:14Well here's some photos and videos of the dazzling natural phenomenon, also known as
26:18the aurora borealis, were captured across the county.
26:21The Northern Lights are caused by Earth's magnetic field combining with the sun's atmosphere
26:26to make that beautiful sight.
26:28Particles are thrown out from the sun during large solar explosions and flares.
26:34Of course, what a lovely sight.
26:35You've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV, there's plenty more news made just for
26:39Kent throughout the evening.
26:41Thank you very much for watching, bye bye.