18/08/2011 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Polly Evans.

Tonight's top stories. He made racist comments on Facebook.

A Kent Conservative politician is suspended from the party. Simon

Jones is live in the town with the details.

Bitten more than 100 times by bed bugs. The Kent sisters who needed

hospital treatment after staying in a London hotel. I just by chance

lifted up the pillows, and that's when I saw them underneath the

pillow. Also in tonight's programme.

Waiting for the green light, could plans for a huge wind turbine

factory in Kent be under threat? It's A-level results day, but for

some good results won't mean choosing university but hunting for

a job. And lighting the way, the artists

celebrating the history of keeping Good evening. A Conservative

councillor in Kent has been suspended from the party for making

offensive and racist comments on the social networking site Facebook.

Bob Frost, who made the remarks in a conversation about the recent

London riots, has now apologised saying he was wrong. Dover District

Council says there's no place in society for his comments. Simon

Jones reports. As violence and vandalism gripped

part of London, Councillor Bob Frost took to Facebook. From

When it was suggested to him he could always take a trip to north

Jungle bunnies is a derogatory term for black people. You do not expect

someone in a position of type that position of power to make comments

like this. They are clearly offensive, racist, in fact.

Councillor Bob Frost, a teacher here, is now facing questions from

all political sides. It sounds to me as though the implication is

that it is a racist slur. If the man has any integrity at all, he

should resign from both the council's he is on, Dover District

Council, and steel town council. is not the first politician to fall

This man resigned from the Conservative Party after referring

to local women as slugs. Little sympathy for Councillor frost in

Dover. That kind of terminology should not be a loser -- used. If

you got a problem, do not use race or culture. I think it is rather

derogatory. In debate's day and age, it is completely and necessary. He

deserved to be dis -- suspended. Whether it be on Facebook,

privately, whatever, you cannot use terms like that. Councillor Frost

Facebook has made him front page news.

Simon it joins us now from Dover. I understand the school, Sir Roger

Manwood, where he works, has given its reaction to the comment? In the

past hour, it has told us that it does not know the full details but

the chair of governors says they are investigating. Nobody from the

Conservatives locally would be interviewed on camera today. The

deputy leader of the council told us that language like this has no

place in our society. Others behind the scenes say they are seething

that this councillor could be so naive and offensive. Councillor

Frost did not respond to my comments on Facebook trying to get

in touch with him today, but in a recent post, he said, I think there

is a storm coming in the direction of Dover. I think he was referring

to this fall out. Two sisters from Kent, who needed

hospital treatment after being bitten more than 100 times by

bedbugs while staying at a London hotel, have been awarded

compensation for the distress they suffered. Melanie Carmen and her

sister Joy travelled to the capital last summer and stayed at the

Airways Hotel in Pimlico, which describes itself as among the best

budget hotels in central London. Jon Hunt reports.

Melanie and Troy, reliving the itching and aching they suffered

when they were bit by bedbugs when they slept. They only realised the

following day and assumed at first it was other insect. We were

sitting in the theatre, scratching like mad. Then we went back, that

is when we sprayed ourselves to make sure nothing would come near

us that night. The next morning, that is when my neck came up, my

neck was massive. They were rather large bumps, far bigger than any

insect bite I have had. They are very red, and they have an

information around the outside of them. Then they get painful. You

try not to scratch, but it is almost impossible without many

bites. Bedbugs are becoming a worldwide problem again. They do

not transmit disease, that can be hard to eradicate. Last year,

several high-profile shops in New York were forced to close because

of its concessions. They are spread through contact, people carry them

from surface-to-surface. They feed on blood, 15 minutes at a time.

Despite their name, they are not just found in bed, but everywhere

indoors, even in Clean hands. important to understand that it is

nothing to do with hygiene. They are an exposure pet, you pick them

up from one location and deposit them in there -- in the next. As

long as people are stationary for significant periods of time,

bedbugs can survive in those environment. No one from the hotel

where the sisters stayed was available to comment today. Between

them, joy and many had been bitten 138 times, and lived in fear that

they took some home with them. really was frantic about this. It

might sound over-the-top, but I was constantly hoovering. Just in case

there was anything in my wardrobe. I was fanatical about it. It took

four months for their bite marks to die down. The sisters are received

�1,600 each in an out-of-court settlement.

In a moment: A stitch in time, the railway engineer from Chatham whose

remarkable copy of the Bayeux Tapestry is so good, the French

In an exclusive interview with South East Today, the world's

leading wind turbine manufacturer is warning the government it won't

build a new factory in Kent unless it gets more detail on the UK's

plans for renewable energy. The Danish company Vesta has an option

to buy land at Sheerness Docks to build a manufacturing plant

creating up to two thousand jobs and producing giant offshore wind

turbines. But it says politicians have to do more to make it happen.

Our business correspondent Mark Norman is at the docks now. How

much at risk is the project? think the company are very serious

about this. This is just a part of the site where they want to build

this factory, right next to the deep water port. The company have

always said they needed certain commitments from government, they

have been in London talking to the government this week. The longer

this goes on, the more frustrated the company becomes.

This is how Vesta says its wind turbines factory would look. Local

politicians and the country -- company say it wanted to be built,

but it has never happened, and it might not happen if the government

does not clarify how they will support the industry financially.

It we do not get answers, or the framework is not in place, our

customers will not to buy the turbines, and we will not by the

Turks -- the factory. Vesta currently supplies 40% of the

world's offshore turbines. I have an option on on that land in

Sheerness docks. -- they have the option. It could create 2000 jobs

directly and indirectly. Despite months of talks and a government

White Paper Supporting renewable energy, Vesta says it is uncertain

about how its customers will be paid for the electricity produced,

because the system is being replaced. People do not know how

this will pay out, it is hard to get financing of the back of the

government's documents so far. We have got a long-term strategic

vision from government, we know what they would like to see, it is

whether they will translate that into a long-term commitment that

people can build businesses on. Their government say their priority

is to drive down the cost of offshore wind. The local government

-- the local authority wants more clarity from central government.

be able to make the kind of a investment that Vesta #ColourCyan

Need to make, they need some clarity for the next 40 or 50 years.

We would like government to make that decision. Does companies that

will -- of those companies that will buy the turbines, they count

seat -- they need the right political framework. There is a

willingness on both sides to build this factory, but Vesta can be

ruthless. It closed down its factory on Isle of Wight in 2009

because of poor orders, with the loss of over 400 jobs.

The government have told me late this afternoon that they will

consult on some of these issues soon, and they have promised in the

past to come up with decisions by the end of the year. Vesta will be

hoping they stick to that promise. You can watch and extending --

extended into the with the boss of Vesta on our side.

A man who died when the tugboat he was working on sank in the Thames

has been named. Darren Lacey from Gravesend was one of the crew

members on the Chieftain when it sank off Greenwich Pier last Friday.

His body was recovered on Monday. A post mortem found that he had died

by drowning. The operators of Manston Airport

are warning any move to ban night flights could threaten its

financial viability. The loss- making airport operates occasional

flights at night but wants to include scheduled departures.

Opponents of the scheme say it would ruin their quality of life.

A care home in East Sussex is facing closure after an inspection

report by the government's healthcare watchdog highlighted

numerous problems. The Mount Denys care home in Hastings cares for up

to 30 people with dementia. What exactly does the report say?

It is pretty blunt. What it says is, let be clear, this is a home for

people who have dementia, particularly difficult people. They

are the most challenging. It was put together by the Care Quality

Commission, the watchdog. They do not say in their report that they

will close the place down, but they do ultimately have that power. The

report says that there is an urgent need for improvement. It says that

70 cases have been recorded of violence in the space of one month,

more than two a day. Either between the residents themselves, all

residents attacking staff. This is not about staff stressing --

abusing residents. Quite the reverse. Why, because scarf --

staff did not spot warning signs. The report says the staff did not

know each resident well enough to spot what will upset them, that was

picked up by a national charity. Challenges that current care homes

have is that they are institutionalised and have

timetables. That have to be turned on its head. We have to look at

people with dementia, understand what dementia is and work with

individuals. It is not about caring with people -- caring for people

within a timetable, it is about looking at two residents and

finding a way and mean of caring for them with dignity and respect.

This home is run by East Sussex County Council, what has their

response been? They refused to give any interviews

today, they wanted to wait until the full report is issued next

month. They say they alter this. They have already put them - given

them more staff and there are more tailor-made care plans. What's more,

they say these improvements have been in place since the inspection

towards the end of July. We will now wait to see the follow-up when

the report comes out next month. With university fees rising from

next year, the pressure on students opening their A-level results today

has been higher than ever. For some in the South East, it means not

taking a gap year. For others it means opting out of further

education altogether and trying their luck in the increasingly

tough job market. Peter Whittlesea reports.

Is that what you were hoping for? But his amazing! This is what we

expect on results day. But it could it soon be more like this? Business

as usual? Tom opted for an apprenticeship in accounts. And he

has not looked back. You can look the book theory -- learn the book

theory, but you cannot have the real life experience of the systems,

how things behave, when errors occur, in real life, and how you

deal with it. Customers have issues, you do not learn is at university.

This year, record numbers have applied to university., was

planning to take a year off, but because he had done better than he

expected, he is looking to going straight to university. He starts

his course before tuition fees go up from �4,000 to �9,000 per year.

�18,000 is a lot of money. Especially for someone who is just

18 years old, just out of school, and cannot afford it. I will look

at all the different options I have, all but it from you need -- all the

different universities I can go to. Some feel they are better off going

straight into the job market rather than running up debts. I did

consider going to university, but I went to go and work for a bank. I

did not want to go to university because of the financial cost, too

much on a loan, and there is no guarantee of a job afterwards.

education professionals believe work place degrees and

apprenticeships will become more popular as tuition fees increase.

Partly because people are concerned about the fees going forward, and

partly because people are getting more realistic about the need to

actually earned money. And keep the cost of a degree to a minimum. Many

students at this academy are looking to go to local universities

to save on accommodation costs. It is coming up to 6:45pm. Our top

story tonight. A Conservative councillor has been

suspended from the party for making racist comments on Facebook. Dover

District Council says there's no place for the sort of comments made

by Bob Frost in a conversation Also in tonight's programme.

The married masters of the arts and crafts. Works by William and Evelyn

de Morgan go on display in Sussex. And they are still lighting the way

from their primitive and history to the 21st century, a celebration of

keeping our shores shipwreck three. It's almost a thousand years

younger and only a third of the length, but now a replica section

of the Bayeux tapestry, stitched in Kent, is heading to Normandy as

part of celebrations commemorating the founding of the French state.

Andy Wilkinson from Chatham has been working on his a half size

reproduction of the battle scene from the famous tapestry for 15

years, and now it's nearing completion. Fiona Irving has

tonight's story update. It was the bloodiest battle to be

fought on the Sussex soil. As the English tried to fight off their

northern invaders. Those are the scenes despite -- depicted in the

Bayeux tapestry and reproduced by Andy Wilkinson, a railway into --

Engineer from Chatham, who before he started, could not even so a

button. I have had no more or boat -- I have had no formal training in

art. No one has shown me any needlework, apart from one stage

that I felt I needed to know, across someone had to do it and

they told me. Apart from that, I have done it all myself. Why? I

have no idea! Just because I can. Andy's tapestry is 40 ft long. 140

stitches in a square inch. It has taken him 10,000 hours to embroider.

It is not an exact replica of the Bayeux tapestry but an

interpretation of it. He has kept to the essence of it and kept the

famous scene of King Harald with an arrow in his eyes. On the bottom,

they have very small eyes, on the original. To make it half-size it

is impossible to sow, so I have had to leave them off. So some of my

animals are blind! This weekend, he is after Normandy to show off his

handiwork to residents whose ancestors were part of the only

In many ways, it's a sort of homecoming for a collection of

extraordinary paintings and ceramics created by a unique

husband and wife team which has gone on display in East Grinstead.

William de Morgan was born in 1839. He was one of the most important

ceramic artists from the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th

century. And his career break came when he began collaborating with

William Morris. Meanwhile his wife Evelyn created a whole series of

classically inspired paintings. He was the ceramicist of his time,

and she was a rarity, a professional woman artist. William

and Evelyn de Morgan were true Renaissance people -- Renaissance

people, and excelled of the art of the late Victorian era. Here, we

have a very different piece, a galleon panel. This was one of the

commissions he did for the P&O liners. By the 1880s, steamships

had become a popular and luxurious way of travelling. William de

Morgan was provided -- was asked to provide the decorations for 12 P&O

liners. These galleons were quite typical of the ships that he

created, they are rather jaunty vessels. They are not looking

particularly see were the, you cannot imagine they would last very

long in a storm! He was an optimist, then? You could say that. The sea

and sea creatures were a recurring theme for both artists.

Particularly as Evelyn got older, she got interested in spiritualists,

so her later work has an ethereal quality to it. The exhibition is on

show at Standens, a house designed by Philip Webb four prosperous

London solicitor, James Beale. wanted a holiday home for his

family, his seven children and wife. It was designed in the Arts and

Crafts style. He was a close friend of William Morris, the father of

the Arts and Crafts movement. William Morris was responsible for

furnishing the house with the patterns and wallpapers and fabrics

we see today. It is appropriate the exhibition should be here. That the

Morgan family were friends with William Morris, and James Beale was

a fan of William de Morgan's work and collected several pieces. It

runs until the end of October. Football, and after another

impressive victory last night, some Brighton and Hove Albion fans may

already be dreaming of a second successive promotion. The Seagulls

are joint top of The Championship after beating Cardiff and making it

three wins out of three this season. Ian Palmer reports.

In truth, a heart belonged to Cardiff, apart from an Ashley

Barnes shots. It was after six minutes, it were judged the off

side. Six minutes before half-time, the striker tried again. One-0-

Brighton. Following the turnover, a foul gave Barnes the chance to

double the lead from the penalty spot. They say you are never more

than three passes away from a goal, and so it proved. One... Two...

Three. The Brighton manager, Gus Poyet, revealed why his side is

playing so much. We tried to make sure that no one can beat us. We

are a team, we play as a team. We all understand the game, the way

that I would like. The weight that is better for the players as well.

And it is working. The needless penalty led to the hosts scoring a

goal. But by then, the result was never in doubt.

In the days before satellite technology they saved thousands of

lives along our coast from their earliest incarnations as simple

bonfires to the towers that still stand today. Kent's lighthouses

have kept sailors safe in treacherous seas, but now they're

home to an art project inspired by a later form of communication

pioneered along our coastline. Sara Smith has more. This report

contains some strobe lighting. It is more than 100 years since the

old Light House in Dungeness was built, but several years before it

opened, another form of communication was being developed

on this stretch of beach. These sheds were home to some of

Marconi's early experiments with radio waves. The inventor would go

on to receive the first international radio transmission a

little further along the coast. It is these two forms of communication,

light and sound, which are the inspiration for this project.

Artists Jonathan Wright's piece recreate the work of another

communications pioneer working on the south coast, John Logie Baird.

This particular a piece transmits an image of this lighthouse on the

tiny television which mimics one that John Logie Baird invented in

the 1930s. So we are seeing and technology that relies on sound to

generate the image. Around the coast at Gillingham peer, this

former light ship, now an -- now an art space, is alive again with a

haunting sound that Steve Macpherson used to here as a boy.

His vocal interpretation of the light ship's for corn, warning see

Goa's of treacherous sand bags. -- foghorn. I would listen to the

foghorn, the moan constantly going on, feeling safe in my bed, someone

was out there watching over people. The odd project run by the

Folkestone fridge -- the art project is timed to celebrate

International Life House day. -- like how stay. They have had to

move this light house because the shingle kept moving the see further

away. This one was replaced when the view of it was obscured by this.

While white houses a while -- a while like houses like this one in

Dungeness are no longer used, it There was a little bit more

sunshine around this evening, the first expected, but we have seen

more in the way of cloud, some outbreaks of heavy and thundery

rain. That clears through this evening, and tomorrow is a much

clearer and drier picture. Beasant spells of sunshine, it should stay

dry and the winds should be easing off. Some heathery and thundery

outbreaks of rain today, -- heavy and thundery. Temperatures were

struggling. The winds from a north- easterly direction. Fairly breezy.

The reason for that, we have had a weather front with an associated

band of heavy rain pushing up from the south-west throughout the day.

There has been some levels of uncertainty about how much we would

see. It did sink a bit further south than we expected so all of us

have seen plenty of cloud and the chances of outbreaks of rain. That

rain will be clearing through this evening, it is increasingly drier,

more in the way of clear skies to end the night. As a result, a

slightly chilly feeling night. Lows of eight or nine degrees. With

those clearer skies, a bright starts tomorrow. As we move into

the afternoon, high cloud bubbling up but it will just be turning the

sunshine hazy. Nothing like their dull picture we saw today. Light

and variable winds. Good news for Festival Friday. Into tomorrow

night, it stays dry, and while the feeling night. -- a milder feeling

night. The sunshine stays with us When the sun is shining and summer

is in full swing, there is nothing better than getting out of the

office to the seaside, and that is exactly what we are planning every

Friday in August. We are entering the festival spirit by taking South

East Today out on the road, to join you add some of the biggest summer

celebrations across Kent and Sussex. We will be live on location each

battle Friday and we would love as many of you as possible to come