Catch up with all the leasts news from across the country with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentsonite live on KMTV.
00:27I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Friday the 24th of January.
00:32Anti-social action. Police start dispersal order to stop intimidating behaviour on Sittingbourne
00:38High Street.
00:39I think it's a very good idea. The police should really crack down on it.
00:44Rolling with the punches. Medway Skating Club battles with the council over bigger halls.
00:49Without a shadow of a doubt we need a bigger space. They are almost knocking the walls
00:53down in this place. It is nowhere near big enough.
00:56And have you said something nice to someone you love? It's National Compliment Day and
01:01we've got Kent caring.
01:02I mean everybody needs to sort of feel good about themselves, even if it's just a small
01:07compliment.
01:18Good evening. Police in Sittingbourne have been given new powers to try and stop constant
01:23anti-social behaviour in the high street. Locals hope the dispersal order put in place
01:28from today will stop large groups of young people intimidating residents and damaging
01:32businesses as they could face legal action.
01:35Finn McDermott has been speaking to businesses in Sittingbourne.
01:39Verbal harassment, loitering and in some cases property damage. These are all things that
01:44Sittingbourne residents say they see in their high street every day from groups of young
01:48people.
01:49So this weekend Kent Police are placing a dispersal order covering all open spaces,
01:54alleyways and footpaths around the high street, retail park, train station and recreation
01:58ground.
01:59This will give police extra powers to force people engaging in anti-social behaviour to
02:03leave the area and not to return for a certain time.
02:06While some businesses believe the order might help change things, others aren't so optimistic.
02:10The people that are causing all the problems are youngsters anyway that the police can't
02:16do anything about. So no, I don't think it will have any effect.
02:20It's a real pain. You see the kids coming up and down the high street, stealing from
02:25the food shops, ripping off the foam off of the scaffolding and generally being a nuisance.
02:34Back in the day it would never have happened. Proper policing, proper parenting and the kids
02:40wouldn't behave the way they do.
02:42I've been speaking to businesses across the high street all day today and there's certainly
02:45been a range of opinions. Some believe that the problem is actually being blown out of
02:49proportion and it's just kids being a nuisance more than anything. But others have reported
02:54direct damage to their properties such as smashed windows or produce being kicked over.
02:59The high street is also under a public spaces protection order for drinking alcohol in public.
03:04But similarly, locals say that it isn't enforced, leading them to doubt the dispersal order's
03:08effectiveness.
03:09It's necessary, unfortunately, but it won't have a lot of impact because they don't take
03:14any notice. In fact, it could bring a few more in, just to be devilish.
03:21I think it would. I think with them getting scared of the police, I think then things
03:29should work for the best.
03:30I think it's a very good idea. The police should really crack down on it. It's bad round
03:37here.
03:38According to Kent Police, the areas in this dispersal order are already being regularly
03:42patrolled every day of the week. Anyone causing a nuisance and instructed to move on can be
03:46arrested if they return to the area.
03:48Whilst dispersal orders are only a temporary measure, I'd like to reassure residents there
03:52is a great deal of other work ongoing to tackle anti-social behaviour in Sittingbourne. This
03:56includes officers working closely with youth organisations and schools, and we also visit
04:00the homes of young offenders to issue warning notices and encourage parents to take a proactive
04:05role in supporting the police.
04:07Despite the frequent anti-social behaviour, some locals still spoke of their love for
04:10the town, its history and its people, and hoped that the police's order might make the
04:15town centre safer.
04:17Finn McDermid for KMTV in Sittingbourne.
04:20Finn joins me in the studio now. Finn, you've actually been down to Sittingbourne of an
04:25evening, that's how you got that footage, and saw all the sort of anti-social behaviour
04:29that's been happening, and that was a couple of months ago, so this is a constant issue
04:33for the area. Tell us about the scope.
04:36Well, it goes back for a while. I mean, even just like you mentioned, being on that one
04:40night out in Sittingbourne, and going down the road and having them, you know, just pulling
04:45on the car, trying to open the doors, things like that. I mean, last year there were multiple
04:49reports of disorder. In November, staff were assaulted in McDonald's by several teenagers,
04:54there was an incident at Christmas, during the switch-on of the Christmas lights, and
04:58now into the new year we've been seeing these emerging videos of young people in hoodies
05:01tearing the foam off of scaffolding and just sort of hitting each other with it. But like
05:06I mentioned in the package, at its most extreme are these instances of windows getting smashed,
05:11boxes of produce getting kicked over, that's the most worrying for people and businesses
05:15on that high street especially.
05:16And the hope is, by seeing those officers, those cars patrolling the streets, that it'll
05:20actually do something. So tell us about the dispersal order itself.
05:23Well, it started earlier at 3pm and it's lasting until Sunday night, and like I mentioned,
05:29it means in surrounding areas around the town centre, like the high street and the
05:33retail park, police have the power to ban people from the area and forbid them from
05:38returning in a certain time. But this isn't actually the first time that a dispersal order
05:42has been put into effect. Back in June 2023, they did it not once but for two weekends
05:48in a row. It was put over the same area and Kent Police specified that residents and businesses
05:53continue to raise concerns about nuisance behaviour in the town centre, including the
05:57reckless use of bikes and e-scooters. So that was a big concern of some residents,
06:02that this has been done before, so what's going to change this time?
06:06Alright, Finn, and we'll be looking towards those solutions as well and see if this is
06:10effective over the weekend. Finn, thank you very much.
06:15Now next this evening, a discount store in Dartford's Orchard Shopping Centre has lost
06:19£25,000 worth of stock due to a suspected arson attack on the owner's lorry. The vehicle
06:25was unable to be saved by firefighters and emergency services, causing it to become completely
06:30ruined along with the uninsured items inside. The store, Nice Price, owned by Matt Fireman,
06:37is a family-owned business and has been open for 17 years. But with more on this story
06:41is Kristen Hawthorne.
06:44This dramatic footage shows a suspected arson attack on a lorry behind the Orchard Shopping
06:50Centre in Dartford.
06:51As soon as the security sit down the phone, your lorry's on fire, just the worst thoughts
06:55go through your mind because obviously I knew what was on the lorry regarding all the stock
06:58which comes to a lot of money, so I got here as quick as I can and then when I arrived
07:02there was fire engines, police and the whole lorry was on fire. Obviously seen the worst.
07:09The fire that destroyed the vehicle caused the owner of the discount store, Nice Price,
07:14to lose £25,000 of new toys, blankets and bedding stock.
07:20Hiya, welcome to Nice Price in the Orchard Shopping Centre in Dartford. So just to let
07:25everyone know, loads and loads of messages, lovely customers coming into the shop as well,
07:29maybe a lot of people don't even know but unfortunately and sadly on Saturday night
07:34we was a target of an arson attack on our big Del Boy in red lorry. We lost a lot of
07:39stock so thank you for all the people coming into the shop, seeing how we are. Obviously
07:45we're fine but we've lost the whole lorry and loads and loads of stock so just for a
07:48couple of weeks the shop might be a little bit low.
07:51The vehicle that he loved and named Del Boy was completely gutted by the fire, leaving
07:56nothing but charred remains.
07:58What you can see, we've lost the whole lorry. The lorry's insured thankfully but everything
08:02inside the lorry wasn't insured so we've lost obviously all the stock for the shop, all
08:05the contents, all the extra stuff that we need to go into the shop. So yeah, all the
08:10stock basically has been lost now.
08:11The lorry was parked underneath the shopping centre's car park, which has since been closed
08:16for safety reviews to take place. However, not all has been lost as Matt has received
08:21support from regular customers and suppliers offering to replace his stock.
08:26Yeah, it's actually been really, really nice for all the support that's come because we've
08:29been in Dartford for 17 years with a shop nice price. So to get all the phone calls,
08:33all the messages, all the lovely customers coming into the shop, that's been really nice.
08:37And then all the suppliers who I buy the stuff from, they've all reached out to say like
08:40Matt, do you want any stock? It's been really nice, yeah. Loads of support.
08:44Police have confirmed they are investigating the suspected arson attack and have since
08:49arrested a 39-year-old man in connection with the incident.
08:53Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV.
08:58Next this evening, three men have today been sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court following
09:02a large-scale clocking scam. They pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud after a Trading
09:08Standards investigation found more than two million miles were wound back on at least
09:1322 used cars. Between 2016 and 2018, 22 unsuspecting buyers have been victims and it's thought
09:22they've lost thousands. Local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has been in court today.
09:27It's a scam that saw more than two million miles wound back on at least 22 used vehicles,
09:33known as giving vehicles a haircut. This CCTV footage shows Thomas Hamilton, 34,
09:39of Huguenin Avenue in Broadstairs, plugging in his laptop and tampering with the dashboard.
09:44Two other key players were involved, 34-year-old Ryan Reagan of Wallace Way Broadstairs and
09:49Darren Craddock, 59, of Beach Avenue Chatham. Based in Sandwich, they bought high-mileage
09:54cars at auction before selling them online across the country, profiting by some £80,000.
10:00They all pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Today at Canterbury Crown Court,
10:06Justice Fowler sentenced Mr Reagan and Hamilton to a two-year suspended sentence and Mr Craddock
10:11to a 20-month suspended sentence, with them expected to pay compensation and 200 hours of
10:17unpaid work each. We had the assistance of Kent Police and North Yorkshire Trading Standards
10:23and we were supported throughout by the National Trading Standards regional investigation team.
10:29And your reaction to today? It's good. It's a good sentence. We're pleased we've got to where
10:35we are. The only thing that is disappointing is because of the significant court delays and the
10:41process, we've had to wait. It's caused complications with taking the case through the courts and of
10:49course it's also delayed justice for the victims. This is Ragu's new car, but in 2016 he was
10:54fraudulently sold a VW Golf after he brought it. He was worried about the lack of service history.
11:00Well once I found out that the mileage was incorrect, I contacted Trading Standards.
11:09You've lost £3,000 from this. How do you feel about all of it? I mean the only
11:15thing for me is that I could have afforded to lose that much. Not that that makes it
11:22much better, but obviously there are people worse off than me who may have been more adversely
11:28affected. Trading Standards has cross-reference information on more than 200 vehicles handled by
11:34the group. The legal case delayed because of the pandemic, but today justice served.
11:40Gabriel Morris at Canterbury Crown Court. Time for a quick break now. More news from Kent coming
11:46up after the break, including a Medway Roller Dance Club who have been fighting to get a bigger
11:51hall to practice in. Even I strapped on a pair of skates and had a go. You can see that after this
11:56very short break.
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15:11Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV. A new American president, a landmark climate
15:17bill. They're both just some of the headlines capturing the imagination of Kent's politicians
15:22this week. What does any of it mean for us here in the county? We're fresh off the Kent Politics
15:26Show. Our producer Oliver Lleida-DaSax joins me now. Oliver, tell me, the climate and nature bill
15:34in Parliament today, what exactly happened?
15:37Abi, it's been a very interesting one because it's kind of flown under the radar, but it's
15:40quite a landmark bill given what it's calling for. It's calling for strict measures that basically
15:47mean the government will have to meet their targets on climate change legally. It was introduced by a
15:54Prime Member's bill by a Liberal Democrat. So obviously it requires a lot of cross-party
15:58consensus. I was talking to Mike Martin earlier today. It required lots of negotiations. It's
16:03had bill sponsors from across the House, including a Kent MP, Sir Roger Gale. But it's actually kind
16:10of an interesting situation in terms of what's happened to it because it's actually been
16:16adjourned. What that basically means is that the Liberal Democrats in the government, they've come
16:21to an agreement, they've negotiated, the bill's being kind of put to one side for the moment
16:27while the government gives concessions out. You find out more about that on the Kent Politics Show,
16:32which will be on our website later. But let's hear from Sir Roger Gale, one of the bill sponsors,
16:36who talks about why he supported the bill in the first place.
16:41A lot of what I was able to see as a child, in terms of butterflies, birds, bees, fish,
16:47have all gone. Some of them are extinct. Some of them are on the edge of extinction,
16:52like the hedgehog. And I think that's terrible. So as I said in the debate, this bill is by no
16:59means perfect. There's a lot wrong with it that'll have to be put right and amended in committee,
17:04but I still believe that given that the future of our world is at stake, not just our nation,
17:12we have a duty to try to take the necessary measures.
17:18Sir Roger Gale there on the climate and nature bill. But we can't obviously talk about one of
17:23the biggest political stories of the year, Donald Trump's inauguration, Ollie.
17:28Yeah, so while that may be on the shelf for the time being, this man here certainly isn't. He's
17:34been busy, hard at work, more than 60 executive orders on everything from renaming the Gulf of
17:42Panama to the Gulf of America to, of course, big issues like tariffs, which can have a huge impact
17:49on the global economy. Twenty five percent for Canada and Mexico. Could we be next? Who
17:55really knows? One thing we do know is he's quite fierce on Ukraine at the moment,
18:01which is something that Mike Martin, who's on the Defence Select Committee and his time with
18:05Wells MP, knows quite a lot about. And he's worried that while Trump's making a lot of
18:10positive noises on the Ukraine war, it may not go the way we might expect in the coming months
18:18or years. The one thing I would caution, though, is that the ending of the Ukraine war has the
18:26it might lead to the European position and the American position diverging.
18:33And the Americans and the Europeans have been united about European security since the Second
18:38World War, really. And we need to be very, very, very careful that with President Trump in a rush
18:44to a deal that the American and the European positions don't diverge, because that would be
18:49catastrophic for the wider European security and the basis on which that security rests.
19:02Certainly a lot to discuss on that one, Ollie, and something you spoke about in the Kent Politics
19:06Show. Yes, of course. It's a bit of a chaotic one. I've had to step in at the last minute,
19:12but it's lots and lots to talk about. Obviously, we saw that housing prices were a big issue for
19:16Kent. So find that on our website a bit later this evening. Oliver, thank you very much.
19:21Next this evening, a roller dance club in Medway have been campaigning to use a bigger hall for
19:26more than a decade. They say Medway Park would be the ideal location to train for national and
19:32international skating competitions. The council have told them the large hall just isn't suitable,
19:38but the club that's been running since the 40s say it won't stop them trying to find a
19:43perfect home for the growing sport. One of the oldest of its kind in Kent,
19:50Medway Roller Dance Club have been skating since 1949. Groups of all abilities and ages are
19:57currently in training, some for the 2025 national competitions and some for the British Championships.
20:05But a battle with Medway Council about space to practice in has taken centre stage.
20:11Medway Park has got fantastic facilities there, which we have used their smaller hall before,
20:17which they've now re-coated, but it's not suitable for us because it's too sticky. But their larger
20:23hall, which I know they have some fantastic events on in there, we've tried to use since 2012, but
20:29we've never been able to use it, unfortunately, and without really a reason. This is only four
20:36courts and we really struggle to get everything on, especially for championships, because they
20:41have huge floors they have to skate on. In a statement, Medway Council said,
20:45unfortunately, the large hall at Medway Park is not suitable for skating, which the club have
20:50been advised of. We have discussed the possibility of the club using the smaller hall, which has
20:56recently been upgraded and can be used for skating. However, the club did not find the surface
21:01suitable. They feel that we're damaging it, but they haven't actually seen the skates and that
21:07they wouldn't actually damage the floor at all. I mean, this equipment is £500 plus they spend
21:14on these skates. They just wouldn't, they wouldn't ruin the floor. While the search for a bigger hall
21:20continues, the skaters have another challenge to face too, in getting their sport more widely
21:26recognised by authorities here in the UK. Ice skating is so big and it is the equivalent,
21:33like we are just doing the same thing and so many of the rules are out of line as well now.
21:36Post-COVID, we've seen a real increase in skaters all the way through, like people just coming in
21:41and just trying it one day and staying with us. So I think there's definitely a space for it to
21:45grow, but it's quite big in this part of the country, so we're just a small part of that,
21:50but quite a big club. So do they have any room for one more?
21:58So I managed to find these at the back of the cupboard, blown off the dust. I've skated a few
22:03times in my life, but not quite to the level that these guys are at. So Sam and Nathan are
22:08going to give me a bit of a lesson. Wish me luck. So the instructors would have put me around a
22:15level one, even with that performance. But when you compare my work to that of the competitors...
22:21Elegance, elegance.
22:22You can see why they train for months.
22:28I spoke too soon.
22:30So no medals for me, but this club will continue to keep their eyes on the prize
22:36and on a bigger haul. Abbey Hook for KMTV in Gillingham.
22:46And I'll keep practicing now. Of course, let's take a look over at the weather now. It's been
22:51cold, windy and wet. Of course, we had that health alert as well for that poor weather in the storm
22:57Iowan. So let's take a look at what we're going to experience over the next few days.
23:06This evening's looking pretty mild and nice and dry, thankfully, after all that stormy weather.
23:13Lows of six degrees there and pretty cold tomorrow, too. Not much wind at all. You'll
23:18be pleased to know. Perhaps some sun behind the clouds there into the afternoon. Those clouds
23:23going away. Sunshine right across the county. Temperatures predominantly six degrees. Some lows
23:28of five there. But the next few days don't look much brighter. Some rain coming right into Tuesday.
23:34Lows of eight degrees, highs of nine, but perhaps some rainbows with some sunshine.
23:44Now, after weeks of voting, listeners of our sister station, KMFM, have officially named one
23:50of Kent's Gritters. That's right, to go alongside the likes of Darth Gritter and Brad Grit.
23:55Suggestions from listeners were whittled down to five finalists with the names revealed earlier
24:00this evening. Well, the finalists were Luke Grittler, Orlando Blooming Cold, Grittasaurus Rex,
24:06Claudia Sprinkleman, Control Salt Delete. But here's DJ Ben Pearce explaining exactly how
24:13the competition came about. We always salute the Kent Gritters. I feel like they're unsung heroes
24:18in the county because they're the guys that keep us moving when the roads go to pot, basically.
24:24We were just like, do you know what would be cool if we could actually name a Kent Gritter?
24:28And then all of a sudden, I get a call last Wednesday from Gary, who's part of the Kent
24:33Gritting team. So he actually drives the gritting machines out there and lays the salt on the roads.
24:38And his Gritter has no name. So he offered up the opportunity for the KMFM listeners to name
24:46his Gritter, basically. And that's where it all stemmed from. And after nearly 400 votes,
24:52I can reveal the winning name that Ben announced on KMFM's Getting You Home
24:56is Grittasaurus Rex. The name, chosen by Katie Charlier from Dover, will now be printed onto
25:02the side of the vehicle. And you can head to KMFM's Instagram to hear her reaction.
25:07Wow, what a result for Katie there. And finally, this evening, have you brightened someone's day
25:12with a kind word? Well, today is National Compliment Day, a perfect excuse to spread
25:17some positivity with your partner, family, or friends. So we headed to Rochester to find out
25:23how much of a difference a simple compliment can make, and see if anyone was making the effort to
25:27be a little bit nicer today. Yeah, I mean, everybody needs to sort of feel good about
25:32themselves. And even if it's just a small compliment, like your hair looks good today,
25:37or your lipstick looks nice. And I think it's really good. It does actually cheer you up for
25:41the day. We don't love one another enough. We're totally indifferent. Well, we seem to be totally
25:46indifferent in this country to each other. And I think if you've got something good to say,
25:51I think it creates a lot of peace and happiness rather than criticism, which we often get.
25:57You've got lovely eyes. And it's just, you are just really amazing partner in crime,
26:07I would say, in life, because you're always supportive. I think personally, for me,
26:14it was meeting Rachel. She's come into my life at the right time.
26:19That's the best compliment I've received, is that I've come into it.
26:22My actual decent moments, you're 100% behind me, because we go through this together.
26:31Together. Right, now you can throw up.
26:36Well, go ahead, go and give someone a compliment this evening and have a
26:40wonderful weekend, because that's all from me and the Kentonite team. See you soon. Bye-bye.