Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Bartholomew Hall.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
00:27I'm Bartholomew Hall.
00:28Here are your top stories on Wednesday the 9th of April.
00:32A vicious murder.
00:34Maureen Rickards given a life sentence for the murder of her Canterbury husband.
00:39Fears over farmland push back as two and a half thousand home development put forward for the bobbing countryside.
00:46And gear changing glory.
00:48Brands Hatch celebrates season opener of World Historic Motor Racing Series.
00:53First this evening, last summer Maureen Rickards was arrested on suspicion of murder after her husband was reportedly missing.
01:03Eventually his body was discovered in the garden of their house in Canterbury.
01:08Today she's been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty for his murder.
01:12A warning, this report contains some topics that may be distressing.
01:17Finn McDermid has the story.
01:19She googled how to kill her husband, recorded herself abusing him, stabbed him and dumped his body in their garden.
01:26And now Maureen Rickards has been sentenced to life in prison.
01:30After her husband was reported missing for six days, Maureen was arrested last summer on July 11th on suspicion of fraud.
01:36After CCTV showed she had been shopping with her husband's bank card after he had been reported missing.
01:42Carpet cleaning products, stain remover and an air freshener were some of the products she bought.
01:47But she was rearrested and charged with murder on the same day once the body was found.
01:53During a four week trial earlier this year, Canterbury Crown Court heard that Rickards had extensively cleaned her house to cover up her crime.
02:00Including removing all his belongings like his passport, clothing and wedding ring, and even creating a false narrative about her husband's whereabouts.
02:07She sent WhatsApp messages to herself and their daughter from his phone, suggesting he was working in Saudi Arabia.
02:13And when she began to accuse their daughter of causing her father's death, she reported him missing to police.
02:19Officers investigating his disappearance went to Rickards' accommodation and said her room smelt of death and found the body at the bottom of the garden.
02:26Tucked away under overgrown plants and buried under a mound of grass cuttings.
02:31The court heard how Maureen had filmed herself physically hurting and threatening to kill her husband.
02:36And revealed she had even googled how to do so, with one of these videos lasting as long as 15 minutes.
02:42During the trial, Maureen was quoted as saying good riddance to bad rubbish.
02:46But said she had neither beaten nor stabbed her husband.
02:49In the end, she was found guilty with a unanimous verdict and will have to serve 22 years in prison before her release could be considered by the parole board.
02:58Finn McDermid for KMTV.
03:01And Finn joins us in the studio now.
03:03Finn, this has been a case that's had a lot of media coverage over the last few months.
03:08It's now obviously reached its conclusion.
03:10What new information did we learn from today's sentencing?
03:13Well, it's like you say, it's been a big story all since last summer, really.
03:16Obviously, the largest new line is that Rickards has now been given a life sentence.
03:22Now, it has in some cases been reported as 22 years, which might be confusing for some.
03:27The reason for that is that 22 years represents the minimum time that you will have to serve before you can be considered for parole,
03:34meaning that's the first opportunity to appeal.
03:37We've also heard about the investigation details from Kent Police.
03:40And since the case is no longer an active one, we can discuss these openly.
03:44So it was originally not exactly known when Jeremy was stabbed.
03:48But thanks to a forensic investigation and the last sighting, detectives have worked out they believe Maureen Rickards murdered her husband on or around the 9th of June.
03:58We've also heard how CSI, or Crime Scene Investigations, believe the body was stored inside the house before being dumped outside in the garden.
04:07And Finn, just quickly, what was the response from Kent Police to all of this?
04:10Well, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Colin McKean said Maureen Rickards carried out the vicious murder of her husband Jeremy before attempting to hide his body in their garden.
04:20She will now serve many years in prison.
04:22And he also said,
04:23I cannot imagine how difficult this investigation and trial has been for Mr Rickards' family.
04:27And I only hope the conclusion of the case gives them some comfort.
04:31Finn McDermott joining us there.
04:34And apologies if you heard any sound issues during that report.
04:37Now, Maidstone Crown Court has heard how a teenager has facially stabbed a man in an act of anger and aggression.
04:44Paige Poulton was reportedly wound up into a murderous range when she stabbed Jack Cadwaller at a flat in Harriotsham.
04:51The prosecution recounted how, following a frightening and fast-moving incident, Poulton hid outside in nearby bushes for almost an hour before being discovered by police.
05:01While Poulton denies the charge of murder and possessing a bladed article, the court heard that she's likely to argue self-defence with the trial, which is expected to last up to four weeks, continues.
05:13Investigators have launched an arson investigation into fires at a former military training ground in Canterbury.
05:18The fires, which sparked huge emergency response, occurred shortly after 4pm on Tuesday, with the smell of smoke reportedly reaching over a mile from the fire.
05:27Four fire engines, a fogging unit and two all-terrain vehicles arrived at the scene, and crews managed to extinguish the flames shortly before 7.
05:37Next, it's killing everything.
05:39That's what one ecologist has said about a sewage spill in Tunbridge Wells.
05:43Residents and environmental groups are calling for urgent action to save the River Grom, which is a heart which has had waste spewing into its waters since last summer.
05:51Local MP Mike Martin described the spill as killing the river.
05:54Kristen Hawthorne has more.
05:56Through Tunbridge Wells runs the River Grom, a gentle, winding stream that weaves quietly through the countryside.
06:02But beneath the surface, something is deeply wrong.
06:05A nearby manhole is being choked with overgrown tree roots, and has therefore been prone to overflowing.
06:12This means that it's pushed more than 333 hours' worth of sewage into the river since last summer.
06:19Underground sewage pipes are also failing, with leaks spilling untreated waste into the waterway.
06:25Due to hundreds of hours' worth of sewage both being pumped into this river and flowing into it from a nearby manhole,
06:30the Ripple Effect team who tests the water have found that much of it is covered by sewage fungus,
06:35which both pollutes the air and kills both the plants and animals.
06:39Funny enough, today is actually, we think, the worst results we've seen.
06:43The sewage that's been pumped into the river is actually killing everything, so the river's actually dead.
06:49Apart from things that you don't want to see, which are mosquito larvae, red worms, water louse,
06:57all animals that will live in really highly polluted river, and we're seeing a heck of a lot of them today.
07:05I'm not an expert in sewage fungus, but I would say that is sewage fungus,
07:09and that's kind of like the end game in a river's health.
07:13Due to the number of complaints of smells and leaks, the problem has sparked political action.
07:18Yeah, so in 2024, Southern Water, which deal with the sewage in my patch,
07:25pumped 300,000 hours of sewage into our waterways, and this is ridiculous.
07:31It's not on. It's indicative of a water industry, but also the government and OffWatt, the regulator,
07:36who've lost a grip on the problem.
07:38We shouldn't be having a situation where that much sewage is being pumped into our rivers
07:42and killing them, like this river here.
07:44So Southern Water have assured me, we brought it to their attention,
07:47and they've assured me that they're going to be sending a robot down that to clear out the tree roots,
07:52and then they're going to reline the sewer,
07:54which should mean that normal flow should go through it to the water treatment plant.
07:58We've been entrusted with £50 million of our customers' money to work differently in the catchments,
08:03to make sure we are building truly sustainable solutions.
08:06We have a team of engineers who will be in the catchment with our supply chains investigating.
08:10But it's not a simple fix.
08:13Mike Martin says part of the challenge is that no one technically owns much of the ageing sewage network,
08:19some of which dates back centuries.
08:22There are a number of problems, and this is one of them, where it's not clear who owns the sewer,
08:26and it's something that the government needs to lay down legislation on and to say,
08:29actually, who is it that's going to own all of the sewer network,
08:32because that makes it easier for us to repair it and to fix the problems that we have.
08:37With water bills set to rise by almost 50% in 2025,
08:41campaigners hope that this issue will be fixed sooner rather than later.
08:45Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Tunbridge Wells.
08:49Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging onto our website.
08:53There you'll find all of our reports, including this one.
08:56Can you tell me the story of why you started to grow your hair out?
08:59Because I want to raise it to charity.
09:06Now, it might be hard to believe, but two years ago, Ruben, or as he likes to be called, Roo,
09:10became afraid of getting his hair cut.
09:12He has ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, so the sensory overstimulation of being touched,
09:18hair falling across his face, and the sounds of scissors in his ears was too much for him.
09:22Since then, he's grown his hair out, and with the help of his mum, Amy,
09:25decided to fundraise and donate his hair towards the Little Princess Trust.
09:29He became fearful of having his hair cut, and it started to grow out, and then it's very long now,
09:36and it makes him hot, and it's tangly, and we said, you know,
09:40maybe it's time to think about having it cut off, it's very long.
09:44And in the beginning, he didn't really like the idea, but, you know, we talked to him more,
09:48and then we showed him suggestions of, you know, instead of just throwing his beautiful hair away,
09:54actually that it could be donated to somebody and treasured by somebody.
10:00The fundraised money currently stands at £800, and will go towards the Little Princess Trust as well,
10:05while Roo's hair will be used to make wigs for those who've lost theirs due to cancer treatment or other conditions.
10:11But Roo's former dislike of going to the barbers isn't rare,
10:14with many who have additional needs struggling to get their hair cut.
10:17In fact, it's such a big problem that families with neurodivergent children from London, Essex,
10:22and all over the country have come down here to Maidstone,
10:25simply because it's that difficult to find an accommodating barber.
10:29The hairy bear does things slightly differently, though,
10:31whether that's giving a child goggles so they don't have to feel hair going across their face,
10:35or even giving haircuts at the tops of slides.
10:37I asked Martin, one of the barbers at Hairy Bear,
10:40why they started offering longer slots to accommodate those with neurodivergencies.
10:45It's things like pictures on the wall they give me from that young kid who's been with me for a year,
10:50very awkward to start off with, but now enjoys, loves to come and get his haircuts,
10:54and on that one year of anniversary, come to see me, do you mean it or no?
10:58It means immense to them.
10:59They find satisfaction that a child's actually getting a haircut rather than a skinhead, to be honest with you,
11:03and the gratitude is seeing the kids come back not scared any more and smiling all the time.
11:09Parents have said that haircuts can be especially difficult, both for their children and for them,
11:13so hopefully Roo will be one of many children who feel they can get their haircut
11:17and raise money for charity all at the same time.
11:20Finn McDermid for KMTV in Maidstone.
11:23Time for a break now, but when we come back, we'll be taking a look at a small village
11:27just outside of Sittingbourne that's set to have more than 2,000 new homes built there
11:32and a very old-fashioned race at Brands Hatch.
11:35Plenty more to come after this.
16:43Bobbin has a long history. It's a very old place to live. It's a very quiet place to live. It's very nice. People are very nice here. And any further building around the area, there is not the infrastructure for it to have.
17:02The developers will argue the scheme, which will cover 305 football pitches, does have the necessary amenities for 10,000 new expected residents.
17:14They can point to a 200-bed care home, a free-form primary school and a mixed-use centre, where there would be retailers, CAFs, flexible workspaces, health provisions and a nursery.
17:27Plans will be decided on by Swale Council.
17:30Well, earlier on the Kent Morning Show, the chair of Bobbin Parish Council, Gareth Randall, joined Izzy and Cameron to give us more details on the story.
17:39I think it's been around for a number of years. I think the farmers' land has been so-called optioned for quite a few years as well.
17:51It's, I forget exactly how many years, but yeah, obviously with the increase in population in the country, that's something that's putting more and more pressure on.
18:10What has the reaction been like, especially having to wait two years and then now it's back again?
18:17Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, residents were sort of hoping this would quietly go away.
18:26It's not just residents here that this would affect.
18:30It actually would affect the whole of Sittingbourne because anybody trying to get to work in the morning in nearby towns,
18:40anyone using facilities in Sittingbourne will find that they've suddenly got a bit more of a struggle.
18:50So, you know, I've heard people saying that they came to, they wanted to live in a nearby town and work in Sittingbourne or vice versa,
19:02and then they came along in the morning with the rush hour traffic and it was basically impossible to get to work on time.
19:12So, this estate will be, well, it'll be close to one of the main roads, but going through lots of smaller roads and it's going to be an issue that will affect,
19:28I suppose, effectively the productivity of everyone trying to get to work in Sittingbourne.
19:34Looking at the other side of the argument, we know how well documented it is.
19:38As the government has said time and again, that more houses need to be built, the infrastructure obviously needs to keep up with that as well.
19:46Is there not an argument that this, you know, 2,500 homes is going to bring people, it's going to bring jobs,
19:52it's going to bring more amenities to the area and that, you know, it could do a lot of good for the community in Sittingbourne?
19:58I think basically they need to be going somewhere else.
20:05There's brownfield sites in big cities, this area is, as I say, it's built beyond capacity really due to the traffic issues that are occurring.
20:19There's, you know, government is deliberately increasing the population at a time when we've got all these problems.
20:31That would be one way they could actually reduce this issue.
20:37There's, you know, there are sites in East London they could use, for instance, if they chose to.
20:42So, I think that would be a better choice for everyone, really.
20:49Well, going forward, like you said, there are, you know, we've heard from the developers,
20:54we've heard from yourself and the Communities Against Bobbing expansion.
20:58Going forward, what are the next steps of this that we can expect?
21:03Certainly, it's obviously going to be going to Swaylborough Council.
21:12There'll obviously be a debate there.
21:17I suppose the, my, my, obviously, I can't, I can't speak for the councillors concerned.
21:24My, my guess is it would probably be rejected and then, of course, if that were to happen,
21:33then it would go into this appeals process or, I suppose, conceivably, it could get called in by the Secretary of State.
21:43And plenty more on that story available over at Kent Online.
21:46Now, though, time to take a look at the weather.
21:48Well, tonight's looking rather mild, clouds covering the county, temperatures around 6 and 7 degrees into tomorrow morning.
22:00Clouds staying put with temperatures rising ever so slightly, winds reaching highs of 10 in the east of the county.
22:06As we go into the afternoon, the sun finally coming out in the west, highs of 13 degrees.
22:11Colder temperatures expected in the east, though.
22:14And here's your outlooks. Lots of warm weather ahead with sunny skies predicted on Friday and Saturday, highs of 19 and 20.
22:28Finally from us this evening, Brands Hatch Racing Circuit was the site for a weekend of speed as it held the season opener for the 750 Motor Club.
22:36Well, the group recently celebrated its 85th anniversary and aims to give enthusiasts a cheaper, more accessible way of entering motor racing.
22:45The club is home to many different racing series, including the famous 750 Formula.
22:50It's the longest running championship in the world, even older than Formula One.
22:54Well, Tim Forster went down to Brands Hatch over the weekend to speak with some of the drivers and organisers behind the event.
23:00The roar of engines and the smell of petrol filled the air at Brands Hatch as the 750 Motor Club arrived for their season opener.
23:10The club, designed as a low-cost entry into motorsports, has been running for over 85 years and shows no signs of stopping.
23:18Priding itself as the home of affordable motorsport, the club runs several series, including the famous 750 Formula, which has run for over 75 years.
23:26But where did it all start?
23:28Origins of the club go back to 1939, when motorsport was a kind of rarefied pursuit for the very rich.
23:37And the 750 Motor Club was formed as a kind of route to give enthusiasts with more modest ambitions a sort of route to actually participate in organised motorsport events.
23:48The ethos around 750 is always to keep it low cost, to allow people to come in on a tight budget, to be able to come out and do racing on slicks and wings, which I think is the best value for money you can get in racing in the UK.
24:02Founded in 1949, the 750 Formula is the longest continuously running motor racing championship in the world.
24:09Famous names like Colin Chapman, Golden Murray and Eric Broadley have all passed through its doors.
24:13And it really stands as a home for designers and racers who want to get interested in motor racing at a low cost level.
24:20Cars like this Race Kids Falcon behind me cost just upwards of £5,000 to buy and then race here with the 750 Motor Club.
24:27I'm just an everyday working person.
24:29I haven't got sponsors of hundreds of thousands to do other things, even though everyone probably here would like to do that.
24:36But this is what we've got and this is, for what we're paying, this is top, probably better than some of the people that are paying top money.
24:45You won't find any slicks and wings racing cheaper than the 750 Formula.
24:51The 750 Formula is not the only racing series offered by the club, but is unique for both its history and the fact that so many of its drivers have family connections to the Formula.
25:00My dad raced, my granddad raced. In fact, my granddad designed and built the car behind me. So, yeah, it's been my life, basically.
25:08Well, my dad used to race at 89, so I would just turn up and clean the wheels and do all the rubbish jobs. So then I started karting when I was eight.
25:19My granddad has done it for 50 odd years and his dad done it as well. And I've just been coming ever since I was a little boy, really.
25:26My dad used to be in motorsport. He used to be a navigator, rally driving.
25:31And it's not just the drivers. Many of the cars also have long connections with the club, with names like Simpson and Cowley being synonymous with the 750 Formula.
25:39This is the fourth car that my granddad's built. I think this one was built in 1991. And then in 2004, I think, we switched engines and the first ever one to win the championship with the new engine in.
25:52Especially winning this car's first ever race after 40 odd years. That was quite a tearful moment for me and my dad. It was very special, that.
26:03Even the club itself has developed a family atmosphere as rivalries on track quickly turn into camaraderie off the circuit.
26:10Everyone's really friendly. It's a brilliant atmosphere. You know, any issues with their cars or whatever, people always chip in and help. It is that kind of formula.
26:18The club has a rich history and it's sort of a privilege to sort of be part of that and keep its legacy going.
26:27With a bright history and a promising future, it doesn't look like the checkered flag will be coming down on this racing series anytime soon.
26:34Tim Forster, KMTV.
26:36Great report there. Lots of speed. Love the look of that one.
26:39You've been watching Kent tonight, live on KMTV. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
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