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00:32Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV. I'm Naila Mohamed with your top stories on Wednesday 4th
00:39November.
00:40Given life, a man who murdered a housemate in Chatham sentenced a Maidstone Crown Court.
00:45Did you have a fight with Harley two nights ago? Were there knives involved in that fight?
00:55Moored on land, preservation efforts begin on historic shipwreck mass.
01:01That rusting process can be really quite fierce, so we need to understand how much of the risk it is.
01:10And the big reveal, FIFA president unveiled as the figure for Eden Bridge's bonfire night.
01:16Seed in flames, the flames sort of represent the end victory and celebration.
01:37News of Sali has been sentenced to life at Maidstone Crown Court today after being found guilty of the murder
01:43of Harley Purdue in Chatham.
01:44The judge said the brutal attack means that Harley's loved one's lives will never be the same.
01:49A warning, the following story contains mature subjects that may be unsuitable for younger viewers.
01:54And Finn McDermott joins me now. So Finn, can you talk us through the murder itself?
01:59Sure thing, Naila. I mean, with a case as serious and complex as this, it's important we start from the
02:04very beginning.
02:05We can actually take a look at the moment that Moosa Sali was arrested at the time on suspicion of
02:10the murder of...
02:12At the moment you're under arrest on suspicion of murder, you do not have to say anything, may harm your
02:16defence.
02:16You do not make sure any questions to which I try to own court. Anything you can say may be
02:19given your evidence.
02:20This is Moosa Sali leaving the house on Thorold Road in Chatham that he shared with Harley Purdue after stabbing
02:26him seven times after attempting to steal cash from him.
02:30He had lured him into the basement and attacked him, leaving Harley to die in the arms of his pregnant
02:35girlfriend, Hazel Gazden.
02:37And Sally, who has a history of being in gangs and selling knives, was later arrested and charged.
02:44And as I mentioned, sorry, as you mentioned, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 years.
02:51And we can take a look now at the moment that he was arrested and questioned in custody.
02:57We believe that you were staying at that address at that time and you match the description that the witnesses
03:02have given us of the person who stabbed Harley.
03:06Did you kill Harley?
03:07Not quite.
03:11Did you have a fight with Harley two nights ago?
03:15Not quite.
03:18Were there knives involved in that fight?
03:20Not quite.
03:25And Finn, you were there in court. What was the atmosphere like and what led to the decision of how
03:30long he'd be sentenced for?
03:32It was a very tense atmosphere in there, Naylor, a packed courtroom full of Harley's loved ones, family, friends.
03:38The decision when it comes to murder cases, because of the serious nature of the crime, they almost always carry
03:46those life sentences with them.
03:48The judge said that on that life sentence, they gave that term of 24 years and 30 days.
03:55That's the minimum time that he'll take to be able to apply for parole.
03:59The judge said the lives will never be the same of Harley's family.
04:03Well, thank you so much for bringing us the update, Finn.
04:10A murder trial has heard that a teenager was stabbed through the heart by two people in a 22-second
04:16confrontation.
04:1719-year-old Ashton Harrington was allegedly attacked in Belmont Road in Wisdorville in the early hours of the 3rd
04:23of April this year.
04:24At the start of the trial today, a jury heard how 20-year-old Kieran Barnes and 20-year-old
04:29Tobias Agbaje bought knives from a shop in Herne Bay two days before Ashton's death.
04:35Many of Ashton's family and loved ones attended the trial, which is being presided over by Judge Simon James and
04:41is expected to last up to three weeks.
04:45New data released this morning found that deaths related to drug use in Kent were the highest on record.
04:51A total of 138 people died from drug-related causes in the county in 2025, a 20% increase from
04:592024.
05:00The family of Anthony Irwin, who was found dead in his flat in Ramsgate after a long history of drug
05:05use, said that these figures are not surprising and are urging for more to be done.
05:10I spoke to Tom Powell, Anthony's brother, about his thoughts earlier today.
05:14Deaths related to drug use remain at incredibly high levels, the highest levels since records began.
05:21And what we know is that we're also missing drug deaths.
05:26Our experiences have shown problems in testing, problems in post-mortem processes.
05:33So this is a huge problem and it's not going to go anywhere without serious attention.
05:38It was no surprise to me that the figures were so high.
05:41So, you know, I wasn't surprised, but I was still shocked and upset because every single one of these people
05:49is someone who loved and was loved, is a brother, a father, a son, a friend.
05:58There are also many people who were missing from these official statistics because we still don't have a clear grasp
06:04on the scale of the problem.
06:06As a society, I think we need to have more compassion and understanding towards people who are drug users and
06:12long-term drug users, understand the scale of the problem and also help us take fatal batches off the streets
06:17quicker and prevent further deaths.
06:18And I also think that we need better funding for services that support addiction, support recovery and help people live
06:27meaningful lives.
06:39A beloved orangutan infant who captured the hearts of many has died at the age of 15 months.
06:45Tonic was the first of his species to be born at Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury before suffering a sharp
06:51decline in health this week.
06:52Following his death, staff said that watching tonic grow had been a privilege and that their priority is now caring
06:58for tonic's mum, Awan.
07:00Tonic belonged to a subspecies of orangutan that is listed as critically endangered.
07:05Reasons for their sharp population decline include loss of habitat, poaching and extreme weather conditions such as wildfires in their
07:12native Southeast Asia rainforests.
07:16Thousands of pounds have been raised for a boy who is battling a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer.
07:23Emilio from Ramsgate was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, which developed in immature nerve cells.
07:29He's currently at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London with around 80 days of chemotherapy planned.
07:34The fundraiser, which was put together by family friend Tara Smith, has raised £5,000 of its £7,000 target.
07:42Tara said that Emilio should be worrying about playing, laughing and enjoying being a little boy,
07:49but is instead facing a battle that she believes no child should ever have to go through.
07:58It's been one month since the final mass of the SS Richard Montgomery was removed,
08:02and the steel structures are now available to view in Chatham's historic dockyard.
08:06The shipwreck, which has been grounded off the shore of Sheerness for over 80 years,
08:11recently had its masts removed to take pressure off of the hull deteriorating.
08:15Our reporter, Justin Lata, went to see them for herself and brings us this report.
08:21From the sea to the docks,
08:24the SS Richard Montgomery's masts have now made landfall at Chatham's historic dockyard.
08:30The 82-foot steel structures have now been cut to around half the size and are laid out for public
08:37view.
08:37Ian Clark, who runs his own restoration company,
08:40has been contracted by the dockyard to do a condition survey of the masts
08:45and look at options for long-term conservation.
08:48We're just entering into that preliminary phase now,
08:50where we're carrying out some closer inspections,
08:54and then later in the year I'll be presenting the options appraisal to the stakeholders.
09:01And then moving forward, hopefully sometime during 2027,
09:05we'll reach an agreement and the conservation process will start.
09:10And it isn't just the masts that have been brought here.
09:13Various artefacts from the ship have been salvaged too.
09:16So there are a few other objects that were brought up with the masts,
09:19mostly winches, parts, effectively parts that were on the davits and the masts themselves.
09:26Of varying conditions, they have not fared quite as well as the masts in terms of their condition.
09:31We are, again, going through the process of assessing their condition
09:34and looking what we can do with them.
09:36But the conservation process of the masts won't be simple.
09:40Corrosion over time could make things trickier.
09:43That rusting process can be really quite fierce.
09:48So we need to understand how much of the risk it is,
09:53how we mitigate that risk, how we suppress that risk,
09:56and what that might look like going forward.
09:59So this masts behind me was just in the water only a couple of months ago,
10:04and now it's here at Chatham's Historic Dockyard.
10:07So what are the next steps in the restoration journey?
10:10We will do our best to look after them in this short term
10:12whilst working with the Department for Transport.
10:15Long term, we'd love to see them have a suitable home.
10:18We'd love them to be accessible to the public
10:20because objects like this are to be seen.
10:22Therefore, they tell a really important local history story.
10:26And regardless of where they end up long term,
10:28we're just really interested that we can play a role
10:30in making sure that people can still see them for years to come.
10:33It will be years before the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery
10:37have a permanent home.
10:38But for now, they'll remain aground here at the Dockyard.
10:42Justine Lata, the KMTV in Chatham.
10:47Well, now it's time for a quick break.
10:50But don't go anywhere because coming up,
10:52we have so much more news for you,
10:53including our resident health expert and GP,
10:57Dr. Julian Spinks, joining me here on the sofa
10:59to talk about a very viral social media trend
11:02called the ferritin phase.
11:03We'll also have a look at the weather for the coming days
11:06and a sneak peek at who is this year's highly anticipated burning man.
11:10All that and so much more.
11:13We'll see you very soon.
11:14And don't forget, you can also keep an eye on our social media.
11:17We have so much news on our TikTok, our Instagram and our Facebook.
11:21And if you want more news, don't forget to check out our website.
11:24That's kmtv.co.uk.
11:26But in the meantime, grab a cup of tea and we'll see you very soon.
11:31Budget day's arrived and I'm here in Westminster
11:34bringing you all of them to go.
11:36It's about a party.
11:38Good boy.
11:43Good boy.
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15:15Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
15:19The cost of sending Kent children to private special needs schools has increased by more
15:24than 400% in recent years.
15:26This comes at a time when the government is trying to cut to the use of expensive alternatives
15:30to state schooling for SEND pupils.
15:34Trainee journalist Grace Brooks joined me earlier to talk through the data.
15:38So Grace, what are the figures showing?
15:40Yeah, so the figures show that the amount that Kent County Council is paying to send children
15:45in Kent to private special needs schools has increased from 27.6 million in 2019 to 2020
15:53to 143.7 million in 2025 to 2026.
15:59This is an increase of over 400%, with 27% of all children in special needs schools in Kent
16:07being educated privately.
16:09And we can see on screen here there's a massive jump there, like you've just said, but why
16:13have the figures increased so much?
16:15Yeah, so the data also shows that the number of children being educated in private special
16:21needs schools has increased from 901 in 2019 to 2020 to 2,496 in 2025 to 2026.
16:33And this is higher than other parts of the country.
16:37Education commentator Peter Reid has two reasons for this.
16:40He notes the number of children being assessed as needing a special needs school has increased,
16:46while the council's capacity to meet these growing needs hasn't expanded at the same rate.
16:54He also notes it's been a high success rate at tribunals, with 90% of cases at tribunals being successful.
17:02Kent County Council notes that the number of national issues that have contributed to these
17:07growing costs, which have been profit-driven practices and the approval of new independent
17:13schools without evidence of local demand, which are putting pressure on the system.
17:18Kent County Council also notes that tribunals do not need to take into account local resources,
17:23which has contributed to excess pressure.
17:26And what are some of the ways that people are saying you can combat this, and what are other
17:30people saying?
17:31Yeah, so there are plans already by the Department of Education to open two new SEND schools in
17:36Kent, which will certainly ease the pressures.
17:39However, these construction hasn't happened yet because of delays.
17:45Mr Reid says more children should be sent towards mainstream schools.
17:50However, there are concerns from parents that mainstream schools can't offer the same tailored
17:55and specialist care which special needs schools can offer.
17:59Well, thank you so much for bringing us the data and telling us more about it, Grace.
18:04Ferritin phase is a viral social media trend claiming that a pale complexion, dark under-eye circles,
18:11dry skin and hair shedding can visually diagnose low iron levels.
18:15But doctors say a parent alone cannot diagnose iron deficiency.
18:19Well, I'm currently joined by our resident health expert and GP, Dr Julian Spinks, to learn more.
18:36Well, Julian, can you diagnose low iron just by looking at someone's face?
18:41No, is the simple answer.
18:43You know, I would not be trying to do that.
18:47Ferritin is a protein and it reflects the amount of iron in your body.
18:50But you can't judge by looking at someone whether their ferritin is low, high or otherwise.
18:56Doctors before we had blood tests used to look at things, but we didn't look just at the skin.
19:00We looked at things like inside the mouth and the nail beds and so on as a way of judging
19:04things.
19:05And some of the things they're talking about here, dark rings under the eyes most commonly
19:08is simply because you're tired.
19:10It is true if your iron is low that you may feel more tired and you can lose hair and
19:14so on.
19:15But it's far too simple to think that you can look at yourself and just go,
19:18oh, yes, I've got low iron.
19:19And where's this term ferritin face come from?
19:21And we can see on screen there some social media videos kind of, you know, diagnosing it.
19:26But where has the term ferritin face kind of stemmed from?
19:28It's interesting.
19:30I think people have put two things together.
19:31This test that we use and actually, you know, ferritin level is not going to affect how your face looks.
19:37And also things like anemia.
19:40And when you are genuinely anemic, you can go slightly paler.
19:44And like most social media trends, it's actually run far too fast and far too far.
19:50And talking about trends there, this is a social media thing at the moment.
19:54We're seeing a lot of times, not just with ferritin phase, but with other things as well.
19:58People are using social media as a way to diagnose.
20:01They're going to be like, oh, you know, they look quite similar to how I'm looking.
20:04They've got the same thing.
20:05Do I maybe have that?
20:06What are your thoughts on using social media as a method of diagnosis as a GP?
20:10I remember famously when I was a medical student, like lots of medical students,
20:14I'd read about a disease and start to think, oh, I've got some of those symptoms.
20:17Maybe I've got it. And that's the problem.
20:19You have the same symptoms that can be caused by multiple things or can actually be normal.
20:24And so the trouble is someone comes up and says, you have this symptom.
20:27It must be this disease. It almost always isn't the case.
20:31However, if you're becoming more and more unwell,
20:33then it's worthwhile going and having a talk to your doctor to see
20:36and they'll give you a better conclusion as to whether you have or not.
20:40And talked a bit there about, you know, seeing what somebody else has got.
20:44Have you got the same thing?
20:44Do you think there's kind of a fear of GPs almost,
20:48of kind of going to the GP and being like actually prescribed with something?
20:52Well, some people are worried about coming to us.
20:54Generally, we're fairly friendly.
20:56And there are problems getting access to us.
20:58There's no doubt about that.
21:00But a lot of these things aren't something that's urgent.
21:02It needs to be done this day.
21:03You can wait a few days.
21:05But if you come to us, we have got all the tools to make proper diagnosis
21:09and actually to treat you effectively rather than having a guess
21:12and then trying to treat yourself with over-the-counter supplements.
21:15And we spoke a bit about it there.
21:17But if someone thinks they have low iron or low ferritin or they suspect they do,
21:22what kind of other things can they do other than coming to a GP?
21:25Is it, you know, a thing through diet?
21:27Is it a thing through exercise?
21:29What else can they do?
21:30I think that really it's better to be checked out before you try and do it yourself.
21:35If it happens to me that it's the other way around,
21:37you have too much iron and you take supplements,
21:39that actually can be quite dangerous.
21:41It can cause problems for your liver and so on.
21:43So I would, as a GP, always check before I start giving people things.
21:48A mixed diet is a good idea.
21:50It's slightly more difficult if you're vegetarian or vegan.
21:52But at the same time, if you get good advice,
21:54you can actually make sure you get the iron coming into your body,
21:57which will replace what you lose.
21:59And also mean that you continue making blood effectively.
22:02And what other bits of advice would you have for someone who is on low iron
22:06if they don't know what to do, essentially?
22:09Well, if they have low iron, we're going to be putting them on iron supplements.
22:12These days it's a tablet a day.
22:15And typically you have to take it for a minimum of three months,
22:17often for three months after you've recovered from the anemia.
22:20We also want to check people to see why their iron is low,
22:23because it can be a sign of quite serious illnesses.
22:26So we'll look at that side as well.
22:28So we don't just look at replacing the iron.
22:30We look at the cause and we look at other things we can do to help that person.
22:34Well, thanks so much for joining us today and talking us through.
22:37I mean, it'll be interesting to keep an eye on kind of
22:39what the next social media diagnosis will be, essentially.
22:42Absolutely.
22:51And now it's time to look at the weather for the coming days.
22:58Well, Margate is in for some high winds tonight, 60 miles an hour,
23:02also going to be mild and cloudy across the county, highs of 11 there in Dover.
23:05As we head into the morning, it's partly cloudy across the county,
23:09loads of eight in Ashford, nine degrees almost everywhere else across the board there.
23:13Sunshine will peak through as we head into the afternoon,
23:15temperatures staying around 10 degrees across the county.
23:18And as we look at the coming days, the rest of the week enrols highs of 11 degrees
23:22for the next three days, Saturday being partly cloudy there
23:25and the sun also peaking out on Sunday.
23:28So a bit of a sunnier day.
23:38FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been revealed
23:41as this year's figure for Edenbridge's bonfire night celebrations.
23:45Standing at 11 metres tall, the effigy of Infantino will accompany
23:50the traditional Guy Fawkes figure for the event,
23:52which includes a procession through the high street and a fireworks display.
23:56Our reporter Sophie Denny was there for the big unveiling.
23:59He's been under fire a lot this year.
24:03And now FIFA president Gianni Infantino will be feeling the heat
24:07as the Edenbridge Bonfire Society's chosen effigy for this year's celebrations.
24:13Gianni Infantino, we selected basically because of the problems
24:18that he had through the World Cup.
24:21The questions that were being asked about the morality of what he was doing,
24:26association with a certain president in America
24:30and some of the awful decisions that were being made at the time.
24:35The effigy stands at 11 metres tall and as I was driving round the corner,
24:40I could see Gianni Infantino's face looming over Edenbridge.
24:45Not a sentence you say every day, but it only took six days to paint the whole thing.
24:51It's really fast. We have to decide sort of a week before
24:54because otherwise it would be old news, wouldn't it?
24:58So yeah, it is really fast turnaround.
25:00The Guy nods to the various controversies surrounding Infantino,
25:04including the FIFA Peace Prize awarded to US President Donald Trump
25:08and the suspension of a red card during this year's World Cup,
25:12alongside more local concerns such as roadworks and bin collections.
25:17Infantino beat other suggestions, including politicians Nigel Farage and Andy Burnham.
25:23But the effigy does still include a political figure in President Trump,
25:27who was the chosen figure 10 years ago and who has recently faced big losses in the US midterm elections.
25:35Alongside political and social commentary,
25:38the society says the effigy's main aim is to draw attention to their event,
25:43which raises money for local charities.
25:46It's done in a non-malicious way.
25:48We like to raise the profile of our event because the more people that attend,
25:52the more money that we can raise for local causes, which is very important,
25:57which is, as well as bringing the community together on Saturday with our procession and the display,
26:01it's also a way of bringing everything together.
26:05And for artist Andrea, seeing her work go up in flames makes all the hard work worth it.
26:11It's almost like a celebration of the whole hard work and seeing it in flames,
26:15the flames sort of represent the end victory and end celebrations.
26:21As Guy Fawkes celebrations kick off,
26:24the society is hoping their effigy choice hits the back of the net.
26:29Sophie Denny for KMTV in Edenbridge.
26:32Well, you've been watching Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV
26:36and there's more news made just for the county throughout the evening.
26:38But we'll see you again tomorrow evening for some more news.
26:42We'll see you then.
26:53We'll see you then.