31/08/2011 South East Today

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

Tonight's top stories: Hunting the hoaxer - police release CCTV

pictures of a man they want to talk to over Canterbury's bomb scare.

This is a very serious incident that's caused a lot of disruption

and carries a very weighty prison sentence and we are keen to

identify who is responsible and make sure they're brought to

justice. A rising tide of homelessness? As

the economic squeeze continues, charities warn more and more

families are at risk. Also tonight: Walking for the victims; the

brother of a Kent woman killed by her husband sets off on a 150 mile

journey to raise awareness. The teenager who turned his life

around to become the youngest ever student at the London School of

Musical Theatre. The oldest swimmer in town; at 70

years and 4 months old Roger Allsopp breaks the record for the

Channel crossing. I am feeling very elated to have done it but a bit

rough, mostly everything's been Good evening.

Police investigating two bomb hoaxes in Canterbury on Friday,

which brought much of the city centre to a standstill have

released CCTV images of a man they want to speak to. Detectives say

they're determined to bring whoever was responsible to justice. More

than 100 officers were involved in the incident, which began on Friday

afternoon and wasn't resolved until the next day. Dressed in cycling

gear and wearing a rucksack, this is the man the police want to speak

to. This individual was near to Marks & Spencer at the time of the

second incident. He has been behaving in a way that's unusual

for the area of that particular time. As you can see from the

pictures, he appears to be heavily disguised. We are keen to see if

anybody can identify who this is, let us know. The normal bustling

city centre in lockdown. This was Canterbury on Friday night as fear

of the unknown spread. Some caught up directly in the drama. We all

just evacuated, so, yeah, had to get out of there. How worrying was

it? Very, I was traumatised. started when the emergency services

were called to a hoax device at the railway line in Old Dover Road at

4.21. About 50 minutes later the fire service were called to Marks &

Spencer where staff had discovered a fire in the baby changing area.

The city centre was closed off while police investigated the

incidents. It wasn't reopened until 2.57 the following morning.

actual gate to where they found the device was there and they went down

into - on to the line, and found whatever, a package of some sort,

came back up and came to the pub, told us to move. The area around

the railway line remained cordoned off for hours, closing one of the

main routes into Canterbury. In all, around 100 police officers were

involved along with the army bomb disposal team, this was an

operation that cost big money. The police say the motive remains

unclear. But they're circulating these pictures beyond Kent in their

hunt for information. Homelessness could spread to the middle classes

if the economy continues to stall, charities are warning, with

evidence that even places like Crawley, which once had 0%

unemployment, is now feeling the strain. Homeless charity Open House

turned away 2,450 people who wanted a bed for the night over the last

12 months, that's an increase of 14% from the previous year. And the

local council says there is also a 12% rise in households waiting to

be accommodated, to 3,188 Jon Hunt reports.

They know they're busy than normal at this homeless hostel and day

centre because the kitchen has been running out of baked beans sufpb is

the demand for breakfast. I used to finish breakfast about half ten,

quarter to 11, now I am not much finished before lunch. Danny

Armstrong came to the hostel after his relationship broke down. He

used to run his own small business, but he is now having difficulty

getting that going again. To be in this place at 28 years old, it's

soul-destroying to be honest with you. You know, to think of what I

could have had if I hadn't embarked on this relationship, you know, if

I stayed and worked at what I was doing, things would be a lot

different now, yeah. According to centre staff here increasing

increasingly the client ele is changing. They're falling on hard

times because of the recession, as opposed to people more long-term

homeless. The centre takes in homeless people from all over the

south-east, but they only have 24 adult beds available. A of people -

- a number of people they can't help has been rising, in the last

year alone they've had to turn away almost 2,500 people. Their only

inspection is to sleep rough, sometimes even outside the hostel

gates and they predict here it's only going to get worse.

someone's been asked to leave a tenancy it could take months to

evict because they've rights, so there's a lot more to come and our

incomes will increase and possibly funding will decrease, it's going

to be hard. It's more than two years since the recession started

and now now its worst effects are beginning to bite.

Kay Boycott is from the homelessness charity Shelter and

joins us now from Westminster. We heard there that they're seeing

more people from the professional classes but homelessness still much

more likely to affect people from poorer backgrounds, isn't it? Is

middle class homelessness a real concern? At the moment every two

minutes someone faces losing their home so this is something that goes

across everybody. Of course if you are on low are incomes and you have

less of a financial cushion then you are more likely to face

eviction or repossession but we are seeing increasing numbers of middle

class people affected. There were over 40,000 repossessions this year

and that's set to continue and that's before interest rates go up.

There is still far more people who don't own their own homes than

people who do and whilst wages are falling behind interest rates

remain low. So for some people actually the cost of living isn't

as much as it has been. No, well certainly in terms of housing costs

interest rates have helped but we see private sector wages have been

squeezed across everywhere living costs are going up so the numbers

of people coming to us who are saying they've been trying to keep

their head above water, maybe taking on extra jobs if work is

available but they're seeing drops in income and one small thing can

tip them over the edge. With the prospect of a interest rate rise in

future this is a time for people to look at budgets and finances and

say let's ditch those extras, those lifestyle extras that we may be

won't be be able to affords in six months? Lots of people have already

done that and millions of people are saying even a 1% rise could tip

them over. If you think you are going to miss a payment you must

seek advice. Go to Shelter, go to citizens stebs citizens -- Citizens

Advice Bureau, there are many people just about keeping it

together and if interest rates go up that could worsen significantly.

Thank you. Coming up:. Give me a call, please!

Seriously, give me a call. One call was all it took, the student who

persuaded Steve Coogan to take a role in his horror movie.

The brother of a Kent woman murdered by her husband began a 150

mile walk today, on behalf of the victims of crime and their families.

Peter Morris from Gillingham started his campaign following the

conviction of Malcolm Webster earlier this year. Webster had

faked a car accident in which his wife Claire burned to death to

pocket �200,000 in insurance. The crime was only uncovered when he

attempted to kill his second wife by setting up another car smash.

Robin Gibson reports. He set out to walk 150 miles to the

Scottish parliament from his sister's grave. It's an unmarked

grave now, the family of Claire Morris successfully campaigned to

have the headstone dedicated to a dear wife removed. It had been

placed there by the husband who killed her. This walk is not about

me. What I have been through and my family are just examples. They're

just examples of what victims of crime have to go through. I am very

much hoping that as I walk down to Holyrood I will meet other people

and they will give me their stories as well. For 17 years Claire's

husband Malcolm Webster managed to pass off her death as a tragic road

accident. But in 1999 he tried to kill his second wife in New Zealand

in another accident. Detectives reinvestigated Claire's death and

in May Webster was convicted of her murder. The motive each time had

been money. The ordeal of Claire's murder and its aftermath spurred

the Morris family to join campaigners who want the rights of

both the victims and their families recognised. The bereaved family,

their needs are secondary to the crim criminal. His or her human

rights have to be respected at every moment through the process.

But nobody really considers the human rights of either the victim,

who is dead, or the bereaved family. I heard a story of a lady in London

whose son was murdered and after the court case she didn't go out of

her house for five years and my question as far as that's concerned

recovery? There are two long roads and there's a gap between the two

roads which people can fall down. The walk in part will raise funds

to build a refuge for victims' families as well as raising

awareness of their treatment during murder cases.

A Kent Hospital's decided to take off the words "do not disturb" from

signs worn by nurses giving out drugs to patients. Managers at the

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate said the red

tabards were designed to prevent nurses from being distracted,

reducing the number of mistakes on the hospital wards, but they're

taking off the three words to avoid misinterpretation by visitors and

other members of staff. Detectives have released images of five men

they want to talk to after a teenager was attacked and had his

moped stolen at Strood railway station. The 17-year-old from

Rochester was approached by a group of people, and punched in the face.

He escaped with a friend on another moped along Rochester High Street.

Police and social services want to speak to the mother of a four-year-

old girl who was found home alone in Crawley. The girl was discovered

after a 16-year-old boy was arrested in the Maidenbower area of

the town on suspicion of a driving offence, while the child's mother

was apparantly away on holiday. Rebecca Barry is in Maidenbower now.

How did the police make this discover? It started here, in the

early hours of yesterday morning two teenagers were stopped by

police on suspicion of being in a stolen car. It was only when police

began their further inquiries that they found a four-year-old girl

alone at a home nearby. One of the 16-year-old boys was subs kwebtly -

- subsequently arrested on suspicion of child neglect. It's

thought he had been left in charge while the mother was on holiday. I

have been speaking to people here and they're shocked by the

allegations. It's a quiet area popular with young families. Police

say they expect the mother to return to the UK tonight. Until

then the west Sussex County Council say the child is being cared for.

Kent Fire & Rescue Service have revealed they intend to close a

number of fire stations to save money. The Service must find cost

savings of �12 million - 25% of its budget. Fire chiefs have, however,

guaranteed there will be no compulsory redundancies. Our home

affair correspondent, Colin It's a Kent Fire and Rescue have 64

stations and they accept some will have to close. We cannot give a

definitive answer. It is important to think about if we are in the

right place. The service must save �12 million over the next three

years. It has 1500 firefighters, half of them part-time. 70 full-

time posts will be lost through natural wastage. We have a

traditional fire engine that club - - carries equipment and a large

number of firefighters. We want to use resources to better effect.

says it is being innovative. The use of new equipment will save

several million. Smaller rapid- response vehicles are on trial.

time you will be able to use it with fewer people. Get in and deal

with the fire and save the life- saving equipment for when the

public need it. Kent is the first service in the country to push

through controversial changes to Retained firefighters contract.

They have become part-time firefighters. A number have quit

over changes. I unfortunately, under the old system, we could not

provide the guarantee across individual areas that we have the

right level of resources in place. Now we can provide the fire cover

at the right time and according to the risk in place. Like many

organisations, it is facing one of its biggest challenges. In order to

save millions, there are fears safety could be put at risk. Our

reporter joins us. Have you had any response from the union? The union

chose not to provide a television interview. I spoke to the Secretary

for the union in Kent over the telephone. He said he is concerned

that there will be fewer firefighters in Kent who will have

to work longer hours and much harder. That could be a safety

issue. He said he is concerned about potential closure of fire

stations. He said he would oppose any that are earmarked. It is not

clear how many stations would close. We understand an announcement will

be made in October. The top story tonight. Police investigating to

bomb hoaxes in Canterbury on Friday that brought the city centre to a

standstill have released CCTV of a man they want to speak to.

Detectives are determined to bring any body responsible to justice.

Also, 70 years and four months old, Roger Allsopp is the oldest person

to swim the Channel. It has been about shades of grey today. Will it

brighten up over the next couple of days? Join me later to find out.

The teenage tearaway falling in with the wrong crowd in danger of

going off the rails and rescued by a starring role in the school

production. It sounds like a plot from a movie, but Alaric Green has

lift it. And since we featured him on the programme, he has lost more

than five stone in weight and become the youngest student to be

taken in by the London School of Musical Theatre.

It is hard to believe that this is the voice of a teenager. What is

more remarkable is that Alaric Green had no idea he could sing.

This and rich baritone voice has landed him a place at the London

School of Musical Theatre where, at 17, he will be the younger student

ever. In the audition I thought everything was wrong, my answers

were wrong, it was nerve-racking. I had a second and again got

everything wrong in my eyes. They said come to the school, and I was

amazed. He made his debut in a school production 18 months ago.

Immediately, the producer knew he had something special. In it is an

extraordinary voice. He needed to go somewhere that would know what

to do with it. The head of music said, I am thrilled I am going to

have this fabulous baseline through every song. I thought of him

standing at the back of booming through everything! In discovery of

the straw in -- extraordinary voice has been a turning point in more

ways than one. When I look back, I think he was a depressed child. It

gave him the confidence to lose weight. He used to be awkward

around people. He is now Mr Popular. This opportunity has given him a

chance to take his life in a different direction. As long as he

keeps his feet firmly on the ground, the sky is the limit.

You might think that turning a school project into a full-length

feature film is impressive. 17- year-old Liam Hooper has gone one

better by persuading an international movie actor to appear

in it. A horror story, Darkwood Manor, started life at a school in

Brighton. It is finished and star Steve Coogan. He is behind you! The

school is about -- it is about a school trip that goes wrong. A

there is an aspect of in not taking itself too seriously.

Just to reassure you, the Queen is not dead.

In is not just horror that has influenced him, but comedy. He is a

fan of Steve Coogan and jumped at the chance to feature him after

discovering a friend of his new him. I am a big fan. I was holding back

on things I wanted to say. He was very polite and professional. This

is where we shot one of the most brutal scenes in the film. It was

quite scary. He began work on the film three years ago while still at

school. He asked fellow pupils and teachers to take part. Walking

along the corridor, he said Sir, do you want to be an eye film? Two

months later his script arrived on my desk and I realised I got myself

into something bigger than I thought. This is the location for

the mysterious Darkwood Manor. is where we shot the death.

film will premiere at midnight in September at the Duke of York

picture house. Today is transfer deadline day for

football clubs. One deal that was done was Charlton goalkeeper Roger

Levitt -- Rob Elliott has moved to Newcastle, coached by former

Charlton boss Alan Pardew. Meanwhile, Gillingham's Simon King

has joined Plymouth on a one-month loan.

Crawley Town were knocked out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after

losing to Southend United. It was this penalty from Liam Dickinson

who was later sent off for violent conduct, that gave the hosts a 1-0

victory. In cricket, Luke Wright has

undergone surgery on his right knee. The England one-day international

has not played since July but his coach says he is recovering well.

A retired surgeon has achieved his ambition to set a world record as

the oldest person to swim the English Channel at the age of 70

years and four months. Roger Allsopp left Shakespeare Beach 8am

yesterday. By seven in the evening, he had only reached the halfway

mark. Finally, after 17 hours and 51 minutes, he arrived in France at

around 2am today. Delighted and exhausted in equal

measure. This morning, Roger Allsopp climbed out of the sea and

into the record books. I am feeling elated to have done it. It was a

bit rough. Everything has been shaken up and most things are

hurting. A was it as you expected? It was more taxing. There was a

north wind. It was the only time we could have gone in the last ten

days. After months of training, the swim took almost 18 hours. A battle

with tidied and tired nurse. At 70, he is the oldest person to have

achieved this win -- tired and us. The first was Captain Webb. Since

then hundreds have tried it but fewer than 10% go the distance.

This was an incredible challenge for Roger Allsopp, and also one

with a greater purpose, to raise money for equipment for research to

offer early warning signals for cancer. He is a retired breast-

cancer surgeon. He used to come in every week for many years. He sees

what we do in the laboratories and he sees the patients. The challenge

of the channel has been a regular fundraiser. This comedian ran it

for sport relief. One famous face may be sorry to see this latest

record. The uncle of Matt Damon was the previous oldest swimmer. He was

75 days. Roger Allsopp is 70 years and four months.

Our reporter joins us live. It was an extraordinary thing to do.

slowly recovering but resting at a hotel. When I met him, he was

clearly exhausted. No surprise. He arrived in France in the early

hours and came back without any sleep and taught to the press. I

asked him if he was planning another challenge. He looked at me

as if I was mad. I think he is glad to be back on dry land. Having a

well-earned rest! We will check on the weather. There

is news of possible sunshine. Fingers crossed. It has been a grey

day today. It did stay dry. Fingers crossed for the rest of the week.

Decent spells of the sunshine. It should be feeling warmer. At the

moment we have high pressure in control. Normally, we would see

plenty of blue skies, but we have cloud caught under of that. We had

light winds. Temperatures as high as 18 degrees. Staying dry as we

move into tonight. Clearer skies to end the night. It is not feeling

too bad. Overnight, getting down to 11 degrees. It will be a bright

start to the day. Holding on to the sunshine. The wind will move to an

easterly direction through the day. Picking up a touch. Tomorrow night,

a variable amounts of the cloud. We could see the odd light shower. It

will be mostly dry. Temperatures in double figures. To end the week, it

will be a bright Friday. Up to 25 degrees and plenty of sunshine. It

will be feeling more like summer than today. For the weekend, on

Saturday, dry and bright. As you can see, this area of low pressure