15/03/2012 South East Today

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

And I'm Rob Smith. Tonight's top stories: In post as

chairman of a school's governors for a year after it emerged Canon

Gordon Rideout was the subject of child sex abuse allegations. We'll

have the details live from the Bishop Bell School in Eastbourne.

A 21 year backlog of potholes to repair, claim road builders. Can

our councils ever catch up? We have not had enough money to do

the essential maintenance work that is required. Home at last. A Sussex

welcome for photographer Giles Duley, seriously injured in a bomb

blast in Afghanistan. Separated in childhood. The sisters

reunited 55 years on, after their lives took very different paths.

And a model of ambition. How Brighton's Sophie Morgan turned her

life around after the car crash Good evening. BBC South East Today

has discovered that a retired Church of England priest remained

in position as a chairman of school governors for more than a year

after it emerged he'd been the subject of several allegations of

sexually abusing children. Canon Gordon Rideout was arrested

last Tuesday, but we've learnt he remained in position as a Governor

of Bishop Bell School in Eastbourne after he was banned from taking

services, when a Criminal Records Bureau check revealed there'd been

complaints of abuse against him. Our Home Affairs Correspondent

Colin Campbell has the story. A well-known and highly respected

retired priest, Canon Gordon Rideout was arrested last week on

suspicion of sexually assaulting children in the Sixties and

Seventies. We've learned he was suspended in September at 2010,

despite this he can this -- continued imposition a school of

governors at Bishop Bell School. This is something we are deeply

concerned about that Canon Gordon Rideout remained in position for 14

months after his am -- after his CR-V came through which detailed

previous allegations against him. It is such a serious safeguarding

floor and we are demanding answers. We understand details were revealed

in August 2010. We also understand the disclosure of a previous

arrests and nine allegations of child abuse for which he is now

being investigated. The local authority was notified to the

Criminal Records Bureau disclosure. Job protection experts say anybody

working near children with a blemish criminal records bureau

They should not have access to the school, take a view on, discuss all

hold to account members of the school staff for the effect of

their job protection rules. Today, the school's head teacher

tried to stop this filming by placing his hand over our camera

lens. You have no right to stop us

filming here. No comment. It seems it is not the only failing.

In 2004, two years after being arrested, Canon Gordon Rideout was

temporarily made an Archdeacon yet more questions for the diocese of

Chichester currently under investigation.

Colin Campbell reporting, and he's live outside Bishop Bell School in

Eastbourne. We saw there was no comment from the headteacher - has

anyone else given any answers yet as to how Canon Gordon Rideout was

able to remain in position, Colin? The schools' executive head teacher

and has issued us with a statement. He says that as there is an ongoing

police investigation, he believes it is not appropriate to comment at

this stage. Those remarks are echoed by the new chair of

governors he says that, in the fullness of time and at an

appropriate point, the school will answer all relevant questions.

Canon Gordon Rideout was arrested last Tuesday, released on bail the

following day and he must return to a police station on 18th April.

Pothole damage on our roads is so severe, it could take decades to

clear the backlog. That's the claim from the Asphalt Industry Alliance,

which says the amount of funding available to councils for repairs

is 'woefully inadequate'. The Alliance estimates it will take

councils in Kent, Sussex and Surrey 21 years to repair all potholes at

the current rate of progress. The average cost of filling a pothole

is �55. They estimate it would cost each of our local authorities more

than �114m to bring all their roads completely up to scratch. Our

Environment Correspondent Yvette Austin reports.

Part whole works in Ashford. Paul Rhodes are not only a hazard, but

can prove costly as Caroline Ward knows too well. We had to replace

attire, it is not the first time it has happened around here. My

previous car had to new front tyres before the snare and within a week

of that there was a pot holes so I had to replace the Prime new tier.

My daughter the same. We both wrote to the council and they took ages

to come back and we got nothing from them. They were not happy to

pay towards it. The recent winters have brought

matters to a head with garages reporting increasing numbers of

drivers experiencing pothole damage. We have seen a high influx of

repairs to suspensions and wheels with the fashion on the low profile

will retire as opposed to the conventional wheel and tyre. Low

profiles do suffer a lot more than a standard vehicle. This is one

that has recently been prepared. You can see the damage in the

inside of the room which caused the suspension to bend. You can see

that is bent it there. These components need to be changed.

The problem, a government funding level woefully inadequate to remedy

the problem. We have not had enough money to do

the essential maintenance required so we have ended up with a lot of

potholes which are symptoms of the structural problem of the road.

We have had a major blitz on potholes. Last year we completed

14,000 potholed jobs. What we are now gearing is a major resurfacing

of those sites to see all the roads. Ultimate league, that hundreds are

millions of pounds is needed to properly meant all of the roads.

Yvette Austin reporting, and she joins us live from Chatham. Severe

weather conditions over the last couple of years have made the

pothole problem worse, haven't they?

Absolutely. It is the continuous frieze, for action which forces the

road to break up. The asphalt alliance say it is to underfunding

dating back decades. The government however says it is helping and in

2011, to 2015, it will put in �40 million into south-east roads for

road maintenance. That is in addition to �60 million that it

gave last year just because of the cold weather. They say this is

something that cannot be solved overnight.

In a moment, a serial sex attacker accused of raping a stranger two

He lost an arm and both legs, and very nearly his life, in an

explosion in Afghanistan. But Sussex photographer Giles Duley has

now made a remarkable recovery from the horrific injuries he suffered.

Today, he returned home to Hastings for the first time since the

explosion in February last year and our reporter, Bryony MacKenzie, is

live there for us. What kind of reception did Giles Duley receive

this afternoon? It was a very warm one, but very

low key to the curse as well as being a momentous moment, it was

also a nerve-racking for Giles Duley. He has had 30 operations in

the last year alone, but it seems he can accomplish almost anything.

Giles took this walk the day before he went to Afghanistan, it is one

he thought he may not make a game. -- again.

It felt like I am home. I went to this pub before I head of to

Afghanistan. One of my goals was to walk back in here and have a drink

and see my friends. Giles worked as a barman for six years before he

set off as an independent photographer. In February 2011 he

went to Kandahar. Just a week later, on the front line, he stepped on an

improvised explosive device. Giles saw the human face of tragedy.

His friend see him as much of a survivor as those he caught on

camera. He came back under difficult

circumstances, but still the same Giles. A great homecoming. It has

been a long time. We were just saying that it doesn't Fairlight 15

months ago that he was here. It is lovely to have him back. We are

really proud. He has already said he wants to go

back to disaster areas to continue taking photos. For this weekend at

least, his favourite pub will do fine.

The I always come back here, it feels like home to me.

How bigger celebration will it be tonight?

I am literally going to be legless again. It's going to be big tonight.

He is one of many photographers and journalists killed or injured in

war zones this year. They all say the same thing that they feel the

need to tell these stories and it is important to them. Giles will go

back. A psychiatric nursing assistant at

an East Sussex Hospital has been charged with sexually assaulting

two patients. 45-year-old Foday Chorr, from Shrewsbury, is accused

of five counts of assaulting the two women at Eastbourne District

General Hospital in June last year. He's been bailed to appear before

Eastbourne Magistrates Court next Friday.

Police have identified a man found dead in a Sussex river as 64-year-

old Dennis Boddy, from Redhill in Surrey. He was found on Tuesday in

Hamsey, near Lewes, by two men who were out fishing. His death is not

being treated as suspicious. Kent MPs have welcomed moves by

David Cameron to raise concerns with Barack Obama about extradition

arrangements between Britain and America. The issue's been discussed

during talks at the White House, following concern in the UK that

the legislation is tilted in favour of the United States. It follows

several high-profile cases, including that of the Kent

businessman Christopher Tappin, who was extradited last month.

I think it is very harsh that he has been denied bail and I worry

prosecutors are too powerful in the US and can almost force people into

plea-bargain is without necessarily testing evidence in court.

A serial sex attacker, accused of the violent rape of a complete

stranger, broke down in tears as he gave evidence at the Old Bailey

today. Antoni Imiela, from Appledore near Ashford, is accused

of assaulting his victim in London on Christmas Day in 1987, but

denies the charges against him. Jon Hunt has been following the case

and joins us live from the Old Bailey. What's Antoni Imiela saying

in his defence? He told the jury that he had

consensual sex with the woman. His version of events was that he had

been walking down the street, the woman bumped into him and he

jokingly propositioned her for sex. He claimed she did not have a

problem with this, she was laughing with him and not resisting him.

During the course of evidence today, Antoni Imiela, a convicted rapist

and convicted armed robber, broke down in tears. Something the

prosecution suggested was an act. His response was, I don't care what

you think. What has Antoni Imiela had to say

about the woman's account of the incident?

Per account was put to him and his response was that he had not

punched her and he had not committed any violence against her.

He has pleaded not guilty to rape, indecent assault and serious sexual

assault. The trial is set to resume in the morning.

This is out top story: We've discovered that retired Church of

England priest Canon Gordon Rideout remained in position as chairman of

governors at Bishop Bell School in Eastbourne for more than a year

after it emerged he'd been the subject of several allegations of

sexually abusing children. He was arrested last Tuesday.

Also in tonight's programme: A model career. How Sophie Morgan has

gone from strength to strength after the crash that left her

paralysed. And Olympic chief Lord Coe gets a

grilling from our school report It's an extraordinary story, the

stuff of melodrama even, two sisters separated as youngsters,

each unaware of the other's existence. One adopted by a well to

do family, the other suffering an unhappy childhood with her natural

parents. Then after 55 years, they meet for the first time. It's

exactly what happened to Jenny Lucas and Helen Edwards and they're

now making up for lost time. Sara Smith went to meet them at Jenny's

home in Tenterden for tonight's Special Report.

Laughing and chatting together in the kitchen in the way that sisters

do. It is hard to believe that these women spent the first 50

years of their lives apart. When Jennie finally learnt she had a

sister, she nervously composed an e-mail.

I sat for hours trying to compose the best possible way. As I said in

the e-mail, there is no easy way to say this, that I am your sister.

I think the reaction was physical at first. I literally shook from

head to foot. The sisters had grown up a few

miles apart, but their lives were very different. Helen's home was

very unhappy. With her adopted family, Jenny flourished. Taking up

her father's love of golf becoming the Women's Open golf champion.

Helen says there is no envy of the way their lives turned out.

Our separate stories made as the people we are today. We have become

stronger because of it. We have. when I found out about Helen's

childhood, when I read Helen Storey, I did have a sense of guilt because

I had a loving childhood with loving parents.

Jenny met her birth parents weeks before she died, even then, Jenny's

mother did not tell her she had a sister. Jenny and Helen deplore the

secret say, although they now discover they could have met.

have golf induced injuries that operated on by an orthopaedic

surgeon and Helen was his chief theatre nurse and more than likely

assisted on this operation that I had done.

Both women have family is now, but cherish having found each other.

I found my other half that had been missing all my life.

Secrets have no place any more in In the summer of 1944 Hitler's

deadly V1 missiles, known as doodlebugs, landed in Britain,

causing terror and destruction. And Brenda Spiers from Jarvis Brook

near Crowborough remembers it well. As a young girl living in South

London, her home was destroyed by a doodlebug, but her family survived.

For the latest in our MyPhoto This is 1844, on the balcony of the

flat where we lived. -- 1944. These are aunts and cousins gathered for

this momentous christening. Two months later my mother, brother and

myself were sleeping in the hall and we were buried by a rocket,

eight doodlebugs. She said, hold my hand and we held

hands across the hallway. I just remember the contrast of that

comfort and her soothing words to me and then in between each breath

she is shouting, help! Help! By remember the sound of the

doodlebugs like a longer, along a loud sound that there was always a

sign that it was one of those because of the cut-out. Then you

had a long silence and you thought, that is it and then it exploded. It

is all about surviving. You never know what is around the corner.

What an amazing story. That was the story behind Brenda

Spiers' photo and if you have a memorable photo or video, we'd love

to hear from you. Send a copy to the address on

screen now - or email us at [email protected] and your

story could feature on the programme.

A car accident left her paralysed from the chest down. But Sophie

Morgan, from Hove, says she has no regrets and a more fulfilling life

now than she had before the crash. She has a successful modelling

career, and runs a business helping other people with disabilities, as

A successful model, businessmen and artist. A busy life a anyone to

juggle, but for a wheelchair user, it is nothing short of remarkable.

I collected my A-level results and was driving recklessly and lost

control of the car. We flipped and landed in a field and the car

landed on the side of the driver's side so I was crushed.

Sophie was left paralysed below the breast bone, but now believes her

life was better than before the crash.

Life is fantastic at the moment and I am extremely fulfilled and

excited so I do not feel it has ruined my life. In many ways it

feels like it has improved my life. This summer she will present the

BBC Three documentary focusing on road accidents. No stranger to

television, she was on the BBC be on boundaries series. She was also

on Britain's next top model and Stella McCartney picked her to be

the face of a new campaign. It is about the impact she has on

non-disabled people. Just because you are disabled does not mean you

cannot have a successful career and the beautiful and inspiring.

Sophie has worked tirelessly to raise awareness within the fashion

industry and came up with a novel way to help.

It is a wheelchair for a mannequin. It idea to show how people are

represented in the High Street. I miss the feeling of water on my

feet and I miss dancing. A channel that into art works so it still

feels very pleasant. Sophie has managed to turn a life-

changing moment into a positive There are still 134 days to go

until the London 2012 Olympics get underway, but many of the venues

are ready for action now. And thanks to the BBC School Report

project, pupils from Dover College were given an exclusive look behind

the scenes today. It took in the Handball Arena and

they got to ask Lord Coe himself whether the Olympic Legacy could

inspire youngsters to take up an unfamiliar sport. This is their

Handball has been an Olympic sport since 19 seventies six. The French

are the current men's champions. Here, handball is not that well

known. Hello I am I a. I am my leave. We are both in year eight

and we are at the Olympic Park. want to know what it London 2012 is

doing to help young people take a minority sports. This is where all

of the Olympic handball matches will be played. We are here today

to speak to Lord Coe. Does London 2012 have a commitment to making

sure minority sports get more exposure. The one big legacy a want

of the Games is that there are lots of sports that I have not really

watched before neither have my kids, and I am guessing there are sports

you guys have not seen. I think handball is one of those games that

when young people see it, they will want to play it. What is it like to

play handball? Well it take-off? decided to have at our own match at

We understand you have been playing handball for the first time, did

you enjoy it? It has been really firm. It is a lot of fun playing am

getting to know my friends. Today we have seen a handball arena and

had that people from our school would like to play more often.

have to see if watching Hamble at the Olympics will make it more

popular. This is Guy. And this is And to see all the School Reports

from around the country, including the ones closest to you, just log

on to our website: bbc.co.uk/schoolreport.

Just time to show you Dover's white cliffs today. Earlier in the week,

tons of rock fell. Water freezing in the cracks is thought to have

weakened the chalk and caused this fall. The postcards are saying they

are worried about people going out there this weekend.

If it is not a desperate the obvious thing to say, stay away

from the edge. And now the weather.

Did you know it is called cry at Did you know it is called cry at

fraction ring. When water freezes it expands by 10% and that is why

you get movement and cracking. It seems odd to be talking about

freezing things when we have had the warmest day of the year so far.

Much with what many people had a few weeks ago, but we did get up to

18.7 Celsius a few weeks -- today. The March record was 25 degrees

centigrade. Not everywhere had these warm temperatures today. In

the south-east we were the warmest in the UK. Just to the west of us,

underneath his blanket of fog, temperatures were five or six

degrees. That low cloud is already snaking towards us and will be over

us in the next few hours. It means temperatures will be nowhere near

as cold as last night. Some places had an air frost last night.

Tonight we will stay above freezing, but it is going to be a cloudy

start to the day tomorrow. Not as Miss B and Foggy as last night, but

there will still be patches. Do not expect the Sam fest that we had

today as we go into tomorrow. They might be bright must towards Kent,

that is where the best temperatures of. Significantly lower than we had

today. Generally quite a cloudy picture, but the change as we go

into his Saturday. It is a wet, and not very nice day to be out. Some

places will see five mm, some 50 mm. places will see five mm, some 50 mm.

Sunday more wet weather before high pressure returns on Monday.

I am going to be getting wet on my triathlon challenge.

Tomorrow we will be live from Hastings as the south-east and

newest art gallery opens. It's hoped the controversial �4m Jerwood

Gallery will kick-start regeneration in the town.

I can't see how it can't be positive. They would have to get it

very well. It is still very controversial. It takes time for

people to accept, doesn't it. purpose is for people to enjoy and