05/08/2013 South East Today

John Young. And I'm Bryony MacKenzie. Tonight's top stories.

No quick fix. An influential report warns Margate is becoming a dumping

ground for vulnerable people. Going nowhere, anti-fracking protesters in

Sussex say they are determined to stay the course despite the start of

drilling. We are going nowhere, we are gaining

hearts and minds. Also in tonight's programme. Still

missing after more than a week, the chef whose pet dog was found lost in

a lane in Surrey. A desk with a difference, a chair

with a charge. The workshop where every piece has a story to tell. The

Chihuahua with quite a sense of style now stepping up into the world

Good evening. Margate is becoming a dumping ground

for vulnerable people. That's according to a new report from a

think tank which addresses poverty and its causes. The Centre for

Social Justice is warning that coastal towns across the country can

sometimes be as deprived as some parts of major cities, and says

there's no quick fix for the malaise of social and economic problems

In some parts of Margate, 40% of people of working age are on

benefits. This man is looking for work, having just completed an

apprenticeship. Most of my family is on job-seeker's Allowance, they have

spent a year, a year and a half looking for jobs. Every time there

is a job, there are 40 or 50 people going for it. They expect us to live

on �295 a month. It is really difficult when you have got a place

of your own. It is hard to get work. Most people seem to have kids and

get free flat. They do! The report describes Margate as being in an

advanced state of Brookline. -- decline. It has been struggling to

stay above water since the 1960s. What became clear is that they have

become dumping grounds, places where people spend the most vulnerable,

the poorest, and those that need a lot of help. It says the decline of

the bucket and spade holiday has led to former hotel is being converted

into cheap flats. They have had enquiries here from councils in

wealthier areas, that see Margate as a low-cost option. We have been

approached by a London borough. They are having to top them up with

Discretionary Housing Payments it's --. I phoned the council and said,

you are aware of where you are looking, do you know there are not

enough school places, we have not enough jobs? The report recognises

the importance of this art gallery in bringing in tourists, but it says

tourism alone is not the answer. The report outlines plenty of

problem, but does it offer any solutions? The report lists

criticism after criticism, but very few solutions. It says there are no

quick fixes for regeneration. It says one idea is improving the

housing and skills of people, and that will help to bring about better

neighbourhoods. It praises the work of the Margate task force, which has

brought together the police, people involved in the generation and the

local communities to make things better, but there is some anger,

report has listed negative things without recognising more of the

positives. The protests against drilling for

oil in the West Sussex village of Balcombe continued through the

weekend and into today, with absolutely no end in sight to the

demonstrators' camp that's set up outside the village. The company at

the centre of it, Cuadrilla, started drilling for oil on Friday, several

days behind schedule. In a moment we'll look at the political momentum

With Trilling getting under way on Friday, protesters may have felt

they had lost the battle, but little of their passion seemed to have

dissipated. Another lorry, another demonstration of their anger. They

say they are not going anywhere. This is not a lost battle, we are

gaining ground. Simply by gaining people and hearts and minds. This is

just an exploration project at the moment, drilling to see if there is

oil, how much and how easy it would be to bring it to the surface.

Today, the protesters were visited by Caroline Lucas, who says even

looking for oil is misdirected. This is what the Big Society looks like,

this is people saying, not in our backyard. Those who live here had

received a letter from their county council, apologising for any

disruption from the protests. It was not appreciated by all. They are

supposed to be looking after our interests, representing what we

think about this. It seems they are representing the interests of this

injury. -- industry. With a march over the weekend and the camp dug

in, the protest continues. The issue of fracking has become a

hugely problematic one for Conservative MPs who find their

constituencies in potential fracking zones. One Sussex MP, whose

constituency neighbours Balcombe, said that it is causing mounting

concern among residents. A senior Liberal Democrat joined the debate,

saying the Government has seen flashing pound signs but hasn't

considered the long-term threats. Well, fracking was initially hailed

as the answer to our energy problems, but our Political Reporter

Ellie Price now considers whether the mood may be changing.

It is a topic that has not left the headlines for weeks. As the protests

continue, such is the level of bunnies amongst some MPs, a

spokesman from the Prime Minister reiterated it should only be carried

out if there is no risk to the environment. The potential toxicity

has spread further that the confines of Balkan. This video appeals to a

Conservative MP whose mid-Sussex MP sits close to the village. Please

help us. It is an issue that could face a number of our MPs, with the

government granting licences for exploration across the south-east.

In Kent, these licences have been subject to planning permission and

other checks. Will it be a crucial issue at the next election? One Kent

MP who said he would support it in his constituency thinks not. I do

not know if the negatives are quite as great as some people suggest.

well can serve quite a large area. There will be some disturbance while

it is being put down, but after that, very little, and compared to

the benefits, the environmental costs being properly managed should

not be that great. The Tories will not be challenged from UKIP. It must

be investigated. We are concerned that there might be bad side effects

if it is not done properly, so we are excited that it is going on, and

we are watching carefully to see how well it goes. The protests are not

likely to stop any time soon, and neither is the political rhetoric.

Well, let's speak now to Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton

Pavilion, who joined the protestors today. You think this is becoming an

electoral issue, but you said that renewable energy is the way forward.

Shouldn't there be a mixed economy? The bottom line is that the climate

scientists tell us we need to leave to third of known fossil fuels in

the ground if we to -- if we are to keep below two degrees of global

warming, and we will not do that if we are trying to find more fossil

fuels. From a climate change perspective, it is incompatible with

keeping below two degrees to go searching for more fossil fuels. Add

to that the huge level of opposition that there is a map and which there

will be throughout the country when people realise the scale that might

be in physics. It shows that the government has massively

underestimated the scale of opposition. But you are a

democratically elected MP, should we not respect the democratic process?

The council has given permission for this investigation to go ahead

before there is any oil brought to the surface. I have spoken to

residents, there was a survey done of those villagers most affected, it

is 5% are against it. Add to that the fact that the planning guidance

cannot take into account whether people would prefer not to have

fossil fuels at all, but to see renewable energy instead, so there

is a problem with our democratic process. Basically, the government

has massively underestimated the political cost to them of going

ahead. What we are talking about, even to get a fraction of the gas

that they would like to bring up, we are talking about thousands of 12

across the country. That is something people are not factoring

in. UK for social justice, you want to help the poor, ringing oil up

could reduce bills. There is so much evidence that the situation in

Britain is so different, so many bodies say that in Britain, because

of the density of population and the difference of geology, fracking will

not lead to lower bills. It will lead to much greater environmental

problems and higher costs. Has there been a change of heart

amongst our MPs because of the level of opposition? Perhaps, a change of

tack, certainly. A month ago, the government said it would announce

tax breaks to fracking companies are to attempt to put the UK at the

forefront of the revolution. Compare that to the rhetoric today, which

was more softly softly. I have tried to contact most of the MPs in the

south-east, and the majority of them have declined to comment, including

the MP of the constituency. They reiterated that safety concerns are

paramount. In a moment, the mysterious tale of

Medway and the little-known invasion of Graveney. Why the Battle of

Hastings may not be unique in our island story.

A man from Northfleet has been jailed for 13 years for sexually

abusing a young girl. 52-year-old Michael Anderson was found guilty at

Maidstone Magistrates Court. The girl had been made to watch

pornographic films and perform sexual acts. A number of indecent

images of children were also found on his computer.

Villagers in East Sussex fighting to protect their homes situated on a

cliff edge are calling for better defences after losing more land to

the sea. Fairlight has benefited from two schemes in the past to slow

down cliff erosion. But now residents are concerned because the

pump house which protects the village is just 22 feet from the

edge. The family of a man from Surrey who

vanished, leaving his dog wandering off his lead nearby, say his

disappearance is totally out of character. Police are still

searching for David Pickett, who's 34 and from Dormansland, on the

border between Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Mr Pickett was last seen

eight days ago at the nursing home where he works. Police say that so

far they have no clue as to his whereabouts.

Caring, gentle, loving, that is how Friends and Family Test David

Pickett. Seen here, he has now been whizzing's missing for eight days.

His dog was found with the rink without a lead on a country lane.

They were inseparable, they went everywhere together, there was no

way that he would be anywhere apart from with the dog, unless something

serious happened. He was last seen at this nursing home on the 28th of

July. That is where he works as a chef and lives on site. When he

failed to turn up the next day, the police were contacted. He had left

without his wallet, phone or glasses. There is no way I can

comprehend him going off for this period of time and not having

contacted one of us. Especially his family. He cares too much about

other people 's feelings and emotions to not have contacted one

of us, which is why we are all worried. We thought the dog must

have run off, chasing a deal. If Dave had followed him, fallen, hurt

himself, could not call for help, but as time has gone by, and there

is no sign of him, we just worry what might have happened. The police

have scoured the area and conducted underwater searches in nearby lakes.

We have had a number of dogs search in the area. A lot of his Friends

and Family Test also come out to help in the hunt for him. But today,

there have not been any sightings. The police, his family and friends

say they will continue with their searches.

The top story. A new report from a think tank

addressing poverty is warning Margate is becoming a dumping ground

for vulnerable people. The Centre for Social Justice says there's no

quick fix for the problem. Also in tonight's programme. Step

forward Rocky, the Chihuahua with a royal taste in interior design,

yours in Harrods for �800. After a cloudy day with outbreaks of

rain, it is looking drier as we go into tonight. Join me later for the

forecast. Britain is a fortress nation that

ever since the Norman conquest has fought off all invaders. That's the

perception we have been led to believe, but a new book is out to

smash that theory. It highlights 73 attacks on our coast since then. In

the 1300s, Winchelsea, Rye and Folkestone were all raided on

several occasions. In 1667, the Dutch sailed up the Medway and

attacked the Royal Navy fleet moored at Chatham. And British troops

fought an enemy on British soil for sunny, but it has not always been

like that. Which will see is Britain's most innovative town,

invaded seven times. Whole families massacred, homes razed to the

ground, it is England's most destroyed town. That is according to

this journalist turned historian. In one raid in 1360, the French stormed

up the hill and pretty much wiped out the population. The older men,

women and children took refuge in a church and were slaughtered. The

town never fully recovered. The French even got the blame for the

damage church. One fairly, as it turns out. The story goes it was

destroyed by the French, but we know in fact that it was still standing

in 1575, because there is a map showing it as a navigation point.

The map is redrawn 25 years later and the church looks exactly as it

does now. The book looks at 73 invasions. Like the time when the

crew of a German bomber ditched near Whitstable. There was a unit of the

London parish rifles enjoying a few pints in the local pub. They heard

the bang and went to investigate. Instead of the crew holding their

hands up, they opened fire with the machine gun. After a fairly fierce

firefight in which no body was killed, the Germans were captured

and the squaddies took them back to the pub and bought them pints in

return for German souvenirs. Chatham also features, with the Dutch the

invaders. The Dutch sailed up the Medway and destroyed over a third of

the British Navy in the docks. The Royal Navy took a generation to

recover. While Norman the Conqueror might be the most famous invaded, we

now dead's we now know there have been plenty less successful

Imagine a sofa made out of a fuel tank or a bar stool based on an

ejector seat. I personally would prefer to stick to something like

this, but a couple of brothers from Kent have been a lot more

imaginative. Brett and Shane Armstrong hunt far and wide to find

redundant bits of aeroplanes which they then transform into unique

glittering designs that sell for This is a house of double taste --

takes, when nothing is quite what it seems. This could have ended up as

so much scrap, but not any more. have the best job in the world, we

sell items that people are passionate about buying, it is

incredible to have somebody phoned up, enquire, find out the details,

the history, where the piece came from. These are not any old plane

parts. To create an ejector seat to die for or a table made from the

back end of a bomb, you have to go looking. Like any business, they

like to have a simple formula. Take a few bits and pieces, pretty

unusual, and after a lot of tweaking, polishing and

transforming, they turn into something just like this. I have

never been a plane spotter, I am not one of those! I just like creating,

solving problems, how to mount an ejector seat is not an easy feat,

that was made in 1953, so to try and apply modern techniques to try and

mount it as a desk chair or office chair is not simple. This is an

engine Cowling, quite easy to get hold of, we have a World War II bomb

tale, and the sofa is a drop wing fuel tank that I picked up in

Washington, I thought it would make a good sofa. How much? You need to

be a real Jetset to afford the thousands for a seat in this class

of chic. But at least the legroom is down to you.

A nice bit of furniture spotting, fantastic.

We're only just in August, but the new football season is already up

and running. However, it wasn't the most encouraging of starts for our

league teams. Crawley Town were the only victors, as Gillingham,

Charlton and Brighton, with new head coach Oscar Garcia in charge, all

tasted defeat. He's promised attacking football,

and it started well for Oscar Garcia, as Leo Ulloa to put Brighton

ahead at Leeds. But the lead only lasted six minutes, Ross McCormack

levelling things, and then a controversial injury-time goal from

Luke Murphy left Garcia defeated in his first competitive match in

not easy to decide in a few seconds. Charlton lost out to Bournemouth.

Lewis Grabban headed them ahead before Charlton equalised through

Yann Kermorgant's acrobatic volley. But a second for Grabban, followed

by a red card for the Addicks' Bradley Pritchard, meant there was

no way back for Chris Powell's men. In League One, newly-promoted

Gillingham had chances against Colchester, Danny Kedwell's

long-range shot coming closest. But they were made to pay after Andrew

Bond's goal earned Colchester victory. So that left Crawley Town

celebrating the only victory, against troubled Coventry City.

Crawley were two up after 21 minutes, thanks to a Jamie Proctor

effort and a Joe Walsh header. But after the visitors pulled level,

of Rocky, the Chihuahua from Maidstone whose owner spends

thousands of pounds on his outfits. Everything from leopard-print

jackets to a dinosaur costume to elephant fancy dress. Now, Rocky has

moved into the world of canine interior design, and his owner hopes

a new line in jewel-encrusted dog beds that have caught the eye of

couture, but it was a search for a regal bed that has led to him

creating a range of his own furniture that is now sold in

Harrods. He sleeps in my bed. During the day, if I am doing things, he

has not got any where to sleep, so it only seemed right that when we

stumbled upon these beds, that he should have a two poster daybed.

Just as luxury as in his mummy's bed. This leopard went daybed fast

answer, but he also struggled to jump up onto the sofa, so a set of

matching steps with toy box was a must. There is a princely price tag.

Beds start at �800. But the kennel club warns there is a fine line

between pampering your pet and turning it into a fashion accessory.

That has become the latest thing, and back dogs. We would much rather

people chose the dog that was right for their lifestyle and that they

chose a dog for the sake of having a dog, not for having a server that

child. When it comes to lifestyle, Rocky has become high maintenance.

He only eats chicken fillets, costing �500 a year. Another �2000

is spent on collars and outfits. He is already costing Lindsay 700 --

�7,500 through his life. But she is still surprised Harrods has taken

his range. We were surprised, could not believe it. Not only does Mike

dog have a furniture range named after him, he is on sale in

Harrods, it is unbelievable, I have to keep pinching myself, it is not a

dream, it is true. From Britain's best dressed pet to furniture

He loves it! They are all cracking Some fairly half-day -- 50

downpours, but high pressure is building, so things calm down.

Temperatures are around average. One or two showers around, but they are

likely to be fairly light. We saw some 50 and thundery downpours. The

showers moving through pretty quickly, but where we have seen

them, they have been heavy and torrential. The temperatures are not

too bad for the time of year. Through tonight, the showers ease,

we have got clearer skies and lighter winds. The clearer skies

mean sunshine from the word go. It will cloud cover for the afternoon.

It will be a settled and fine picture by the afternoon. A bit more

cloud cover, but not affecting the brightness too much. Through

tomorrow night, lighter wind, clearer skies, we start to see more

cloud cover sleekit towards dawn. With that, like rain and drizzle. A