Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader de Saxe.
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00:00Good evening and welcome to Kentonite live here on KMTV.
00:29I'm Oliver Leader-de-Sachs and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 11th of February.
00:36No more mobiles?
00:37Ashford School phone ban brings down bullying.
00:40Yeah, it helps me but also others in our class because some people on their phones distract
00:44other students.
00:45Clarity or chaos as fears grow over changes to Tunbridge Wells bus lane signage.
00:54They've ignored all of that and now they're making the situation much, much worse.
00:58And KMTV makes history with our brand new show, Kent Chronicles.
01:16First tonight, could you live without your phone?
01:20Well one school in Ashford has been putting that to the test, seeing a five year low in
01:24bullying and harassment since banning phones during school hours.
01:29It comes as Kent Police and Crime Commissioners Youth and Parents Survey shows that around
01:34a third of primary and secondary school students have been bullied or picked on online.
01:40Our reporter Kristen Hawthorne went to the John Wallace Academy to see if going offline
01:45is the best way to keep bullies in line.
01:48I actually do like it because for me it helps me and my friends try to communicate more
01:54and we focus more on lessons, I feel like we progress more on lessons.
01:59How much do you use your phone during the day?
02:02Well for the pupils at John Wallace School in Ashford, they use their phones very little
02:07and say that others should do the same.
02:09As part of their uniform, students at this school are given one of these pouches where
02:13at the start of the day they have to put their phone in and lock it where it stays in their
02:17backpack until the end of the day where they can unlock it using one of these magnets that
02:21are dotted around the skull and then it opens back up again.
02:25Yeah, it helps me but also others in our class because some people on their phones distract
02:30other students but as a whole community we're able to focus more.
02:34It opened your attention span as well and it gave you more time to focus on lessons
02:38rather than constantly hearing notifications in your bag because you've got that access
02:43to your phone.
02:44Now I can go play sport, I can do stuff like that without being, oh why are you not on
02:48your phone?
02:49Why are you not responding to my text in lesson?
02:52Usually when you find yourself on your phone for a long period of time you kind of get
02:56distracted and you don't see what's going on around you.
03:00I think it's just made me realise that like the fact that a lot of this information is
03:04also in books.
03:06Once the ban was set in place, teachers at the school maintained to pupils that this
03:10change was not a punishment but rather something they should be excited about.
03:15So initially there was a disbelief, students were kind of a bit shocked, are you really
03:20going to take our phones away from us?
03:24But then when we explained it and we explained that this wasn't a punitive, this wasn't a
03:27punishment, we weren't taking something away, we were actually giving them back childhood,
03:32we were giving them back that ability to have meaningful conversations.
03:36We've introduced this for a year now.
03:38We've seen harmful online abusive behaviour, cyberbullying, that type of behaviour has
03:43reduced by 80%.
03:46But it's not just the pupils that have benefited from the change, as staff retention rates
03:50have seen a 12% reduction since the ban began.
03:54The shift in children's mobile usage, however, goes far beyond just this school.
03:59The crime commissioner for Kent said that it is more important now than ever that we
04:03talk about the problems that social media, smartphones and online bullying are causing
04:08to young people.
04:09We need to support schools in implementing smartphone policies.
04:13Anyone can become attached to checking and using their phone, causing many of us to depend
04:18on them during social situations and for information.
04:21But with phone bans being introduced for the younger generation, this problem could change
04:25in the future.
04:26Kristin Hawthorne, KMTV, Ashford.
04:35Now a miracle, anybody walked away from it.
04:38That's how a crash in Faversham has been described by those who saw it.
04:43This is the wreckage of a car that smashed past two other parked vehicles into a house
04:49on Canterbury Road at 5.30 a.m. on Sunday.
04:53You see the damage on the house right here.
04:55And the car was said to be going around 70 miles per hour.
04:58The driver fleeing from the scene.
05:01Police say no injuries were reported and that they are following inquiries to identify the
05:07person behind the wheel.
05:11Now in other news, Kent County Council have launched a new campaign to tackle street harassment
05:16and violence against women and girls across Kent.
05:19Designed by young people, the Don't Disrespect campaign to encourage young boys and men to
05:25take a stand against this sort of behaviour started over the weekend and features a short
05:31film highlighting some of the unacceptable things girls across the county experience
05:36on a regular basis.
05:42I just hate it.
05:43Oh look, my bus is over there.
05:45I've got to go.
05:46I'll see you tomorrow.
05:47See you later.
05:48You alright?
05:49Where are you going then?
05:50Oi!
05:51Go away, you're so immature.
05:52Are you going to tell me or not?
05:53Come on man, let's just go.
05:54Oi!
05:55Where are you going?
05:56Oi, why did you come over here?
05:57Go away, just leave me alone.
05:58Come on, I know you want a bit of this.
05:59Oi!
06:00Oi!
06:01Oi!
06:02Oi!
06:03Oi!
06:04Oi!
06:05Oi!
06:06Oi!
06:07Oi!
06:08Oi!
06:10Oi!
06:11Oi!
06:12Come on, I know you want a bit of this.
06:13Why didn't you come over here?
06:14Oi!
06:15I'm talking to you!
06:16Are you OK?
06:1775% of girls in the UK have experienced some form of public sexual harassment in their
06:22lifetime.
06:23Don't disrespect.
06:25We are incredibly proud to have made a campaign with young people and it launched on Saturday.
06:30So that is a campaign that is asking men to never commit or condone violence again women
06:38girls, street harassment against women and girls. So it's asking them to really step
06:43up and change the story about what's happening at the moment. And that's because, you know,
06:47we've come across some really shocking statistics. Half of all girls having experienced harassment
06:52in school and a third of all girls having received unwanted sexual attention whilst
06:57wearing their school uniform in public. So that's absolutely shocking. And the only way
07:02we can stop that happening is by really inspiring change in men and boys so that they don't
07:08commit or condone that sort of abuse. Well, harassment against women and girls here in
07:13Kent is unfortunately not uncommon. Data shows one in three girls in the UK have received
07:18unwanted sexual attention, such as being groped, stared at, cat called or wolf whistled at
07:24in public. And that harassment can often become violent. Such was the case with Broadstairs
07:30musician Daisy Foster, who's written a song to raise awareness of the issue, as Abbey
07:35Hook has been finding out. At least one in 12 women will be a victim of violence against
07:43women and girls every year. That's two million every year. And in 2023, Daisy Foster was
07:55one of them. And this is the song she's now written to raise awareness and hopefully find
08:00closure. You get taught certain things to to try and prevent it or to protect yourself.
08:07And in that situation, I don't feel like we could have done more. And again, this is why
08:12we wanted to include these lyrics into the song itself, because I feel like that is something
08:18that women worldwide are told. And that itself isn't enough to stop this from happening.
08:24So this is why we say we know that it's not in the lyrics. It literally states we know
08:29it's not all men, but one's enough. One's enough for it to be an issue. You can only
08:33do so much as a woman to prevent it yourself.
08:49The artist from Broadstairs was attacked in October 2023 when she was walking down a road
08:54in Birmingham. She went to university there and she was doing as all girls are told, walking
08:59home in a group. Daisy says one of her friends was grabbed by a man and she jumped to her
09:05defence. Daisy was then attacked.
09:08I had some injuries that I needed to get treated with in hospital. But that was it. We got
09:14the police involved. They did a search of the area. Nothing ever got found. Never heard
09:19anything back from them really, apart from the day after. And that was the end of it.
09:25West Midlands Police said after investigating, they weren't able to identify the suspect,
09:30but said tackling this kind of violence was a priority. Daisy's swan song, which stands
09:36for safety for women at night, is key to the type of awareness she's trying to raise.
09:43We've decided to put all of the proceeds from the song towards the NIA project. And when
09:48we were trying to find charities that we could put these proceeds towards, nearly all of
09:53them were solely for domestic violence. It is a massive issue and of course they need
09:58the support. But I think we need to see kind of an uprise of more charities that will support
10:04people that are harassed on the street, that need that kind of service.
10:09One of the only charities to offer this support, and Kent's first and only of its kind, is
10:13the Tunbridge Wells Reclaim the Night Walk, led by local councillors and activists.
10:19We can do all the right things and still be attacked. There is a commitment to bring down
10:26violence against women and girls by half in a decade, which is really positive. I do believe
10:35that there will be a cross-government, cross-department response to this and more policing is necessary,
10:42more community policing.
10:45Staying silent can often feel like the only choice. But by Daisy sharing her story and
10:50giving her song such an elegant title, it highlights what can in reality be so brutal.
10:56It kind of hits home because for many women this could be their last moments or their
11:02final moments of the things that they remember.
11:12Abbey Hook's piece there. You can find out more information about this epidemic of harassment
11:21on the Kent County Council website.
11:24We've got a quick break coming up now. After it, the bus sign causing chaos in Tunbridge
11:28Wells. Would you get confused at home? And of course, a sneak peek at our brand new history
11:33show. We've got the show's producer on the sofa. It's very, very exciting. I'll see you
11:38in a few minutes' time. See you in a minute.
14:42♪♪
15:12Welcome back to Kentonite live here on KMTV. Now, Kent's Discovery Park has avoided paying
15:17more than £1 million in business rates by claiming empty units on the site are being
15:21used as places of worship. Bosses at the Sandwich Technology Park say the vacant space has been
15:26repurposed for religious reasons. She'll qualify for more than 60 units for a 100% tax exemption.
15:35But Dover District Council does not accept the claims. It's now considering a high court
15:39bid to recover the money. Discovery Park say they are working with the council to find
15:44a satisfactory resolution and say the spaces are designed for a diverse workforce.
15:52The news fears are growing that new signs to clarify controversial Tunbridge Wells bus
15:56lane may worsen the issue. The local MP believes changing markings from a red circle to blue
16:02will imply permission, thus confusing drivers. The county council says these changes are
16:08to standardise enforcement across the county. Currently both are being used, but more than
16:13three quarters of those fined last year entered via the blue signs. Local Democracy reporter
16:19Gabriel Morris has been asking motorists if they think the signage is clear.
16:25It's fair to say all drivers know bus lanes exist, but in Tunbridge Wells more than 10,000
16:32people were fined on this bus gate in the last year. And for those being fined, they
16:37say the signs simply aren't clear enough. There are two types. These blue ones saw more
16:44than 8,000 fined last year compared to a little less than 4,000 on these circled ones. Kent
16:53County Council is now proposing to standardise all to blue.
16:58So I've come down to Tunbridge Wells to see what shoppers make of the proposed new signs.
17:04You're going to make a split decision. Which sign would you think is easier to understand,
17:07the old one or the new one? The old one I think. Old one, yeah? I don't know, maybe
17:12that then. So you think the new one's a little bit clearer? Yeah. I mean to me, I think the
17:18first one's got a red thing saying no cars. To me that's more obvious. No, I think that
17:24one makes more sense because that one's in red. That's in a red circle, which means
17:28don't go down there. It's a prohibitive sign, isn't it? A round one. But that blue one doesn't
17:33mean anything. No, I don't think that's very clear. So keep the old signs? I would say
17:39so because of the red. You know, that doesn't look like you can't go, I don't know, but
17:44is that my knowledge? Oh my God. Still a lot of confusion, but red wins. These signs tell
17:53motorists cars and motorbikes are not allowed down the road, whereas the blue signs are
18:00permitting taxis, pushbikes and buses. They both mean the same thing, but with blue becoming
18:06the standardised option, there are concerns it'll increase the number of fines. It really
18:10means that over the last two years whilst the Borough Council, myself, residents in
18:16Sunbridge Isles have all been complaining to Kent County Council, who are the highways
18:19authority, that the signage is wrong and needs fixing. They've ignored all of that
18:24and now they're making the situation much, much worse. Kent County Council says they
18:29understand the concerns that the blue will bring. However, these signs are compliant
18:34with the highway code. They also confirmed a warning period is in place for six months
18:39to ensure motorists are aware of the restrictions and can plan another route in the future.
18:45It's unclear when the signage will change, but blueprints do seem to indicate that bus
18:51gates will also have road markings added. Gabriel Morris in Sunbridge, Wales.
18:57Well, Gabriel, thanks so much for joining me in the studio. As you heard there, it's
19:02quite confusing. Well, we've got the two signs here. I'm going to test you on some highway
19:06code knowledge, including those signs. We'll see how well you've been watching the report
19:09in a second. But yeah, it is confusing talking to people on the ground in Sunbridge, Wales
19:16I told you both of these signs mean the same thing, but they have to take a time to have
19:20a look at it. You know, I mean, when you're driving, you've got to process these signs
19:23quickly. And I think that's the issue that a lot of people had in Sunbridge, Wales. Now,
19:29just to remind viewers, the reason why it's changing to the blue side is because KCC want
19:34to standardise the signs across Kent. They say it's part of national policy and it's
19:39also in the highway code. Those blue signs are elsewhere in the county, in Ashford,
19:45in Folkestone and other places where there are bus lanes and bus gates. The red signs
19:50will go. Worth noting, as I said in my report, the blue signs had more fines compared to
19:56the red signs at the moment in Sunbridge, Wales. So give it a year. Let's have a look
19:59what actually happens and then we'll go back to County Council, go back to Mike Martin
20:02and see. Yeah. So, Ollie, should we give you a test on the highway code? Right. If we get
20:08the gallery to put the first, put the first one on. So that was, this is what KCC are
20:12changing it to. Tell me, with the highway code, what does that mean? Well, Gabriel,
20:16I'm quite a new driver on the road, but I think, to my understanding, that is a bus
20:21lane and a cycle lane and a taxi lane between the hours of 9am and 6pm. If you're driving
20:27in a car, can you drive down there? Well, not between those hours, I don't think. Fine.
20:32Brilliant. There you go. You passed that one. Let's bring the next one up. There we go.
20:36What does this sign mean? Well, I'm assuming you can drive your car and your motorcycle
20:43down. I can see you smiling. Have I already? Of course, because you just mentioned earlier
20:49that there is this confusion, right, between these two different signs. But you've actually
20:54gone it the opposite way around. Most people understand this one and find the blue one
20:58more confusing. It's not a complete science, but so a lot of people think that this red
21:04means no, so you can't drive a car and a motorbike down, which is correct, whereas you're saying
21:08that you can drive it down. Because there's no bus there. That's what confused me. And
21:14there's no hours as well. So you can understand why some people are getting confused. I'm
21:19being confused here on the sofa now. But this is what KCC are saying, which is why they're
21:22changing it to the blue sign. So you're with a view of KCC. Let's bring a third sign on.
21:27Let's have a look at this one. Bit easier, this one. What does this mean? It sort of
21:30follows on from the previous one. Well, I'm sure there's no vehicles whatsoever, whatsoever,
21:36apart from bicycles on the condition that you're pushing them. So you can't be on it,
21:40but no bicycles being pushed. So I haven't really seen many of those signs, but they
21:45are about probably on high streets. And let's bring the last one on very quickly. Hardest
21:49one you're going to have today. What does this mean? Completely different to anything
21:53we've been talking about. I'll admit this morning when I was putting this together,
21:56I never realised this was a thing. So I'm assuming that you have to drive at 30 miles
22:01per hour with this sign about, right? Not quite. Very close. It's a minimum speed limit.
22:09So if you see the sign, you can't go lower than 30 miles an hour. I tried to do some
22:14research on this. I can't see anywhere where this has been enforced, but I suppose police
22:18probably could if they wish to. There is an example of this in Kent. As I said, never
22:22heard about it. Have a quick look at this. This is in the Dartford Tunnel. There you
22:28go. Minimum speed of 10 miles an hour. Although I have to say, there's only been a handful
22:32of occasions where I've actually been able to go faster than 10 because of traffic down
22:36there. So there you go. That's some highway co-quizzing. Well done, Ollie. You did quite
22:40well. Thank you so much, Gabriel. We'll see you soon. And now for the weather.
22:46It's been cloudy all around this evening. Average temperatures hitting four or five
22:57in Dover. Lows of three in Tunbridge Wells. Those temperatures rising around five degrees
23:01across the county in tomorrow morning. Cloud all around as well. And in the afternoon,
23:06those clouds persisting. Highs of seven up in Maidstone and Dover. And for the rest of
23:12the week, clouds, clouds and more clouds. We can't get rid of this cloudy weather at
23:16the moment. Seven degrees through to Saturday, dropping off to six for the weekend. And finally,
23:29Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is broadcast TV. Here at KMTV, we're always expanding
23:34the kind of shows we're putting out. And tomorrow will be the first episode of Kent Chronicles,
23:39a show dedicated to uncovering the county's history, whether it's Roman, military or anything
23:45in between. Well, Finn McDermott joins me on the sofa now. Finn, why a history show,
23:51first of all? Well, I mean, we've we've got a sports show. We've got a climate show, even
23:57a wrestling show. And Kent, let's face it, just has a lot of history. For a county that
24:03only has one professional football club compared to 30 castles across the whole across the
24:08whole of Kent, I think it's about time. I mean, that's 30 castles, one for every 30
24:14square miles, which is a very dense amount. Dover, Leeds, Rochester, Hever, Upnor and
24:18Warmer. I'm sure people out there are getting bored of me talking about castles. But there's
24:22all kinds of history. It doesn't matter what you're into. You know, there's military, there's
24:25Roman. Kent has so much history to offer, but I think very few people actually know
24:30a lot about it. That there, Dickens's house, which is just off of Rochester, nearby Strude.
24:36It's a ship that was flooded once. I mean, in The Great Flood story, there's so many
24:40interesting pieces of history. And Finn, what can viewers expect tomorrow on the first episode
24:45of Kent Chronicles? Well, tomorrow will be a couple of my short documentaries. Beneath
24:50Sean Woods, that one is all about archaeology. And then the Gillingham Samurai, which is
24:54about a man named William Adams. He was the first Englishman to ever be named as a samurai
25:00in Japan. Well, here's Sue Haddock, who features in the documentary. She's the former mayor
25:05of Medway, to tell us a bit more about the Gillingham Samurai. He became a pilot and
25:12a navigator. And he did, he captained a supply ship during the Spanish Armada. And he did
25:19on a couple of expeditions, one of which was trying to find the Northwest Passage. He obviously
25:25had a wanderlust and a yearn for adventure. He heard about a Dutch expedition to the Far
25:31East, and he signed up for that as the navigator. Well, Finn, these documentaries are great,
25:38but we've got plenty of other fantastic episodes lined up in a couple of weeks. What's next
25:43for Kent Chronicles after this week's episode? Well, I don't want to spoil too much, but
25:48we're going to have some repeating segments. We're going to be taking a look back at different
25:52areas of Kent, what was happening, say, 100 years ago or 50 years ago on that day, because
25:57we can look back at all the old newspapers. We're also going to have a trivia section.
26:00We'll get a little sneak peek here. There was a chap born in Hollingbourne called Nicholas
26:05Wood. That's not him, that's the Queen. She was visiting Kent once. He was known as a
26:09famous eater in the 1600s. And can you guess, Ollie, how many men he said he could beat
26:15at eating amounts of dinners? So it's a dinner for X amount of people. How many do you think
26:19he ate in the end? I'm going to give 16 is going to be my answer, I think. Well, it was
26:24actually eight, but it was also rumoured that he ate a meal for 30 men and then had servants
26:28rub his stomach with grease so it would expand. But, you know, that's all ancient history
26:32and we just don't know. Science can't prove it now, I suppose. What a mental image to
26:35end the programme on, Finn. Thank you so much. Kent Chronicles tomorrow, as well as the Morning
26:40Show at 7am. See you soon.