16/06/2011 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today. I'm Rob Smith.

And I'm Polly Evans. Tonight's top stories: A senior Pfizer scientist

says the company and the Government aren't doing enough to keep staff

and skills in the South East. The parents of a teenager who drowned

in the River Medway talk of their "living nightmare" as they help

launch a safety campaign. It has left us with this huge, huge hole

in our lives. The migrants risking their lives to

get into Britain and the officers sworn to keep them out of the South

East. We'll be talking to our reporter live in Dover as an

undercover investigation into people smuggling is screened

tonight. Passing advice on. We meet five

generations of women in Kent. Can you picture me in a cardigan?

He's still the king of cool and now an author, Henry Winkler, aka the

Fonz, passes on his unique Good evening.

A senior scientist at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer has

accused bosses at the firm of not doing enough to keep the workforce

and the skills they offer in the South East. Speaking exclusively to

Mark Norman, the scientist who works at the Sandwich Research

Centre says Pfizer, the task force set up by local politicians, and

the Government should all put their money where their mouth is and help

Pfizer staff set up new firms in Kent. We've agreed to hide his

identity and his words are spoken To all parties, get a move on. To

Pfizer, put your money where your mouth is and help these people who

want to set-up locally. Blunt words from one of Pfizer's

leading scientist. When the company leaves next year, over 4,000 jobs

will be lost, the Government and the taskforce and the company said

they want to support highly skilled staff to stay in the region, but

this man says the response from all three has been oweful.

They are slow. They are far too slow. People accepted offers abroad

and everybody knows it is over. I feel that sob needs -- somebody

needs to step forward and rattle a few wages.

What evidence have you seen that people are trying to keep you here?

We have had two or three days of people visiting and giving

presentations about how to set-up your own business, but when it

comes to start talking numbers, they haven't come forward.

Coming forward is what was promise bd I the politicians. This is the

the Prime Minister when Pfizer announced they were quitting.

They have brilliant employees and the Government will do everything

we can to make the best of what yes, is a depressing piece of news.

Trying to manage the problem appears to be more deusmt

Difficult. President's Pfizer is creating redundancies too quickly

for us to secure that investment. Pfizer staff appear to have lost

all confidence in that process. There is pain among people with

families, children. And mortgages and houses which have devalued.

Pfizer refused to comment to. They will close the site by the end of

20 strks but everyone agrees if we are going to retain the talented

people who work there, something When Pfizer, which is best known

for producing Viagra, announced the closure of its plant with the loss

of 2,400 east Kent politicians and trade organisations formed a

taskforce to create a post Pfizer economy in east Kent.

The Force claims without significant action from the

Government job losses from Pfizer and the knock on effects could cost

the local economy �380 million. That is nearly 9% of the region's

total output. Well, I can assure your listeners

and I can assure the workforce that we are leaving no stone unturned.

They have got to accept that Pfizer controls that site, no the public

sector or national Government. We have got to work with Pfizer to

finds solutions and fast. As pressure mounts on Pfizer bosses

to safeguard jobs and skills at the site, many local politicians fear

that the closure could affect other local businesses. Earlier this year

the taskforce presented a report to the Government on the way best way

to move forward. The authors called for Pfizer to attract new

businesses to the site. They suggested create ago new enterprise

zone. Well, let's speak to our business

correspondent, Mark Norman. These are serious allegations that have

have been levelled by the senior scientist? They are clearly only

the views of one man. The other staff have been told not to talk to

the media and many will be worried about being able to work elsewhere

in the industry and worried about their generous redundancies

packsages from Pfizer. What next then for Pfizer and the

taskforce and for the people people working at the site? The next few

weeks are critical. The taskforce hinted that the Government are not

doing enough. We have had an insight into the mood around the

water cooler so to speak at Pfizer. Many of the workers there are

already looking for other jobs. Unless things happen in the next

few weeks we will find many of the staff have left and many of the

buildings will be empty and what will see of a pharmaceutical

research and development site in Kent.

There will be more on this story on tomorrow's Radio Kent programme

with John and Clare. The family of a teenager who died

when his canoe capsized on the River Medway say they are

devastated there have been two more deaths on the same river in the two

months since their son died. Cameron Sandell's parents from

Hunton near Maidstone are now helping launch a water safety

campaign to highlight the dangers. Simon Jones joins us live from

Teston Park. Simon, I understand there was another rescue from the

river last night? That's right, at around 11am, a man in his 40s had

to be pulled from the water. It is clear despite the deaths the safety

message isn't getting through to some. It looks calm here, but just

up river is the Weir where Cameron got into trouble. He was an

experienced ka noonist, and had the right safety equipment, but when

his canoe rolled, he couldn't be saved.

Devastating consequences of the water experienced by the family of

Cameron Sandell. He was just 14. You just never imagine that you are

going to lose your child especially to something that he loved doing so

much. It has left us with this huge, huge hole in our lives and, at the

moment, it isn't getting any easier. Just six weeks after Cameron's

death, 12-year-old Alex Chapel from Maidstone who had been playing oen

a rope swing fell into the water and drowned. On Tuesday, Keith

Brooke, who was 42, became the third person to die in the river in

as many months. We just know what the other

families are going through. That horrible, empty feeling that you

get when these things happen to families, you know. It is just a

living nightmare. The family is now backing a new

water safety campaign. It wasn't until recently I realised how deep

the River Medway is. It is in excess of three meters deep and it

is incredibly cold. There is the shock factor if you fall in, there

is always debris in rivers that you can't see more than a few feet

below the surface and it is easy to get tangled up in.

We just just need to make people aware that water may look inviting,

but underneath we don't know what's going on.

Saturday would have been Cameron's 15th birthday. The safety advice is

avoid areas like weirs where there are strong currents. Don't jump

into the water because you never know what is going to be below. If

someone gets into trouble and you are on the shore look for one of

these to help out. Cameron's parents say they can't believe this

A warm welcome in Crawley for soldiers from the Princess of

Wales's Royal Regiment on their A BBC Documentary will tonight show

the hardship and risks people from countries like Nigeria and

Afghanistan are prepared to take to get themselves smuggled into the UK.

Panorama's reporters also filmed with the UK's border officials in

Calais where they find on average a stowaway every day. Earlier this

months the Home Secretary pledged to make the South East's borders

Afghanistan, a country devastated by war. A country many want to

leave. Their destination Europe and for some, England. Fact fact wants

But without a visa, Sear will have to travel illegally and he finds it

easy to find a smuggler who will Those prices come with no guarantee.

Tonight, panorama will show many would be migrants get captured

along the way, young families ending up sleeping rough in cities.

Even if you make it to France, the last 20 miles across the channel

could prove impossible. He spent a quarter of his life trying to get

But as south-east today has shown, in spite of the odds, many are

still determined to test our borders in the hope of a better

John Hunt is live in Dover now. It is one of the UK's key border

crossings. John, how does the Government intend to keep the

border border secure? Well, Theresa May, the Home Secretary visited the

UK and French border authorities in Calais this month and saw the kind

of techniques they are using there, sniffer dogs and x-ray machines and

carbon dioxide and movement detectors and those things appear

to be having an affect. Migrants are saying it is becoming

increasingly hard to get across the channel. In some cases, impossible

as we saw in that report. UK Border Authorities are saying they are

catching 50 stowaways a week. With plans to set-up a new crime crime

agency to tackle people smuggling, that's going to get harder.

And you can see the full Panorama Kent police is plan to go join it's

IT services with three other police forces as part of a cost-cutting

drive. The force is combining its computer network with Essex,

Suffolk and Norfolk police. Kent Police hope the move will save

between �3 and �4 million over four years. The upgrade of the

Thameslink line from Brighton to Bedford has taken a step forward

with the announcement that German company, Siemens has won the

contract to build new trains, the first of which will arrive in 2015.

It is believed up to 600 jobs could be created at a depot planned for

Three Bridges near Crawley. Hundreds of soldiers from the

Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment marched through Crawley today as

part of a series of Homecoming parades. It's the first time the

regiment which has been fighting in Afghanistan has marched through the

town, which is one of seven in the south east they're visiting. The

march comes on the day the funeral of a Kent Royal Marine killed in

Afghanistan took place. Sara Smith reports. Nearly two years since

these troops returned from Afghanistan, this wasn't the parade

to mark coming home from overseas, rather a celebration of their links

to the south-east. Most of these soldiers are recruited from Sussex,

Surrey and Kent. So this was a chance to march in front of family

and friends. Everyone likes to show off,

especially a soldier and they are getting the opportunity to show off

in their home towns. It is the opportunity to put their shoulders

back and say, "Hey, I volunteered.". Despite the rain, crawly turned out

to welcome them. You may not agree with what is

going on war wise, but they have done a good job. You are really

proud to be British when you come to something like this.

I was in the Army myself and I knew what they had to go through. It is

great to see the British public pay their respects. It is a great

feeling. I find it an honour. People respect

us and they are behind us. While the people of Crawley turned

out in celebration, in in in Kent, the village came together for a

different reason, to say goodbye. A 25-year-old Royal Marine was

killed in Helmand province last month. He was buried today with

full military honours. It is two years since these troops

returned from the war. They are on ceremonial duties at the moment,

but in the next year or so and they don't know when yet, they will

A group of women whose loved ones were left severely brain damaged

have set up a website to help other families in the same situation. Sue

Organ's husband was left in a vegetative state after a crash

taking part in the London to Brighton bike ride. Judy Taylor's

husband suffered his brain damage after a fall. Together they've

collaborated, along with three other women, to start Brain Injury

Group.org.uk to provide mutual support to others. Ria Chatterjee

reports. Charles had always been very active,' keen sportsman. Four

years ago, during a bike race, he sustained a head injury.

Complications led to a bleed on the brain. Part of his skull skull was

removed and he spent two years in hospital. Charles is totally

immobile now. He could move his right thigh, his right arm and his

leg and his head. He can't speak to us anymore. He tries.

During her time at the Royal Hospital for neuro disability, Sue

met other women suffering similar tragedies. And from their

experiences came the brain injury group. Judy Taylor's husband was

left in a investigative state after falling from the back of a van.

He had come home after being in intensive care and you look on the

internet and I just couldn't find anything from a human angle. It was

all medical terminology and I didn't understand it and so there

was no one to share it with. We didn't know anybody else. We had,

you know, the family, we could support each other, but we didn't

know anybody else who was in that situation.

This degree of integration with the loved one and by the family and

also between support groups, it makes their life so much bearable

and it has a very positive impact. It makes people feel better and

that way you are better. Sue and Charles' lives have changed.

He used to run a business. Now he needs 24-hour care. My life with

Charles before, but we had a joint social life together, now it is

Charles and me and we are going to go a long way together because you

know, he means the world to me. Are you glad we have done the

A senior scientist working for the pharmaceuticals company Pfizer has

spoken exclusively to South East Today and said that not enough is

being done, by the company or the Government, to keep skills and jobs

in the area. The company announced that it would be closing its

Sandwich site next year. This is Henry Winkler. Please join

me to find out what did I do in Kent and how great watts time I

spent here. Where has our summer gone? Well, I

hope to shed some sunshine on that A 500-year-old stately home in Kent

is using hi-tech x-ray machine to delve into the secrets of some of

its exhibits. Knole Park near Sevenoaks is using a machine more

often used in counter-terrorism than historic restoration, using x-

rays to examine the construction of some of its valuable and fragile

furniture, and tracing the tunnels caused by woodworm and other pests.

Yvette Austin has tonight's special The treasures revealing their

secrets. Some of Britain's oldest and most valuable pieces of

furniture, plain to see from the inside out and all down to methods

used by security experts. This is a piece of kit which is normally used

for inspecting suspect bomb packages, but it can tell us a lot

about antique furniture. Round the back, I have placed a piece of kit.

It is called the detector panel. What we want to do is to take a

picture that goes through this cross-frame which is covered in

cloth and it will tell us a lot about the construction of the chair.

It is the country's most important collection of furniture from the

1600s, but the x-rays are showing how some items are falling apart at

the seems and others are under attack.

We have a pair of 17th century chairs. We know that these have a

history of common furniture beetle damage. You might know it as

woodworm and we can see the external exit holes. We want to see

the damage inside and also if there has been any repairs done on these

in the past. The truth is exposed in the x-ray

image. We can see there has been pins put

in to help support some of the damage and also what is really

exciting, we can see some of the tunnels made by the the larva of

the common furniture beetle. Internal damage, materials used and

past repair jobs, all vital information for today's restoration

experts who hope to begin soon a 15 year, �15 million project to stop

the decay, the house itself will be worked on too.

If we aren't able to introduce environmental control and have

better light levels in the house then the current rate of

deterioration will continue to accelerate and the collection will

become beyond any conservational repair.

There is a clear determination to preserve this historic landmark in

If you grew up in the 70's, the undisputed king of cool was the

leather jacketed, motorbike riding Fonz in Happy Days. He could even

turn the jukebox on with a click of his fingers. These days, the man

behind the character Henry Winkler, is a children's author and can be

found entertaining younger generations who have no idea who

Fonzie was, but can relate to his struggle at school with dyslexia.

He has been talking to students with learning difficulties at

Valence School in Kent. Lynda Hardy He was the king of cool in the hit

TV series, Happy Days. Mary, how are you?

You never heard of me! The Fonz or Henry Winkler still oozes that

charisma. Today, he was the coolest person at school. School was very

hard for me. Spelling was hard. Reading was hard. English was hard.

Now I was great at lunch! Now a successful children's author,

Henry Winkler is touring schools, sharing his childhood struggles

with dyslexia. What do you think about him coming

to the to the school and explaining he had problems in school? It is

really good to have Henry come to the school and he inspires me in so

many ways. I want to carry on reading his books.

It is interesting to learn about the fact that how he coped with his

dyslexia. Listen, I am learning challenged.

Reading was really hard for me. I just had to to work a little harder,

that's all. For me it was getting the scripts early. Reading them

over and over again and being comfortable with them by the time

She leaves her teeth everywhere and she buys me cardigans. Can you

picture me in a cardigan? coolest character of the 70s, he is

fast building a new, much younger What a nice guy.

For most new mums, getting to grips with a newborn baby, the support of

their own mothers is invaluable. But one woman in Herne Bay can

count on her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother for help and

advice. Carlie-Ann Iddenden gave birth to baby Morgan last week. Her

birth marks the start of the fifth generation of women in the family.

Katherine Downes reports. This is 95-year-old Freda. Her daughter

Beryl is 70. She is known as nanny. Then comes 44-year-old Rachel,

known as nanna, her daughter 26 and she has just given birth it to

Morgan. Five generations of women in one family.

. It is really nice because there is less pressure and you have got

advice. We have all had children now. They can give you words of

wisdom as well. It is nice to have that.

REPORTER: Do you think it will be a nice environment for her to grow up

in surrounded by all these women? Definitely. It is a woman's world.

It is in this family, Carly's mum has four daughters, she is chief

baby-sitter to her grandchildren which has taken the pressure off

the older generations. It is nice to see she is a grandma

now and got her grandchildren. It is lovely.

Does it make you feel old or keep you young? No, I think it keeps me

young. I don't feel old, but it keeps me young, I think.

I am at the -- I am the last of my generation that came from the war.

REPORTER: But you are here to welcome the fifth generation?

and I'm glad I'm I'm here to do it. Yes, very much so, aren't we?

Not many babies can boast a great, great-grandmother. Maybe one day

A lot of birthday cards in that house!

If you have a story, you think we should be covering, you can call

My garden is very happy about the weather today. I don't know about

It is not nice if you get caught in them. The showers have been lively.

We have a few showers stampeding. The winds are getting stronger and

they will blow the showers away. It will become dry by the end of the

night. As we go into Friday, I don't think

Friday is ever going to be remembered as fabulous Friday. I

know the ground needs a top-up with rainwater, but to have 5, 10, 15

millimetres of rain falling tomorrow, it is not going to be a

pleasant day. There is your Friday afternoon. Some really heavy

showers. Heavy rain throughout the day and into the evening as well

and gusty around the South Coast. The temperatures aren't going to be

brilliant because of that. 15 or 16 at best. As we go into tomorrow

evening, we have still got that wet weather with us and for Saturday,

this is how Saturday shapes up. Sunshine and showers again. Some

sunny spells, but there will be quite a few showers and those winds

about 15 or 20mph so a breezy day. So possibly a relief that Sunday

will be the better day of the weekend. We should get lovely sunny

spells and and temperatures back where they should be at this time

of year, 19 or 20C. What about the shy summer weather we may want back

again. Well, Monday mopes in with more rain. Tuesday, is still quite

breezy. The lines at the bottom, that could be a develop high

pressure system -- developing high pressure system. Although we have

more rain to come in the next few days, sun looks promising and the -

- Sunday looks promising and the last week of June could have the