06/02/2012 South East Today

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

Tonight's top stories: Partially blinded in an acid attack - how

Katie Piper's sight was restored by revolutionary surgery in Sussex.

never expected to be in this position, to be seeing from that

eye again. Schools are closed, rail passengers face long delays - it's

snowed in the south east and once again there's been major disruption.

We're live with the details in Chatham. Also in tonight's

programme: 195 wind turbines off Brighton seafront - the first

vision of what the controversial Rampion wind farm might look like.

Do you know Oliver twist?, the Tory? -- story. Actress Tamzin

Outhwaite takes Dickens to the Dickens Estate to see if the great

novelists work still rings any bells. And we've been enjoying some

of your snow photos - hundreds of you have sent them in. We'll pick

out a few of the best images of the weekend. Good evening. A woman

partially blinded in an acid attack organised by a spurned ex-boyfriend

has had her sight restored by revolutionary stem cell surgery

carried out by Sussex surgeons. Katie Piper, suffered third degree

burns when sulphuric acid was thrown in her face in 2008. The

incident left her scarred for life and damaged her left eye. But her

sight has now been restored thanks to doctors at the Centre for Sight

in East Grinstead. Our News Correspondent, Paul Siegert,

reports. Katie Piper didn't think she would see properly again after

the acid attack in 2008. It left her Scard and without sight in one

eye. My eye was burnt and it left with no sight. I could see gark and

light, but I couldn't see sell wets. -- dark and light., but I couldn't

see silhouettes. After hour of operations, many of the scars had

healed. But doctors hell out little hope for her sight. But thanks to

pioneering surgery, the unthinkable happened. We had cells manufactured

by the eye bank in East Grinstead and transplanted them on to her eye.

The fascinating thing is while we're taking tissue from somebody

who died, what we found is there is no DNA from that individual. So we

expect in Katie's case for cells to disappear and for them to be

replaced with Katie's own cells. Kaitedy is one of the first people

to have the operation and the results were nothing short of a

miracle. It wasn't take off the ban damages and I can see. But it was -

bandage and I can see, but it was quicker than I imagined and it was

a wonderful feeling. When I first realised my sight had changed, it

was strange, because I had resigned myself to the fact that it was a

permanent injury. When a doctor tells you you're blind, you think

of blindness as a perm Nantes thing: I never expected to be -

permanent thing and I never expected to be in the position of

seeing things with that eye again. Katie has had nearly 100 operations

and has started her own foundation, making its easier to live with

burns and scars. More than 60 schools in Kent and Sussex closed

or were partially closed today because of the icy conditions. It

follows Saturday's heavy snowfall. The bad weather over the weekend

led to long delays on the railway with some passengers abandoning a

train and walking along the track. Tonight the train operator South

Eastern has defended its handling of the delays. Simon Jones is in

Chatham, outside one of the schools that shut today. Simon. Why did so

many fall foul of the weather? the decision to shut this school

was make taken at 7am. Some of the fire exits were shut and only five

of the staff could get in to deal with 500 pupils. And then the

problem on the ground with the snow from Sunday, into ice making it

very treacherous. Shut - as schools suck comed to the snow and ice. For

many it meant a change of plan. had to stay off work. Looking after

my friend's little girl. The other two have an older son who has gone

to school and the younger one is at school and the middle one is off.

received a text message from the school, just saying that it was

dangerous, icy roads and staff shortages. We didn't have to go to

school. And we could just play around. Councils say the decision

to close is never taken lightly. Our policy is that all schools

should stay open. It is important for the education of the children

that it is not sper rupted, particularly in the run-up to exams.

-- interrupted. Rail passengers are demanding to know how a few

centimetres of snow could bring services to a halt again. Kevin

caught a train from London at 10.15. It took five hours. They couldn't

even get us home on the day they were supposed to. We were expecting

to be arriving back in the area on Saturday. We literally arrived

there at 3.15 on Sunday. We were pleased we performed better than

last year, but there is more that we can do and it is frustrating for

passengers. But it is inevitable if there is a lot of snow and in

afford there was eight inches and freezing temperatures. Tonight

there is a warning of more freessing conditions on the way. --

freezing. More ice due and perhaps another dusting of snow. The

consensus seems to be the roads coped, but the rail didn't. We were

told trains were running, but then there were no trains and staff

couldn't tell them when they could get on a train. Thank you. And of

course you can keep up to date with all the latest news on the cold

spell by logging in to our websites or by tuning into to our local

radio stations. In a moment: A decade in Afghanistan. We report on

what could be the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment's last tour

of duty there. It would be a massive and controversial project -

nearly 200 wind turbines, supplying thousands of homes, off the South

coast. Today for the first time people were able to get a sense of

how a new wind farm near Brighton might affect the view. There'll be

up to 195 turbines. They'll form part of a wind farm 13 kilometres

off the coast of Sussex, which would supply 450,000 homes. The

energy company Eon released pictures of the proposed wind farm,

as they began a charm offensive to make a case for what they realise

will be a controversial development. In the latest in our Switched On

series, John Young's been taking a look at the images. This is what

thing look light at the moment in Brighton. This Moto montage shows

what it might become if the plans go ahead. You could spot the

turbines from the shore. Now it is time for the public to say what

they think. At the media event to launch the plans, it emerged the

public can't prevent it from happening. But they can make their

views known. Several people were on hand from the energy company to

make the case. We're talking about generating electricity for

equivalent of 450,000 homes. sure can you be about the figures?

On previous projects the figures haven't stacked up. We're using our

operational farms to look at the figures. One of the largest wind

farms is off the coast of east Kent. Technical problems meant it has

only been working at its capacity. But a new generation of winds farms

are being built. We asked if we could borrow a post tore find out

whroo people thought. -- a poster to find out what people thought.

That is what they're about. It is the amount of energy, compared to

the view. It doesn't offend me. We need to get power and we need to

find green power. It is spoiling the view. You are on your bike x

aren't you into green energy? not real you. One detail, several

miles of South Down's National Park will have to be dug up to bury

cables. They have said they will make over the area that they have

to dig up and they will keep the channels Aznar row as possible and

so -- as narrow as possybl and the benefits of the scheme outway --

outweigh the negative. That was John young reporting and he joins

us from Brighton now. John, give us a sense of the scale of these

turbines. Yes thanks to Brighton wheel here. It has been reported

that the turbines will be three times the height of the wheel. So

close up pretty striking. Will it ever happen? Well Eon hope they

will get the Government approval at the end of the year and

construction could begin in 2015. The winds farm become a reality in

2017, employing about 85 people to keep it running. The name of the

game was an element of consultation. They want to find out what we think

and if you want to take a look at the ra photographs and find out

when the public meetings are, the details are on our news web-site.

Thank you. Kent Police say they are continuing to investigate the

circumstances behind the injuries sustained by a one month old baby

in Gravesend in December. Floral tributes were laid and a vigil held

for the boy who was admitted to hospital and later released into

the care of foster parents. Police have confirmed the baby was not

sexually assaulted. Two people arrested in relation to the

incident remain on police bail. The MP for Gatwick has called for more

help for local councils to deal with teenagers who are trafficked

into Britain through our airports. The Crawley Tory MP, Henry Smith,

raised the issue in the Commons. The Government said local

authorities with ports and airports tend to have more problems with

child trafficking but they also develop greater expertise in

combating it. Two Muslim converts from Germany have been jailed after

admitting entering the UK with a stash of terror manuals containing

instructions on how to produce homemade bombs. Christian Emde and

Robert Baum were stopped by officers at Dover last year. Our

reporter Peter Whittlesea is at the Port. Peter how long have they been

jailed for? Well Christian Emde wz sentenced to 16 months in prison,

high news the 193 days he has spent in custody. The 28-year-old pleaded

guilty on four count of having literature that could be useful to

tomorrow. Robert Baum was sentence Tods 12 months. The prosecution

conceded the material he had was Tatlower scale of extremism. -- at

the lower scale of extremism. The judge said the things that were on

their xuerters made for a chilling read. He referred to copies of an

Al-Qaeda magazine with articles on how to make a bomb and 39 ways to

take part in Jihad. Both men were arrested in July. Then, now, it

looks like they will be deported to Germany, where they will serve the

revs of their sentences. Thank you. This is our top story tonight:

Revolutionary surgery carried out by surgeons in East Grinstead has

restored the sight to a young woman who was partially blinded in an

acid attack. Katie Piper lost the sight in one eye after sulphuric

acid was thrown in her face in 2008. Also in tonight's programme: Tamzin

Outhwaite finds out what the dickens they make of Charles

Dickens on Gravesend's Dickens Estate. After the weekend's weather

we all want to know what the week has in store for us. Tonight is

colds, icy and foggy, and with a dusting of snow. "We have not been

cowed by the insurgents." Those are the words of a company commander

with 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment about their

current tour of duty in Afghanistan. Recruited almost exclusively from

across the South East, the regiment is three months into a deployment

in the notorious Helmand Province. In November they suffered their

first casualty. Private Thomas Lake died on while on patrol. Our

Correspondent Mark Norman has just returned from Afghanistan - this is

his video diary of his time with the regiment. Welcome to camp

bastion, the huge base in Helmand where everyone begins that you are

tour in Afghanistan, whether it is media, or soldiers. We all arrive

here first. We were only here for a few hours, because we're off on a

helicopter to Lashkar Gah, where the main bulk of this story is

based. We're getting kitted up to fly out. Body armour, side plates.

Helmet of course. Anti-blast goggles. And it is not exactly

comfortable. One soldier described the journey as fast, and hard. It

was certainly exhilarating. We arrive in the south and I spend my

first evening with B Company, the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment.

The risk, the patrolling and the distance from home play a part, but

the soldiers seem to accept the challenge. It is hard isn't it? You

have seen the place, it is basic. And you know we got a couple of

guys and you make, your life as easy as you can. It is a lot of

effort. How do you cope with questions when you get home?

try to answer it as best you can. But I don't think they still quite

understand. Probably better off showing pictures and things. As

opposed to trying to describe it. It is difficult to describe to your

wife what you're doing out here. They won't understand. But you get

on with it basically and you try and talk to them about what their

life is like and what they're doing back home. It makes your day a bit

nicer if you can say that. If it goes off... As I prepare to leave

Afghanistan, another patrol prepares to leave the base. In a

little over two years, all the troops are scheduled to leave the

country, leaving security for Afghanistan in the hands of the

Afghans. And you can see Mark Norman's video diary in full on

At the height of his powers in Victorian times, Charles Dickens

was massively popular - with the weekly serialisation of his novels

causing as much hype and hysteria as anything the papers generate for

the soaps today. Soaps like Eastenders - remember when Mel and

Ian nearly got married? We can work things out. Work what out. I will

not lose you. Get your hands off me! What drama. Well Tamzin

Outhwaite is appearing in a new film version of Great Expectations

later this year. But is Dickens take on debt, crime - even comedy -

still relevant today? What might people living on Dickens Road on

the Dickens Estate in Gravesend make of it for instance? We asked

So here we're in Dickens Road. Pretty much an ordinary estate,

which look like it has a lot of ordinary people living on it. We're

trying to find out what people know about Charles Dickens. Oh. What do

you know Oliver Twist? The story? If you haven't done it in school

you won't necessarily know who Charles Dickens is. Every occasion

on Charles Dickens' birthday they do party and you see people with

long curly taches. We have a lot of scholars and people who live

Charles Dickens and people who live on the Dickens estate. What they

know about him, I don't know. We're going to find out. We'd like to

hear your experience of living on the estate and whether now reading

scenes from Charles Dickens and get those who want to be involved to do

some acts if they would like to. The question is - does Charles

Dickens matter today? What do you mean by this? What do you mean by

burn my body? Do you know who you? And what you are? Oh yes, I know

all about it. Well then keep quiet. If Charles Dickens was alive now he

would probably have devised east enders. You're wonderful and

special. Value yourself. But all I see is what I'm told, that I'm

rubbish and ugly and out on the street. Let me do you a make over.

You know characters like Oliver and Dodger and I mean they exist in

today's society. People who live in the estate have their own

communities. They have been here for a long time and they stick up

for one other. I have a feeling you work in a prison. My organisation

is made up of people that have been there and done it. What paed row

turn your life around and want to do that. Losing everything. I

weren't there for my children. I have spent 21 years in and out of

prison. And I was really screwed up. You're going to go pick pocketing.

I can't, because You will do it. don't want to go to jail. I don't

care. You're going to do it. These drama classes are getting involved

in groups. And they act out these scenarios that they are familiar W

How many people have been pick pocketed? They took everything. All

me money. Me keys, me mum's ring and me mum's neck lace and a brooch

I had sent to island. They took the lot. Charles Dickens is not just a

story. It is about realities. was all koun to -- down to erts.

That is what I like. We were all equal. -- down-to-earth. We were

all on the same land. We wrote theseover 200 years ago and how

they can still be in modern day society. Those of White House live

here can breathe it, smell it and walk it. Someone neath needs to

start a drama group here. You're in the dickens room. It is calling out

for it. Well done. Good luck. I think she had a good time. Tomorrow

is Charles Dickens 200th birthday and we'll have more on the great

novelist throughout the day. On Friday we're live at Rochester

Cathedral for our showing of David Lean's film Great Expectations,

where viewers will be rubbing shoulders with more than a few

celebrities. The weather played havoc with the weekends sport -

dozens of games were postponed across the south east. There was

one notable exception however. Brighton and Hove Albion's game

with promotion rivals Leicester went ahead, although the second

half according to Albion manager Gus Poyet was crazy, absolute

madness. Neil Bell reports on an incident packed afternoon. The

afternoon began well enough with hand shakes as players and fans

were relieved the game had beaten the freeze. It was only after half

time that things heated up. Beckford's lunge was almost missed.

But after consultation the referee produce adds red card. But then the

Albion were down to ten men, Spar row sent off for this rash tackle

and he will miss the cup trip to Liverpool. And then some skill set

up Buckley who scored his seventh up Buckley who scored his seventh

of the season. There was still time for one more red cards. Dans was

for one more red cards. Dans was the sull prit. Second half, too

many things. Difficult to amise, it was a crazy 45 minutes.. Scrappy it

may have been, but Brighton are within two points of promotion play

off places. Even a typically cavalier innings of 49 not out from

Sussex cricketer Matt Prior was not enough to save England from defeat

in the Third Test against Pakistan. Prior top scored in England's

second innings, but the dismissal of county team mate Monty Panesar

left England 71 runs short of victory. It's a modern truism that

when the snow falls, the camera comes out and you've been

demonstrating that in your scores on our Facebook page and sending us

e-mails and some of your pictures from this weekend have been great.

We've really enjoyed looking at them and have picked a few of our

favourites out, because while the weather may have caused all sorts

of problems for some - for a lot of you its been great to be playing in

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 65 seconds

you its been great to be playing in Small dogs, deep snow, a great

combination. We had to censor some of them. There was a semi naked

barbecue. But will we get any more snow. Are we? It is the question

everyone wants an answer to. A tiny bit is on its way tonight. But

nothing much to speak of. What we're looking at are problems

created by what we have seen. So there is a warning out for ice

tonight. Also some freezing fog has been reported on the motorways. So

a foggy, icy and cold picture. Now that tiny bit of snow is only

really likely to fall over higher ground. But a lot of cloud cover

around, but nothing too eventful taking place. It is still about

what we did have over the weekend and the impact that is having now.

So tonight, well a bit of snow around just to the north of us and

it is that that we're going to see creep further south. Those

temperatures down to a very chilly minus three. So it is going to be

very cold tomorrow night and colder. Tomorrow a drier, brighter day. We

should be seeing some sunshine even though it will be remaining

freezing. And an icy start, so do take care if you're out and about.

You need to take care. Tomorrow those temperatures not getting

above two degrees. So the sun may shine, but it won't feel like it.

Tomorrow a cold picture, those temperatures down to minus four and

once again it is likely to be rather icy. Come Wednesday, we're

not seeing a great deal going on by that points. Not particularly windy.

No wet weather around, but it is cold. And that is the theme for the

next few days, these temperatures unimpressive and on Wednesday a

high of freezing point. So you can see how chilly it is. Thursday and

Friday the temperatures still not higher than one degree above

freezing. But by the weekend we should see the temperatures pick up.

So although the rest of the week is cold, and you need to take care, at

least we can see some ends to it. Although things are not too certain,

by the weekend it does seem there will be some improvement. Thank you.