26/04/2012 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Natalie Graham.

Tonight's top stories. Hit a hit list of victims, a court

hears how Hastings man plan to kill others. A baby at last, after nine

miscarriages. The mother who says her heartache could have been

avoided with a simple test on the NHS. We've been speaking to the new

parents at their home in Sussex. Also in tonight's programme: The

real bionic man, given the chance to walk again, after 19 years in a

wheelchair. I can't stop smiling at everyone.

It is excellent to be up. A superb piece of kit. A second chance for

the short-haired bumble bee, declared extinct here more than a

decade ago, now being reintroduced at Dungeness.

And, they've made an exceedingly good little craft. A replica of

Rudyard Kipling's favourite paddle Good evening.

The jury at the trial of a Hastings man, accused of murdering a man

he'd met for sex, has heard from two people it's alleged he was

planning to kill, because he thought they were paedophiles.

Christopher Hunnisett is accused of murdering Peter Bick, 57, in

January last year. The prosecution say he'd made a hit list of others

he was going to target. Our home affairs correspondent Colin

Campbell reports from Lewes Crown Court.

It described in court as a gay man who led a business sewers that love

Star, Peter Bick was repeatedly beaten then strangled to death

inside his Bexhill flat by Christopher Hunnisett 16 months ago.

Today, have written evidence from two men was ridden -- was read out

in court. Both went on tour website and thought they were communicating

with an 18-year-old woman from Bexhill called Candy Girl. It was

in fact Christopher Hunnisett. The prosecution claimed the 18-year-old

had created a hit list of people who wanted to kill, who he thought

by paedophiles. In an e-mail from the defendant on seven jaggery,

The prosecution has already told the jury at Lewes Crown Court that

the meeting did not go ahead and, the can't say that probably saved

his life. The second man also cancelled.

Christopher Honey said denies murder. -- Hunniseett.

A Kent man, paralysed in a motorbike accident 19 years ago, is

standing and walking again for the first time, thanks to pioneering

technology known as a "bionic suit". Andrew Glenie, from Sissinghurst,

is one of only three people in the UK trialling the new system. The

battery-powered framework acts as an exo-skeleton, detecting impulses

in his muscles, to allow him to move without a wheelchair for the

first time since 1993. Lynda Hardy reports.

With the help of this, Andrew sows being able to stand and walk again

makes him feel excited about the future. I just can't stop smiling

at everyone, it is excellent to be up. A superb piece of kit, it works

really well. It makes you stand up straight. I

am sitting down all the time, hunched over, aching all the time.

It is nice to be up. The father Rod two has been

paralysed and has had to use a wheelchair since 1993, after

suffering a spinal cord injury, following a motorbike accident

racing side cars. Developed in America, this new technology suit

is being child in the UK, and he is one of three people being chosen to

use it as part of his rehabilitation. Once fitted around

the patient, the bionic equipment uses battery-powered motors. It has

a series of joint which match the joints of the body. And sensors

detect impulses from the body about how the user wants to move.

Information is passed through to move equipment, and the person

wearing it. You can put someone into this suit and to training, it

is exciting for those people to be doing that, and there are

physiological and psychological benefits for the patient. The suit

currently costs �100,000 and, at the moment, it is only being used

as part of physiotherapy. Developers are working on producing

one that, in future, can be used at home.

Coming up, a clampdown at foreign students at language schools could

cost the economy more than �200 million. The family of a Kent

businessman, who's been allowed out of a US jail on bail for the first

time since February, say he's looking weary and frail, but

they're grateful that he's finally been released.

Speaking for the first time since his extradition to Texas to face

arms dealing charges, Christopher Tappin said he was extremely

relieved to be out of prison. Ellie Price has the details.

Free for now. US prosecutors had said Christopher Tappin was a

flight risk. But last night he was released in New Mexico. It was

tolerable. I am thankful to the judge for granting the bail. I look

forward to proving my case in court in the near future. Today, his son

said his family were relieved to see him out of jail but they had to

pay $50,000. I felt as if he looked a little bit frail. He looked tired,

weary. The important thing is, having spent eight weeks in a

federal prison thousands of miles from home, Extradition Act so far

has already been a huge punishment for him and he hasn't been proven

guilty of anything. Christopher Tappin is accused of selling

batteries for use in Iranian missiles. The alleged offences took

place in 2006. Christopher Tappin was arrested in 2010 and battled

against etch Titian but his appeal was rejected. Today, friends said

they were relieved he was out of jail. It was good to see him today,

looking relaxed. He has been under a huge amount of stress for years.

It was good to see him with a smile on his face. As part of his bail

conditions, Christopher Tappin must stay in Texas. His family say they

will fly out as soon as they can. Commuters are facing more problems

on the railway tonight, with two sections of line closed in Kent and

Sussex. The route between Robertsbridge and Hastings is

closed again, after a tree fell on the line, just hours after it

reopened. It follows a derailment in the area yesterday. Services are

also suspended between Chelsfield and Orpington, because of a death

on the track. An expert witness has told a court

that footage of the Crawley and Horsham Hunt looked like

traditional fox hunting. Four members of the hunt are

accused of taking part in illegal fox hunting last year. In a police

interview, one of them described hunt monitors as "self appointed

vigilantes". Work on the new Bexhill to Hastings

link road could start this summer. East Sussex County Council has

given the go-ahead for an archaeological survey of the area,

and the re-homing of wildlife to begin early. Councillors hope the

new road, which was approved last month, will help to regenerate both

towns. Language schools are warning that

the south east's economy could lose �267 million a year, because of a

government crackdown on student visas. They say new rules making it

more expensive for students outside the EU to obtain visas, as well as

requiring a higher standard of English to qualify, have already

led to a significant drop in student numbers. Alex Beard is live

in Brighton. Why has the government taken this action on student visas?

And five there are two Maghreb reasons, the first is to clamp down

on these or abuse. When the students come over with the

intention of working or overstaying. And they want to drive down

immigration statistics. Countries like US or Australia don't include

international students in their statistics. But the UK does.

This woman is studying economics and hopes to continue studying at

university. Changes to long-term student visas are making it harder

for international students to follow in these footsteps. Because

they come from student requirements, they do not have the opportunity to

come to the UK to study. If I was unable to come to the UK, I'd have

tried the USA. The government crackdown on student visas has led

to a reduction in applications. But, according to research, that could

impact on the British economy. According to figures from English

UK, foreign language students generate �122 million for the

economy of Brighton and Hove each year. Across Sussex, the figure is

�74.6 million. It contributes across Kent �67.2 million. It is

not just academic institutions, it is the living costs. They have to

live and eat, and they spend money on all of the things that young

students spend money on. But not all languages Gauls are reputable,

and one BBC investigation discovered this bogus language

school in Brighton. Situations like these are what the government wants

to clamp down on. If we let people come, without restrictions, we

wouldn't hit our targets. Which is why we're bringing in restrictions.

Language schools say the visa reforms are turning away good

business at a time of recession. According to statistics, 97% of all

international students in the UK return home to find employment. The

worry is that few are will be coming in the first place.

Our top story. The jury at the trial of a Hastings

man accused of murdering a man he had met for sex, has heard from two

people it is alleged he was also planning to kill because he

believed they were paedophiles. He is accused of murdering Peter Bick

index fell last year. Also tonight, at a novel idea,

recreating Rudyard Kipling's favourite paddle boat.

Today is a day or blustery showers. Expect a flurry of leaflets through

your letterbox, and warn your babies to expect to be kissed.

Candidates are pushing for our votes in the local elections a week

today. This is the current picture in the south east, with the

Conservatives controlling all but five of our local councils. Turnout

last year was just over 44%. But is that because many voters just don't

understand what their local council provides? It can vary from place to

place. But they all provide a range of services, such as collecting

your bins, looking after parks and recreation areas and running

council car parks. Although local elections should be

seen by all of us as local elections, because it really does

matter, everything you need as other front door is controlled by

the council, you need that to be good. In the end, inevitably, we

all see these election results as a barometer of what's going on in

national politics. So they matter nationally and locally.

Five councils will be holding elections next week here in the

south east. In Labour-run Hastings, half the seats are up for grabs. In

Conservative-run Tunbridge Wells, it's a third of the seats. Which is

also the case in Maidstone, in Tandridge and also in Crawley We've

asked three voters for a personal view of what matters most as they

prepare to go to the polls. I have multiple sclerosis. I'd like

them to do more locally for the disabled. I go to a therapy centre

every single week. I have been going for 15 years. We get no

funding. It's disappointing. We have to do an awful lot of fund

raising ourselves. But we're going I know services are being cut back

her to they can't all be cut back. I would like to see the money spent

in a different way. More sport for the youth. More places for us to go

because I know a few of them, people my age, sit outside. Just

somewhere we can hang out, talk to each other and stuff like that. I

have applied for countless amounts of jobs and nobody has come back to

me. Years ago we were 90% paying building is in need of dire repair.

What we need is a leg up. We need some grants to be able to do the

place up, we need some grants to be able to repair the place and to

make it look nicer. To just help run the building. It is somewhere

where local people can meet. It is an important place. I don't expect

it to be 90% granted again. I would like it to be assisted.

That was Peter Shoesmith in Hastings and our political editor

Louise Stewart is live there for us. Louise, as we have heard, these

elections are important both locally and nationally. What will

the parties be hoping to achieve? Here in Hastings this is a key

target for Labour. It is only two Labour-led councils and the South

the so they will want to increase their majority. Another target for

them is Crawley. They have to so they are paying their

representation to show they are on track for victory in the next

election. I don't expect many councils to change hands. As for

the Lib-Dems, they had a torrid time at the last local elections.

They will be hoping to minimise their losses. Perhaps rather

embarrassingly for them, they have not fielded a candidate in Crawley

because they say they did not get their forms in at times. Looking at

the smaller parties, they will be hoping to make a gaze at the

expense of the larger parties, building in on that dissatisfaction

at a national level. If you like to find out more you

can read our political editor's blog and there is lots more

information and our websites - bbc.co.uk/kent, sussex or

surrey.$$NEWLINE They are crucial to pollinating crops and flowers

Past 60 years Britain's bumblebee population has dropped alarmingly.

Some have disappeared altogether such as the short-haired bumblebee

last spotted near Dungeness in 1988. It was officially declared extinct

in the UK in 2000. An attempt to import a colony from New Zealand

has failed, as reported in 2009, when the bees did not survive

hibernation and died in quarantine. Experts are preparing to try again,

this time bringing in bumblebees from Sweden.

Hunting for bumble bees on wild flowers at Dungeness. What that

bees don't realise is that they are gathering food in the form of

pollen which will be vital for the survival of some new extremely rare

arrivals. What we're going to do is pick off our pollen loads with his

cocktail stick. We will put it into our pollen tube. The experts need

to fill the pot to be able to feed up to 100 Queen short-haired bumble

bees later they are going to collect in Sweden. The pollen will

be just enough for two weeks' quarantine when they get here.

need to collect it off a similar species to the one we are

reintroducing because they collect the same Pollen type. When the bees

collect it, they will put it in their hide -- hind legs. The short-

haired bumblebee is proving a tricky species to reintroduce and

attempts to bring them over from New Zealand in 2010 was

unsuccessful. It has allowed more time to prepare the nature reserve

for their rival. The cows are fundamental in getting the grasses

into their condition the bees like. The heat out of the grass and it

opens the grass so what lesser things like clovers and other wild

flowers to come through so bees at dependent on them. Loss of our wild

flower meadows is some up -- one of the main reason why we are losing

lobbies. They can pollinate a great variety of our wild flowers. It is

really important to highlight the plight of our bumblebees. A plan is

for the imported these to be released in a month's time. --

imported bees. Street parties will be taking place

in June to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. For one woman, the street

party will bring back some happy childhood memories. She treasures a

family photo from our party and Ramsgate in 1953. This is her story.

My photo was taken on the 1st June 1953 for an hour street party. It

was in Alexandra Road in Ramsgate. I am standing in front of our house

right at the front with my mum and my sister. Underneath the flags and

a shield, I remember sitting there with my plate and my spoon ready to

eat the jelly! I also remember having to have read curlers in my

head the night before so I looked stunning! This was the first time

they had ever been a huge party in our street. We had never had

anything like that before. I remember my mum had a Union Jack as

Pinney four, she was one of the ladies on the committee that a

range of the party. The whole street was absolutely covered in

criss-cross stunting flags and most of the houses had flax or other

bunting in the windows. My photo a special, it is nice to have a photo

of the three girls together. It was at the time of the Coronation. It

is very special to me. They had a great day. But as her jubilee photo

story. We are celebrating the Queen's diamond jubilee by creating

a huge photo mosaic of her Majesty. It will be displayed in Eastbourne

and will be made of pictures of you. Here are some viewers who have sent

theirs in the Star we sent hours end. We think it is great to have

are picked in the mosaic. It is there to go and see whenever.

have not been very well lately and it will really cheer me up to see

it. I sent in a photograph of my civil partner and myself. We want

to be a little part of history. This mosaic will be here long after

we had gone. Him take out your favourite photo and send it in.

will have to log on to one of our Italy's easy. The Brighton and Hove

Albion boss say their decision to allow the annex stadium proves the

club is building for the future. 8,000 seats will be added.

You sell all your season ticket so then you have the waiting list and

they knew a great gains in great supporter and people waiting to

come. I am delighted that the decision went our way. There's been

quite a lot of sunshine around. It has been a day of sunshine a

blustery showers. In parts of West Sussex and we saw three-quarters of

the rain falling just one day but normally we would be expecting for

all of April. Blustery showers today but they have been easing

through the afternoon and through tonight, is a beast they mostly dry

with scattered showers through the afternoon. It will be staying

breezy but those wins noticeably easing off from today. We have a

deep area of low pressure. We have had these blustery showers,

increasingly bright in the Gusts are stronger and sent him as

ballot. Temperatures not feeling too bad. Heysel 14 degrees. Those

showers continued to fade away as we go through tonight. Cloud

feeding and by dawn. It is going to be very mild for this time of year.

Temperatures not dropping below double figures. A cloudy and a mile

start to the day tomorrow. It will be mostly dry picture through the

morning. We will start to see the scattered showers. As you can see,

the wind is easing off. From a south-westerly direction, 15-20 mph.

Decent spells of sunshine and where we will see the showers, they will

be lighter and shorter than we have seen today. Highs of 13 or 14

degrees Celsius. Those lighter winds makes it feel like a pleasant

day. As we go through tomorrow night, and mostly dry picture and

we will see some sunshine on the south coast by the morning.

Temperatures a little bit cooler than they have been of late.

Relatively mild. As we had to was the weekend, will be staying in

this unsettled theme. Initially for Saturday we start out try but we

have another area of low pressure moving up. This band of rain

spreading north West would. It will be heavy at time with temperatures

in the mid-teens but it will feel noticeably cooler than that. As we

had to was Sunday, we have gale- force winds are coming from an

easterly direction. Heavy rain again at times, drying-up it is

staffed bys in the afternoon. As a head into Tuesday, lots of rain.

Some places state dry for tomorrow. Some light and scattered showers

increasingly unsettled as we head into the weekend. Very wet and

windy as we head into the new week. For Monday and Tuesday, more rain

We have had some technical problems to my supplies tune in at 10:25pm

for the story of the Sussex mother who had a healthy baby daughter

after nine miscarriages. We will bring you stories of Rudyard

Kipling's boat. If Rupert Murdoch has blamed a

cover-up of the News of the World for his failure to take early

action over the phone hacking scandal. The jury at the trial of

the Hastings man accused of murdering a man he had met for sex

has heard from two others. It is alleged he was applying to kill

them because he believed that they were paedophiles.