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Catch up on all the latest news from across the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
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00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:33Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
00:37I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are your top stories on Friday the 21st of August.
00:42Helping homelessness, Andy Burnham unveils new plans to tackle rough sleeping this winter.
00:47Local authorities, in the NHS, in charities need to seize this opportunity and respond to this challenge.
00:54Leave our oasis alone.
00:56Sittingbourne residents outrage at councils selling off green space.
01:00This space of land is probably the last bastion of green space that we've got in the area.
01:04We have construction to the east, construction to the west.
01:07Rising Bills, a Gilligan pet shop, is feeling the squeeze as energy costs drive up prices.
01:13It's like another job just to look at those moving prices all the time.
01:28Good evening. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled a plan to get rough sleepers off the streets this winter.
01:35This will be provided as part of a £442 million package that's said to be fully funded within the Ministry
01:41of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
01:44Etley Reynolds has the story.
01:45As of autumn 2025, here in England, there is estimated to be 4,795 people sleeping rough in one single
01:56night.
01:57And now, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made tackling this issue a central policy within his government.
02:03I think it's a great idea. People fall on hard times for different reasons.
02:07So if we can put a roof over their head, I think it's a win-win for everyone.
02:11There are so many issues. What do you prioritise?
02:16And of course, homelessness is important, but I kind of feel that everything is interlinked.
02:24So I guess this is the letdown of previous governments as well.
02:29There's a lot of derelict properties around, not alone this city, but the country as a whole, which are unused.
02:35There's a lot of millionaires and people that live in other countries which abandon their houses,
02:40which would be happy to take commission to house people in it.
02:44Emergency accommodation will be provided to those rough sleeping as part of a £442 million package.
02:52In addition to this immediate relief, the funding hopes to deliver 1,000 homes across the next three years to
02:59provide permanent accommodation.
03:01The announcement seeks to build on the Everyone In scheme, which was set up during the COVID-19 pandemic
03:07and placed thousands of rough sleepers in hotels and temporary accommodation.
03:11But what does the future of this plan look like?
03:15It's great that there's that ambition and then that money right from the centre of government,
03:20right from the Prime Minister. That does set a tone, that does set an urgency.
03:25But to be honest with you, the extent to which it changes or doesn't change is to a certain extent
03:31up to all of us.
03:32All of us who are working in Kent on this.
03:34And it means people working in local authorities, in the NHS, in charities need to seize this opportunity and respond
03:43to this challenge, really.
03:45And we need to make it work in our communities and we need to make it real.
03:49And we can have all the central direction and all the money in the world, but we have to do
03:54it in our communities.
03:55However, there are still some concerns that Burnham's policies fail to address some of the deeper issues surrounding homelessness and
04:04rough sleeping.
04:05And there are calls for even more of a plan.
04:08Italy Reynolds for KMTV.
04:11The family of a pensioner who was killed by a speeding drug driver have branded his three and a half
04:17year's jail sentence disgusting.
04:19Jamie Sutton was over the limit for cannabis and travelling at almost 40 miles per hour in a 30 mile
04:25per hour zone
04:26when his Audi S3 struck Michael Mick Piper as he crossed the road in Cliftonville near Moorgate.
04:31But Mick's family now say they're unimpressed with the sentence.
04:35And Chloe Brewster joins me now to tell us more.
04:38Chloe, what is the full story here? What actually happened?
04:40Yes, so Mick Piper, as we can see on the screen behind us, he's a 79 year old and he
04:45was attempting to cross North Down Road in Cliftonville back in 2024.
04:49He was leaving a shop, went to cross the road and it was there that he was struck by Jamie
04:54Sutton who was driving his Audi.
04:56He was travelling at 40 in a 30 mile per hour zone, so that's 10 miles per hour over the
05:01limit.
05:01And he was also over the cannabis limit, so drug driving as well.
05:05There is CCTV of the incident, that is up on Kent Online, but we decided not to show it here
05:10as it is quite shocking.
05:12But if I describe it to you just briefly, he was seen, the car strikes him, he goes cartwheeling into
05:19the air, he lands on the bonnet and he's travelled some distance up the road in all of that.
05:25When he was found on the floor, he suffered multiple serious injuries, including numerous fractures, meaning he had to undergo
05:32surgery and be placed in an induced coma.
05:35Now, he was previously healthy, he got around okay, but after the incident, he was left bed bound.
05:42He was repeatedly admitted to hospital, even once he returned home and he actually died 10 months later in hospital.
05:52And as we mentioned there at the start, the family are unimpressed with the sentence.
05:56What was the court's decision and why do they feel that way?
05:58Yes, so Jamie Sutton, who was the driver of the Audi that struck Mick, he received three and a half
06:05years, of which he will serve 40%.
06:08And the kind of ceiling of this offence, where drugs are involved, you can see Jamie Sutton on the screen
06:14now.
06:15An offence such as this, so death, causing death by dangerous driving while under the influence of drugs,
06:20kind of the ceiling of what you can be given is around, is life imprisonment.
06:25So three and a half years is nowhere near that life imprisonment maximum sentence.
06:31Mr Piper's sister, Anne Mab, confirmed the family would be seeking to refer the jail term to the Attorney General
06:37as being unduly lenient.
06:40But we're going to have to see whether there is a retrial or we do see a larger sentence imposed.
06:47Yeah, and further details of that are on Kent Online for people that are interested.
06:51Thank you so much, Chloe.
06:55And it's all we've got left, that's what Sittingbourne residents are saying, about a three-acre plot of land
07:01that they fear will turn into another housing estate, now that Kent County Council has decided to sell the plot
07:07of land.
07:08But residents are certainly disgruntled, as our local democracy reporter Megan Shaw has been finding out.
07:15Disgruntled dog walkers in a park in Sittingbourne, worried their days enjoying the open space might be numbered.
07:23Three acres of nature in Riddles Road is under threat after being enjoyed for the last 75 years,
07:30now that Kent County Council, who own the land, has decided to sell up shop.
07:35But locals are far from wagging their tails over the decision.
07:39Communication we've had on that has been non-existent.
07:41There's been no form of communication with residents.
07:45So we're now taking it ourselves to inform the local community.
07:47This space of land is probably the last bastion of green space that we've got in the area.
07:51We have construction to the east, construction to the west,
07:54and this last green oasis is all really we've got left.
07:58Residents, in particular, fear the land might be lost to housing developers
08:03and feel there's already enough construction work going on around them.
08:07We're becoming a bit of a concrete jungle around here.
08:13This is the only free space around here.
08:18There are probably plenty of other places that, across Sittingbourne,
08:23that could have houses built on them just fine.
08:25But if this was a huge piece of land, I might feel differently
08:30because obviously people do need houses to live on.
08:33But it's not really.
08:34It's just going to be a small development
08:36and it's going to rob the residents of this immediate area
08:40of a green space that is walkable.
08:42This forms part of a larger trend of the council selling off its assets,
08:48such as buildings and artwork, to try and raise money.
08:52Yet the Labour MP for the area, Kevin McKenna,
08:55argues that the council shouldn't be selling off assets
08:58when it won't exist in a few years,
09:01when new councils under local government reorganisation take over.
09:05A Kent County Council spokesperson said,
09:08we are presently inviting comments on the proposed disposal
09:11of open space land at Riddles Road in Borden.
09:15The land was declared surplus in July 2026,
09:19meaning KSEC has no operational use for the land,
09:22but no decision has yet been made.
09:25The public consultation isn't until late September,
09:28so until then, the campaigners have no choice but to remain dogged.
09:32Megan Shaw, in City One.
09:35Residents of Walton Place in Ashford were told to evacuate their homes
09:40following a fire at a block of flats.
09:42It's believed the fire started shortly after midday
09:45in an apartment on the top floor of the property off Strandhope Road.
09:49Seven fire engines were called to the scene,
09:52but after three this afternoon, just one remained on the street.
09:56A resident told Kent Online they were evacuated from their home
09:59despite not living in the block.
10:01A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue said,
10:03there are no confirmed injuries at this time
10:05and the cause of the fire is not yet known.
10:09A charity supporting carers across Kent say it's a difficult and testing time
10:13after losing their contract with Kent County Council after 30 years.
10:17On behalf of KCC since the 1990s,
10:20Crossroads Care has been providing services and respite
10:23for people supporting loved ones.
10:25A webpage set up by Crossroads to advise the 6,000 carers it supports
10:29says the new service may look and feel different,
10:32adding that 75 wonderful, skilled and caring staff members
10:36will now be out of a job.
10:37A KCC spokesperson said,
10:39following a competitive procurement process,
10:42Kent County Council and NHS Kenton Medway Integrated Care Board
10:45awarded a new adult carer support services contract
10:48from August 1st, 2026.
10:52The installation of floral bus shelters across Maidstone
10:55will begin later this month.
10:57The shelters will feature living roofs planted to support bees,
11:02improve air quality and absorb rainwater.
11:04They are fully recyclable and have been designed to allow
11:07for future technology upgrades,
11:10including improved passenger information services as well.
11:13They replace existing town centre shelters
11:16and it comes as part of Maidstone Borough Council's
11:18ongoing investment in a greener, more attractive and sustainable borough.
11:22To minimise disruption,
11:23installation work will be carried out overnight
11:27between August and October.
11:31And that's all we have time for for this part of the show,
11:34but we'll be back in just a few minutes
11:35for more news from across the county.
11:38Thank you so much for watching.
11:39And like I said, we'll see you in just three minutes for more.
11:43We'll be finding out about how a pet shop in Gilliam
11:45has been feeling the pressure of rising energy bills
11:48as they sell raw frozen dog food.
11:50So all of that and more to come.
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15:22Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
15:25Rising energy bills are putting pressure on businesses across the county and here in Gillingham,
15:32one pet shop is feeling the squeeze as the price of running freezers have skyrocketed.
15:38Pup Planet says it's already had to raise prices by 13% but with energy costs continuing
15:43to rise it could mean more price increases for customers.
15:47Maisie Walker went down to the shop to report.
15:50It's more guilt because you don't want to raise prices but you have to to stay alive and
15:55so it's always, you're just stressed about it all the time.
15:57Higher energy bills have pushed inflation to its highest level in four months with prices
16:022.9% higher in July than they were a year earlier.
16:06And here in Gillingham, Pup Planet is feeling the squeeze with freezers running around the
16:10clock to keep its frozen dog food in stock.
16:14So these freezers can't be switched off at the end of every day.
16:17They need to keep on running in order to keep the meat frozen which means every rise in energy
16:21bills hits this business directly.
16:23It's an independent business trying to stay afloat as costs continue to rise.
16:28They've had to increase food prices by 13% since last August as the shop uses 72 kilowatt hours
16:35of electricity every day.
16:37Costing around £600 a month to keep the freezers running, the lights on and the shop cool.
16:43It's like another job just to look at those moving prices all the time.
16:49So even when your products kind of stay the same, it's all these extra little bits and just factoring them
16:54in.
16:54It's just you have to constantly just check it all the time and just make sure you can survive each
16:59month.
17:00Because when you start dividing the cost of electric to just the products that are using it, you can't, you
17:06just won't make any money on those products.
17:08So you've got to spread that cost against all products.
17:11So it's kind of a, yeah, so it sounds small, but it just keeps adding and adding.
17:17It's like a few pence here, a few pence there on top of like suppliers that they have their own
17:21energy costs.
17:22Medway Council does offer a scheme which could help businesses install solar panels.
17:27For Pup Planet, that could save them around £250 a month.
17:31But the roof isn't structurally strong enough to support them, meaning that option isn't available.
17:37So for now, Pup Planet is left to absorb the rising costs, with the possibility of prices increasing further as
17:44energy bills continue to climb.
17:46Maisie Walker for KMTV, Gillingham.
17:49For families living with rare diseases, there is no simple routine.
17:54Every day can mean caring for a child whose condition is unpredictable, while campaigning for awareness, fundraising and for treatment
18:00for getting support.
18:02For many of these mothers, it means raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for research and potential treatments,
18:08while questioning why something that could change their child's life is so difficult and expensive to access.
18:13In an upcoming story, I go behind the scenes, behind the headlines to find out what it's really like for
18:18families living with rare diseases in Kent.
18:21Over the past few months alone, Kent Online and KMTV have reported on a number of children in Kent living
18:28with rare diseases.
18:29Each condition only affects a handful of children, but for the families living with them, the impact is anything but
18:36rare.
18:36With no cure for many of these conditions, their mothers have been campaigning for greater support, awareness and funding for
18:43trials.
18:43All while navigating the upsetting realities of day-to-day life.
18:46With the rare diseases, a lot of them, you've only got a very small number of people who are affected.
18:52So if you're a company devising a new treatment to get your money back, you've got to charge an awful
18:57lot of money.
18:58So they're not making excessive profits, but they have this challenge of developing a drug from scratch,
19:05going through all the testing and the approval that they need, and then passing out to a small number of
19:10people.
19:10Compare that with a very common disease, there's a very easy way to get your money back and therefore the
19:15costs are much lower.
19:16I went behind the scenes with one of these families to find out what life is really like.
19:21To show the challenges that rarely make the headlines, and the battles that continue long after the cameras have been
19:26switched off.
19:27Ready? Good boy. Good boy.
19:32What kind of support do you get?
19:37Erm... I don't really.
19:39The question is, when a disease is rare, does that mean the children living with it are too rare to
19:45matter?
19:48And now let's see what the weather will look like over the coming weekend.
19:56OK, so if I'm taking a look at the screen here, we have lows there of 11 degrees in Maidstone
20:01and Margate.
20:01Highs of 14, 15 in Dover.
20:04Then we have 15 across the board mostly into tomorrow morning.
20:08Highs of 17 degrees in Dover.
20:09Cloudy skies everywhere apart from Tunbridge Wells.
20:12Then that temperature continues, 20 degrees, and we have clouds across the board.
20:17Wind speeds slightly decrease as well.
20:19Sunday, cloudy skies, 23 degrees.
20:21Monday, the sun comes back, 22 degrees.
20:24Tuesday, we get a bit of shade again, 25 degrees.
20:26Might be humid.
20:33Kent's only goat sanctuary has achieved its dream of expanding.
20:37Buttercups has bought 17 additional acres next to its existing five-acre site in Boutonman, Chelsea, near Maidstone,
20:43allowing it to rescue hundreds more goats.
20:46Naila Mohamed joins me now in the studios to discuss this further.
20:50What does this mean? Naila, tell me a bit more.
20:52So this is more than triple the amount of land they currently have.
20:56And while they have this land, which is right next to, like we said there, the existing site in Maidstone,
21:01it gives more grazing space to the goats that are currently there
21:04and room for further expansions for any plans the charity may have.
21:08You can see some of the goats there are grazing at the moment.
21:13But what's really good about this is they've been saving for 30 years for this exact reason to expand.
21:19And the owner said it was a lifetime ambition, something they've been doing since the 1980s.
21:24And for those of viewers who don't know what the Buttercup Sanctuary do,
21:28they help abandoned, neglected and surrendered goats.
21:31They fund healthcare, they help with complex needs and rehabilitation.
21:36And it's something they've been doing, like I said, since the 1980s.
21:39But they've always been conscious about having the right amount of space for the amount of goats they have.
21:45And a couple of years ago, a piece that you did actually, Kristen, they found that they had too many
21:49goats and not enough space.
21:50And we can have a look at that piece now.
21:52In recent weeks, there has been an increase in the amount of goats handed over to the Buttercup Sanctuary near
21:57Maidstone.
21:59Usually, they take in around three to four a month, but have received over 30 in November alone.
22:03One of the goats in this farm is called Hank and he was dangerously abandoned at a petrol station, surviving
22:09on handouts from drivers.
22:11Thanks to Buttercup Sanctuary, however, he is much safer and caregivers even say that he's thriving.
22:16Surprisingly though, this is only one of 130 other stories on this sanctuary.
22:23Around Christmas time, we usually hear about dogs or cats being abandoned, but this year it seems like goats have
22:29joined them.
22:30Buttercup Sanctuary alone have over 130 goats that they care for every day, each costing an average of £1,000
22:37a year.
22:38Being a very intelligent animal, they are often harder and more expensive to look after than people may expect.
22:45Personally, I've been involved with Buttercup since 2011 and prior to that, I would never have thought that anyone would
22:50have a goat as a pet.
22:51And it's astonishing to realise that the majority of the goats here at the sanctuary at Buttercup have come from
22:56Kent and Sussex alone.
22:58I think there's a common perception that goats eat everything.
23:01Our goats here particularly are quite picky.
23:03So if, for example, we supplement feed them with hay, especially in the winter months, and if the hay hits
23:09the floor, they won't eat it.
23:11There is a common perception where goats can be tethered and be left out like sheep and they haven't got
23:16a lanulin part to their fur.
23:18So they can get water logs, they can get hypothermia in cold conditions and they do need to be put
23:23away at night.
23:24At this sanctuary, however, they appreciate when people admit they need help and do the best that they can for
23:29the animal, even if it means giving them up.
23:32Claire has fostered seven goats that live at her home.
23:35She says they aren't too difficult to take care of, but the right facilities are needed for their health and
23:40safety.
23:41They need proper fencing, a big area to graze, the correct food and plenty of socialisation with other goats.
23:48You should care about everything. You should care about people, you should care about animals, you should care about climate
23:54change, you should care about everything in the world.
23:57Having more than 70 volunteers already, many seem to be eager to spend time with and care for the goats.
24:03From my time here, I can see why so many love the animal.
24:07Buttercup Sanctuary are open to donations, new volunteers and they even offer adoptions.
24:12The takeaway is, always do what is best for the animal and never be ashamed to ask for help.
24:17Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Bowton-1-Chelsea.
24:21Certainly a look back in time there, Nayla. I covered that two years ago, like you said, and part of
24:26their big issue was that they had all of these goats coming in and they were worried about that continuing
24:31to happen.
24:32Is this part of the reason why they've had to expand because there was just too many?
24:35Absolutely. I mean, they're the only goat charity in Kent and if they're the ones rescuing and helping these neglected
24:41goats, they need the space to be able to do that.
24:43So this expansion, they, you know, they used to have five acres, they now have just under 22 acres.
24:49It's really going to help them out there.
24:51And what are their future plans? Because I think this isn't all they're doing, is it?
24:55Absolutely correct. So they'll be helping out about an extra 160 goats there, so they'll have plenty of space for
25:01those goats.
25:03But they're also helping with some welfare facilities for both the goats and the volunteers as well.
25:08And dedicated paddocks to help support healthy grazing because if you, if the animals graze in one particular patch or
25:16field, that grass won't grow back and they lose that area.
25:20So having paddocks will help dedicate certain spaces for grazing and other spaces for something else.
25:26They're also looking at other ways to generate a sustainable income.
25:29So one thing they're doing is to have overnight stays where members of the public can come, stay the night
25:34and kind of see what the charity is about.
25:35What are they doing? How are they helping? What does rehabilitation for a goat look like?
25:40And they've even launched this initiative. Now they have the space. Members of the public can sponsor a section of
25:46the field.
25:47And I mean, the area is just so large now as well. But Buttercups is one of the only goat
25:55sanctuaries nationally as well.
25:58Why is there so many goats in Kent?
26:00Well, a lot of people who have goats, they kind of underestimate how much care and money especially goes into
26:06looking after one.
26:08You know, they, they're such, they have such complex needs. They're really, really intelligent animals as well.
26:14So they have extra needs there. You know, they need secure fencing, specialist fencing for them.
26:19They need proper stabling. They have a specific diet.
26:22They also need constant companionship. They're not solitary animals. They need extra, other goats as well.
26:28But the cost of living crisis as well, there's just so much finances that goes into looking after them that
26:33people just don't realise goes into looking after goats.
26:35Ah, oftentimes just a lot more than what people, yeah. Interesting. Thank you so much, Nayla.
26:41OK, you've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV, but that's all we've got this evening for you.
26:45But there'll be more news just throughout the evening from all around the county. That'll be at 8pm.
26:50And you can always check out our socials and our website kmtv.co.uk for more. Bye bye.
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