Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:29I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Wednesday the 19th of February.
00:34Cliftonville chaos. Businesses speak out as hundreds sign petition to tackle anti-social
00:40behaviour.
00:41People don't want to come to the high street, you know, they're scared.
00:45Murder trial latest court hears how wife allegedly hid her husband's body.
00:51And a round of appause for a strewed stray now nominated for a Crufts award.
00:57You can't help but smile and be happy when she's around, when she's being all cute curled
01:02up asleep.
01:13Good evening. Business owners say they're losing trade along Northdown Road in Cliftonville,
01:18warning anti-social behaviour is becoming a common sight throughout the day.
01:22With residents saying they don't feel safe out and about for fear of public disorder.
01:27The Kent police and the local council say they're doing their best to tackle the issue.
01:31Kristen Hawthorne spent an afternoon in the high street to see the disorder for herself.
01:36Fly tipping, drug use and intimidation. These are just some of the behaviours worrying residents
01:42in Moorgate. Many say the problem is getting worse and not enough is being done to stop
01:47it.
01:48A business owner here in Northdown Road started a petition to sort out the anti-social behaviour
01:54and it's already surpassed its initial goal of 1,000 signatures. They hope that this is
01:59going to be enough to grab the council's attention and enough to make change.
02:03Walking along Northdown Road, the signs of anti-social behaviour are hard to miss. From
02:07dumped rubbish to vandalised shop fronts, locals told me they're worried about the future
02:12of their high street.
02:14It feels dirty when you see the fly tipping and as I say, you know, you can't feel threatened
02:18by the people who've had too much to drink.
02:22There's quite a few customers who sort of, if they're hovering outside our shop, they
02:27don't, they walk off and then they might come back in five minutes because they're sitting
02:32down there with blankets and smoking and dealing, unfortunately.
02:38It's, people don't want to come to the high street, you know, they're scared. A lot, you
02:43know, a lot of older people come and say they're actually frightened to come out on the streets
02:46and they're getting accosted going into the shops, asking for money.
02:50I had a small nugget out of my car, straight away, have you got some money?
02:53But while locals say anti-social behaviour has increased in recent months, Kent Police
02:58say reports have actually decreased over the past two years. Kent Police say they have
03:03already issued a man with a community protection notice in the area to prohibit harassing,
03:08being drunk in public and other anti-social behaviour, with plans to issue more if necessary.
03:14These orders, they say, are part of a wider effort to address the mental health, drug
03:18misuse and housing issues. In regard to Thanet District Council, they say they're working
03:24closely with the police to tackle these issues while encouraging those on the street into
03:28safe accommodation. Local councillor Barry Manners believes stronger action is needed.
03:34You know, these are small businesses on wafer-thin margins. They're not multinational companies.
03:39These are people that are employing, you know, have a handful of employees. They're part
03:43of a local community and they deserve our support and protection. And at the moment
03:49they're being failed by the council and they're being failed by the police.
03:53While authorities say steps are being taken to tackle anti-social behaviour, some residents
03:58and local councillors feel more needs to be done. With concerns about safety, policing
04:03and community support still present, the challenge is now rebuilding trust and addressing the
04:08root causes.
04:09Kristen Hawthorne, KMTV, Margate.
04:13A jury in the murder trial of a man who's from Canterbury has heard details about how
04:24his wife allegedly hid his body. Jeremy Rickards was reported missing in July of last year
04:30after having not been seen by his family for almost a month. His wife is now on trial for
04:36his murder and denies the charge. Our reporter Bartholomew Hall joined me earlier and a warning.
04:42Some of the details you're about to hear may be distressing for some viewers. Bartholomew,
04:47tell us about the latest details from court.
04:49Well, the prosecution has been setting out its case and the court has heard how Maureen
04:53Rickards had stabbed her husband multiple times in the chest and heart before storing
04:58his body in a bedroom cupboard, then wrapping it in bin bags and hiding it in a holdall
05:02which was then buried under grass cuttings in the garden of their property in Canterbury.
05:08And this was backed up by an autopsy of his body which found five stab wounds as well
05:12as fractured ribs, a broken nose and an injury from previously being strangled. And it's
05:17alleged that all of this took place over the course of a few weeks. Now, it's also been
05:22accused that Jeremy had been the subject of domestic abuse. Witnesses saw him injured
05:27and frail before he was reported missing. And Maureen was actually recorded hitting
05:31and shouting at him when she allegedly threatened to kill him. Now, the trial is ongoing. It's
05:36expected to last around three weeks. The prosecution say that she is the only suspect in his murder.
05:43But as we've previously mentioned, Maureen denies that charge.
05:46Okay, and this is a very complicated case involving, of course, his disappearance, allegations
05:52of fraud too. Take us briefly through the timeline of events.
05:56Well, this whole story began and first came into the public light when Jeremy Rickards
06:00was reported missing at the start of June last year. He'd last been seen, as I mentioned,
06:05injured and frail at the property on the 6th of June, wasn't heard from until the 27th
06:11when Jeremy's daughter had received a WhatsApp message, which was supposedly from him, saying
06:16that he was in Saudi Arabia. Now, it's accused that Maureen had actually sent that message
06:20herself pretending to be him. A few days later, there was a social media post from an account
06:25that was linked to Maureen, which had the following message, R.I.P. James Jeremy Rickards
06:30is dead. A week later, police first searched the property in Canterbury. They didn't find
06:39his body then until two days later when it was found in the garden. Now, Maureen Rickards
06:45was initially arrested for fraud. It's claimed that she was using Jeremy's bank card for
06:51a period of 10 days, but then she was re-arrested when his body was found on the 11th of July.
06:57Bartholomew, thank you for those details. And of course, that trial is continuing. We'll
07:04bring you more details when we get them. Now, the government is due to hold a public inquiry
07:09to decide on plans for a multi-million pound waterfront neighbourhood in Norfleet. Known
07:15as Norfleet Harbourside, the plans include 3,500 new homes, as well as a new 8,000 seater
07:21football stadium for Ebbsfleet United. The scheme was approved by Gravesham Borough Council
07:26last April, but has since been criticised by businesses, which fear they'd be forced
07:31to move out. The inquiry is expected to begin on the 20th of May. Now, a man from Tunbridge
07:39has been sentenced to prison after admitting to supplying drugs and possessing offensive
07:45weapons. This is the moment Daniel Bruford's home was raided by police back in September.
07:52During their search, officers found several weapons, including samurai swords and machetes,
07:59cocaine deals and more than £1,000 in cash were also recovered. The 27-year-old was sentenced
08:05to five years and six months in prison at Maidstone Crown Court last week. Now, a family
08:12from Strood have begun fundraising following the death of their mum, Stella Toner, who
08:17went missing from her home in 2023. The 55-year-old's body was later found in the River Medway.
08:24Her daughter, Kirsty, is now training for the London Marathon, running it in her name.
08:29Meanwhile, her son Connor is organising a fundraising weekend at a pub in Rochester.
08:35Kirsty joined us earlier on the morning show and spoke to Isabel and Cameron about all
08:40that she's doing to honour her mother.
08:43At the time, I was driving back from my best friend's hen do, and I spoke to my mum at
08:49two o'clock, and I said to her, I'm making good time, I'll come see you. And I got home,
08:55and she wasn't home. And then that was about five o'clock, and then it got to about 11pm.
09:00We just kept ringing her and heard nothing. And then Wednesday, her bag was found. And
09:07then the Thursday, her shoes were found, and then her body was found on Friday. So it was
09:11just a surreal subject. You see all these documentaries on TV, on Netflix, but you never
09:17think it happened.
09:18No, and it's, I think one of the things that's really clear from seeing what happened at
09:24the time, and the articles that came online have written and from hearing about your story
09:29is how well loved she was and how much the community banded together in the search efforts
09:38as well.
09:39Yeah, there was not any lamppost or corner I looked at that didn't have my mum's face
09:44on. So yeah, no, it was amazing. And I'm extremely grateful for people. And it just
09:48shows that social media has such a strong platform, and can have a positive impact.
09:53Because I was able, we as a family was able to have a funeral and take my mum back home.
09:58Yeah, and about that fundraising, that was something that we're going to talk about all
10:02the social media, you're going to, you know, in the campaigning and saying how that's obviously
10:06that that focus now changed into StellaFest into your marathon exploits. It's also tell
10:13us a little bit about, about both of those events and how they've been going and what
10:18viewers can look, you know, expect of them.
10:23So StellaFest will be doing on the first and second of March. And so it links into the
10:28London Marathon. I wasn't a runner before, but now I am somehow. So yeah, so all we want
10:35to do is I, we couldn't save my mum. And I feel like addiction is a taboo subject. It's
10:42so easy on the drink side to go to the local pub or go to a supermarket. And if you have
10:49a stressful day, you can have a glass of wine. If you have a bad day, like you have a glass
10:54of wine, a good day, and it just can spiral out of control. So I think Open Road is a
10:57small charity. They're based in Kent and Essex. There's only one in Kent, so Chatham. And
11:04I just kind of want to raise funds on such a sad subject of ours at the time. Anybody
11:10with addiction doesn't want to be that person. So I think if I can get their name out there,
11:18Open Road, then I'm doing the job. And it meant so much to my mum.
11:26Amazing interview there. You can watch that back on demand from the Kent Morning Show
11:30this morning. Also a lot more on that story on Kent Online as well this evening. Now it's
11:35over a very short break, but coming up, we're going to be hearing from the wonderful dog
11:39from here in Kent, who's been up for an award at Crufts. We'll find out why and their sort
11:45of survival story after this short break. See you then.
15:10Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live on KMTV. Now, Kent County Council have decided
15:18to introduce smoke-free zones in six Kent districts this year. With £1.9m of funding
15:25from the government, the initiative aims to deter people from smoking and vaping in busy
15:29public places, including parks, high streets, play areas and outside schools too. The scheme
15:35is being introduced in Maidstone, Gravesend, Ashford, Swell, Thanet and Dover, several
15:40of which have already designated the areas where they'll be implemented. The council
15:45have stated that there will be no fines for anyone caught smoking or vaping in these areas,
15:49but there will be signs put up warning against the dangers of second-hand smoke and giving
15:54access to free support for people wanting to quit. Kent County Council say that second-hand
15:59smoke contributes to an estimated 10,000 deaths in the UK every year and has been linked to
16:04health issues such as cancer, heart disease and an increased risk of dementia. However,
16:10some say that the enforced zones won't actually stop people from smoking and vaping anyway
16:15as they are just signs. Well, Bartholomew Hall went to one of these areas, Maidstone,
16:20to see if they'll actually make any difference. Pop down to town and the sight of people smoking
16:25or vaping around you is almost guaranteed, but now Kent County Council is rolling out
16:30what it calls smoke-free spaces across the county, which would see signs put up in areas
16:36such as high streets, playgrounds and outside schools to deter smoking around children and
16:41young people. Now, the idea isn't to ban smoking or to introduce some sort of fine. KCC simply
16:47wants to create spaces across the county where smoking tobacco or vaping isn't a common sight.
16:53But just how effective could a smoke-free space be? I'm first looking at it. You think
16:59it sounds a great idea, but I know with smokers and things, that sort of thing, it does just
17:04go into the atmosphere and drifts around. And in my view, something like this doesn't
17:09work unless there's enforcement. So unless there's enforcement and some money put in
17:13it, it just won't work. And I think in trying to enforce it, it's going to be virtually
17:18impossible. So I think whoever thought of this didn't think about it. Kent County Council
17:22told us that smoking in areas covered by legislation such as enclosed spaces, buildings or vehicles
17:29can be enforced with penalties issued. But smoke-free areas in open public spaces aren't
17:34covered by that legislation, meaning there won't be any enforcement. So would smoke-free
17:40spaces actually stop people from smoking or simply be in name only? I don't think it'll
17:46make any difference. I think even with the smoke-free areas, people are still smoking
17:52and vaping in them. To be fair with you, if people are going to do it, they're going to
17:55do it, aren't they? 50-50. I don't think it would, to be fair. No, I don't think they'll
18:00make a difference. It'll be something else they'll clamp down on at a later point. So
18:06no, let them smoke. The smoke-free spaces scheme is part of almost £2 million of funding
18:12from the government, with the long-term goal of gradually increasing the minimum age to
18:16buy cigarettes before it becomes completely illegal. But with more than 170,000 smokers
18:22currently across Kent and Medway, it's believed that helping them to give up would need to
18:26be a step beyond legislation. So you really need to do the two. You have to do the one
18:31thing to stop new people coming into the trap in the first place, and those that are in
18:34the trap, you've got to help them to freedom. So just banning it just doesn't work. That's
18:38where you see actually hardened smokers who will sit there in the pouring rain and still
18:42have a cigarette outside because they're addicted. They need to have that fixed. They can't understand,
18:48they can't find their way out of that trap. But with the immediate hope of stubbing out
18:52second-hand smoke, Kent County Council hope smoke-free spaces will turn out to be more
18:57than just a lot of hot air. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
19:04Now it's time to take a quick look at the weather forecast.
19:13A lot of cloud over the county tonight, an average temperature of seven degrees, a high
19:17of eight along the coast there. Some wind picking up east and west tomorrow morning.
19:22Temperatures between nine and ten degrees, staying cloudy across the county. Tomorrow
19:26afternoon, warming up to highs of 12 in most parts of the county, much warmer than what
19:30we've had recently, 11 in other parts near the coast there. Here's the outlook for Kent
19:35as well. Friday, some sunshine behind the cloud there, 14 degrees. Saturday could be
19:39raining. Sunday, cloud, highs of 11.
19:48Now, don't forget, as well as catching us at 7.30 every evening, you can keep up to
19:53date with all your latest stories across Kent over on our website. It's kmtv.co.uk. There
19:58you'll find all our latest reports, including this one about a new project in Medway to
20:03tackle loneliness.
20:05Men in Sheds has been running for nearly ten years and now they've decided to give in to
20:10the high demand and start up Women in Sheds.
20:12Currently, I'm involved in recruiting people to it by them coming in and having a chat,
20:19finding out what they'd like to do, their goals, their aims, and find out their interests.
20:24And from there, we will be able to put a programme together that they'll enjoy.
20:29It's really important because you can be lonely in a crowded room, and I think the stigma
20:35attached to loneliness can be broken by bringing people together, just in a nice social space,
20:41a nice warming cup of coffee, chatting and nattering like women love to do.
20:46And it breaks that barrier of I'm alone.
20:52After the initial success of Medway Men in Sheds, Women in Sheds has now been up and
20:56running for about four weeks.
20:58Meeting here at the Sunlight Centre, it is a community and member-led group where they
21:03get together to tackle loneliness.
21:05It's kind of like we're a new territory and it's being run by women and they're devising
21:13and evolving from the ground up.
21:15Women say, why can't we get involved and do what you're doing?
21:19Why can't we join your group?
21:21And unfortunately, it's funded for men.
21:25We can use what we've got to share with this new Medway Women in Sheds group and it will
21:33make life so much easier for them to get going.
21:36Not only do they help each other mentally, but physically too, with specialists in the
21:40centre checking up on everyone's wellbeing.
21:42It's a health project, so whilst you're creating something, you might talk about what
21:48your health problems are, and it might be women's health, it might be menopause during
21:54menopause week, and you might talk about a certain problem that you've got.
21:59Somebody else might think, ah, yeah, I might have that too.
22:02Maybe I ought to get that checked out.
22:04As a society, we're becoming more disconnected, so when we're working, women are very much
22:11focused, well, women and men, are very much focused on their working life, might not get
22:15to know their neighbours as well as they used to.
22:18And then when they have children, they're suddenly at home and they're lonely because
22:23they're missing that contact with their colleagues and day-to-day talking with other people.
22:28The majority of our people are out of work or retired.
22:32They've got a lot of opportunities here.
22:34We've got music, we've got sheds, we've got gardens.
22:38They can be creative.
22:39We've got painting, we've got upcycling.
22:41Whatever they want to do as a group, we will enable.
22:50Finally, a strewed rescue dog who was found abandoned on a roundabout has been named as
22:54a finalist for a prestigious award.
22:56Two-year-old Tilly here made it to the Rescue Dog Hero category of the Kennel Club Award
23:01at Crufts.
23:02Emily Washington looked after her after she was found in a plastic washing basket at just
23:07four weeks old with three other puppies too.
23:09They were all taken in by New Hope Animal Rescue where they were hand-reared in a foster
23:13home until they were old enough to be adopted.
23:16So adorable.
23:17Well, Emily and Tilly both joined Cameron and Izzy on our morning show earlier this
23:22morning to take a look at her award that she's been nominated for and talk all about what
23:28it means.
23:29So she was around eight weeks when she came to me.
23:33She was tiny.
23:34She could fit in the palm of my hand.
23:37But yeah, she was technically on foster.
23:39She wasn't supposed to stay.
23:41But as soon as she arrived, I knew she was never going anywhere.
23:47What was it about her that really warmed your heart and why you wanted to take her
23:53in and have her part of your family?
23:56She just fitted in from the second she came through the door.
24:00She got on well with my other dog.
24:02She was so confident, so happy, so funny.
24:05Such a little character.
24:07I just knew she was perfect.
24:09Anyone that knows me straight away was like, she's your kind of dog.
24:13She's yours.
24:14She's not going anywhere.
24:15We heard about that she's been nominated for this award.
24:19Tell us a little bit before we go into the award itself, a little bit about Crufts for
24:24our viewers that might not be aware of this competition.
24:28So Crufts is run by the Kettle Club and it's the biggest dog show in the world.
24:35It's famous.
24:36There's thousands upon thousands of dogs showing, competing, taking part in agility, in all
24:44kinds of dog sports and discover dogs so people can go and meet different breeds if they're
24:49considering getting a dog or a puppy.
24:52And she's part of one of the awards that they do every year.
24:56And so what inspired you to train Tilly as a therapy dog?
25:00It was something I'd always wanted to do.
25:03My other dog, he's very shy and quite sound sensitive, so he wouldn't have enjoyed it.
25:11With her, from the get go, she was so confident.
25:14Nothing worries her, nothing bothers her, nothing fazes her.
25:18She's so happy to meet anyone and everyone.
25:21I just knew that she would enjoy doing it.
25:24So she took the behavioural assessment at nine months old, which is the youngest they
25:30can do it, passed straight away.
25:32And we've been visiting Midkent College and Horsall Manor Care Home since.
25:37For you personally, you've spoken about those amazing moments and the impact she's
25:44had on others.
25:46What about on you personally, what impact has she had?
25:51She's had a tremendous impact on me personally.
25:54I was struggling and do struggle with my mental health.
25:57And she has saved me a hundred million times over.
26:01You can't help but smile and be happy when she's around, whether she's being all
26:06cute curled up asleep or whether she's having one of her funny five minutes
26:09and running zoomies around the living room.
26:12She always cheers me up.
26:14Thank you so much for coming on, Emily, and for bringing Tilly on.
26:18I hope she gets loads of lovely treats.
26:20Yes, thank you very much, Tilly.
26:21Oh, she's definitely being spoiled.
26:24As she should, yeah.
26:25And quite right too.
26:26All the best to you.
26:27Like I said, you'll be getting our votes and good luck in a month,
26:32in a few weeks' time, rather.
26:34That yawn.
26:35She needs a bit of rest before she goes for that competition.
26:38Best of luck to her.
26:39And we'll be talking all about our pets tomorrow on the Kent Morning Show
26:43because it's Love Your Pet Day.
26:45Join us at 7am tomorrow.
26:46See you then.
26:47Bye-bye.
27:04Bye-bye.