04/10/2013 South East Today

I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Bryony MacKenzie. Tonight's

top stories: A school sends the wrong six—year—old pupil to the

doctor's with another child's grandfather — an investigation has

begun. We're live outside the school in

Gillingham tonight. Firefighters are still being put at

unnecessary risk. Unions say lessons have not been learned, despite the

deaths of two officers at a fireworks factory. We feel there are

still weaknesses. They have not improved.

Also in tonight's programme: You will get the money when I have got

the money. Either way, you will pay. 20 months jail for the loan shark

caught preying on single mums in Kent using threats and intimidation.

Going home for the first time in her life — the little girl whose

condition means she could die every time she falls asleep.

And sketching from nature — the rarely—seen landscapes of Turner and

Constable go on show side—by—side. Good evening. An urgent

investigation into safety has been launched at a Kent primary school

after staff handed over the wrong child to another pupil's grandfather

for a medical appointment. The pensioner took the six—year—old

girl from the Napier Community Primary in Gillingham to the

doctor's and back again, not realising the child wasn't his

granddaughter. Our social affairs correspondent Yvette Austin is at

the school. Extraordinary situation, Yvette. They're now reviewing their

child safety procedures there. In a word, yes. This came to light when

the child who was wrongly taken out of school went home and showed her

parents a bottle of liquid paracetamol. The name on the bottle

was not hers. Home time today and the school was making doubly sure

all of the children were leaving with the right adults. A gaping hole

in its safeguarding policy revealed when on juice take a grandfather

picked up a child he thought was his granddaughter —— when on Tuesday.

They had the same name but it was ridiculous and the grandfather not

to notice... A bit weird. Surely the grandfather would now through his

own grandchild was? It is worrying but you just hope it is not your

child. I do not want to put the school down because it is a good

school. I understand from my granddaughter's mother that

grandparents now have to have a note of permission to take to the school

to make sure they are the right person. The grandfather took the six

—year—old child from the primary school. She travelled with him by

bus to the GP practice a mile away where she was prescribed liquid

paracetamol. She was then returned to the primary school. When the

mistake was revealed, the school launched an enquiry. It is a serious

incident and we have to ensure nothing like this happens again. It

raises the whole issue about the procedure when children are left out

of school. The school has now e—mailed parents saying letters are

required from them to authorise anyone else to pick up their

children. Experts wonder why a system like this was not in place.

Schools have strict agreements with parents and carers about who should

pick up children and young children from schools so it is puzzling. In a

statement, the headteacher said safeguarding procedures are being

reviewed to ensure it does not happen again. This begs the question

as to how the grandfather did not realise he was with the wrong child.

I understand the school did ask the child whether the man was her

grandfather and she said, yes. He does have poor eyesight. It does

also present the question as to how she ended up being prescribed liquid

paracetamol. What she will? That will be the subject of an NHS

enquiry. Extraordinary story. —— was she

ill? Firefighters in East Sussex are

still being put at unnecessary risk because of a lack of training and

resources, their union has claimed. The Fire Brigades Union says East

Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has not made progress in protecting

front line officers, despite the deaths of two firefighters in an

explosion at a fireworks factory almost seven years ago. Geoff Wicker

and Brian Wembridge died at Marlie Farm near Lewes in 2006. The fire

and rescue service is adamant tonight that lessons have been

learned. Juliette Parkin reports. This is the last footage they

retired firefighter took. He arrived at Marlie Farm as they cameraman. He

died not long after unfolding disaster in a massive

explosion. A retained firefighter also died. Today the Fire Brigades

Union says lives are still being put at risk. The judge was clear on the

areas that the Fire and rescue service fails on. They failed on

planning, they failed on training and execution of the incident. They

failed an evacuation. All of these areas, we feel there are still

weaknesses. They have not improved and moved on. Firefighters were

called to the blaze at Marlie Farm in December, 2006. Three years on,

the owners of the fireworks factory were jailed for the manslaughter of

the Fire officers. Earlier this year, their families successfully

fought for compensation. A High Court judge heard of failures in the

evacuation process and they lack of training and equipment. —— lack of.

The fire service are adamant lessons have been learned and say concerns

are not being expressed by front line officers. If I go to fire

stations, and I have visits and talk to staff, they are not raising those

concerns. We have breathing apparatus training, road accident

training, over recent years, we have invested in training because it is a

demanding and challenging role. It is not in my interest to try to do

anything other than the best for my firefighters. Insurers for the Fire

servers have begun an appeal process against paying on the station. Many

in the community feel it is time to draw a line under events. It has

gone on for seven years. That has caused uncertainty and for the

families it means closure has not been reached. The fire service say

they will never forget what happened and union says it should always mind

them of the need to their own. —— always remind them.

In a moment, Paris Brown's recruitment as Kent Police Youth

Commissioner was robust, transparent and well run says an independent

review. So why did it all go wrong? A loan shark who preyed on

vulnerable single mothers in North Kent has been jailed for 20 months

for illegal lending, money laundering and perverting the course

of justice. Julian Douglas was collecting loans worth £115,000 at

extortionate rates of interest when he was arrested in May. It follows

an undercover investigation on this programme in which we exposed the

threats and intimidation he subjected his clients to. Jon Hunt

has the details. This is Julian Douglas formed by BBC

South East Today in 2008. When the journalist repeatedly defaulted on

his loan, Douglas came knocking. Following our investigation, the

Office of Fair Trading investigated the loan shark. The Crown Court

heard today that he stopped trading in 2009 and Julian Douglas picked up

the business. He had 24 clients, many of them single—parent mothers

living in north Kent. The typical loan was £1000 of which they would

have to pay back double. I think people do not know where to turn.

They feel alone. Often they are too embarrassed or ashamed because they

think people will judge them and think it was a daft thing to do.

Really, somewhere like the Citizens Advice Bureau, we have seen it all

before. Douglas was arrested in May and pleaded guilty. He has been

jailed for 20 months. The recorder of Croydon told Douglas he had been

engaged in this shabby and insidious trade of a loan shark, profiting

from these straightened and vulnerable members of this society.

People he said who had barely two pennies to rub together. He

described the amounts repayable on these loans as mind—boggling. But he

gave Douglas a third off his sentence because of his early guilty

plea. There was no evidence that Douglas was ever intimidated or

threatening but the judge said his clients were often caught in

spiralling debt that they had no chance of escaping from.

A Kent —based soldier shot in Afghan who went on to carry on hand to hand

combat has been awarded the Military Cross. The man from the Royal Gurkha

Rifles has been recognised for his courage after the attack on the

patrol base. He is one of over 100 service personnel included in the

latest honours list. A gardener from East Grinstead who

raped a woman at a cemetery in the town has been jailed for 15 years.

27—year—old Tyrone Carr attacked the woman at the Mount Noddy Cemetery

June. An independent review into the way

Kent's first Police and Crime Youth Commissioner was recruited has

concluded that the process was robust, transparent and well run.

Paris Brown was appointed in April by the county's Police and Crime

Commissioner Ann Barnes. But within days, Kent Police launched an

investigation into racist and homophobic comments she'd posted on

Twitter before taking up the post. And after just a week in the job,

the Sheerness teenager stood down. I think it is a very limited report in

the sense that it says the process by which Paris Brown was appointed

was entirely sensible and robust. It is possible for a process to be

sensible and still to lead to a foolish decision. When that

happens, one has to ask about the judgement of the human beings

involved. Our home affairs correspondent Colin

Campbell joins us in the studio. Colin, MPs described the whole

affair as a fiasco and an example of maverick decision—making. And yet

this report says the recruitment process was good. It does. The

report was however commissioned by the police and crime commission of

herself. It was completed by the University of Central Lancashire and

it continues the selection process was robust, transparent and very

well—designed and well—run and exceeded the high standards expected

of any public body. The appointment of Paris Brown and the discovery

subsequently of the comments she had made on social networking sites was

a huge story and it prompted some criticism of and Barnes for failings

in the way the teenager was vetted for the role. This report does

appear to vindicate the commission of any wrongdoings.

No—one checked Paris Brown's use of social media before she was

appointed. Will that change for future recruitment? The vetting

process was undertaken by the police and not the Commissioner's office.

But Kent police do not carry out routine social media checks on

applicants. The Commissioner has said that she did not ask for social

network vetting to be done and be forced. —— and the force did not

advise it should be done. She takes full responsibility for it. Will

there be advanced checks in the future? I think that will be the

case. A man charged with the murder of his

baby daughter has been remanded in custody at Lewes Crown Court.

27—year—old Mark Sandland from Hastings is accused of killing baby

Aimee—Rose who was just six weeks old when she died. John Young

reports. Arriving for the legal process to

begin in earnest. Today was always going to be about the logistics of

the case against Mark Sandland, not the facts of the case . What is

known is that his infant daughter was injured in an incident on the

5th of November last year. She died four days later in hospital. Her

father was arrested two days after that. At an earlier hearing, Mark

Sandland gave his address as a flat above this pub in Hastings. The

incident itself took place at his former home in Saint Leonards. The

hearing lasted about 20 minutes. There was no application for bail.

It was about setting a timetable. Mark Sandland was told he must

return to the court on the 10th of January. If he denies the charges,

the trial will begin at the end of April.

This is our top story tonight: An urgent safety investigation has been

launched at a Gillingham primary school after staff handed over the

wrong child to another pupil's grandfather for a medical

appointment. The pensioner took the six—year—old girl from the Napier

Community Primary to the doctor's and back again without realising the

child wasn't his granddaughter. Also in tonight's programme: Turner

and Constable — our two greatest landscape artists side—by—side in

Kent. Just in time for the weekend, we

have some dry and settled weather. Join me later for the forecast.

A new wave of immigrants settling in Kent could cost the county council

millions of pounds a year according to a new report. Kent County Council

predicts that over 8,500 Bulgarians and Romanians could come to Kent

over the next five to ten years, once restrictions on where they can

live and work are lifted on first January. It estimates annual costs

of £3.1 million because of the extra demand on local services, with

health costs accounting for more than half of that sum. But

nationally, it's predicted that immigrants from the two countries

could generate £70 million a year through work and paying taxes. Kent

is having to content with a 1% growth every year in its population.

We are now going to have potentially an increase in the number of

Romanians and Bulgarians choosing to come to the country. There is not a

lot we can do. The government promised some regulation which is

not going to come in in time. The new report predicts there'll be

particular pressure on county council departments such as

education and social services. It predicts nearly 400 new primary age

children coming into Kent, creating the need to provide more school

places. And the authority will prepare for greater demand on child

protection and translation services in the county. We have already got

too much youth unemployment. We have already got the wages of many

skilled people driven down. Pressure on primary schools. Problems with

waiting times that the emergency departments. It does not make sense

to have another big influx into Kent. Our political editor is in

Dover. These figures have come from the county council but ministers say

they do not know how many people will come to Britain. The government

has refused to put a figure on it. They cannot give credible numbers

for how many may come in and decide to settle here. Kent county council

say they need the figures in able to provide the services. One of the

concerns is that although many of the migrants will be of working age

and paying taxes, that will benefit the economy nationally and not

locally. The government say they are looking very closely at what it is

that is attracting migrants from places like Bulgaria and Romania to

come and settle here in the south—east.

The new report and the potential impact of new immigration in Kent

will be formally discussed at a Kent County Council meeting in ten days'

time. A two—year—old from Kent who suffers

from a rare disorder that means she's in danger of stopping

breathing every time she falls asleep is preparing to go home from

hospital for the first time in her life. Maisie Harris has been on a

ventilator at Great Ormond Street in London ever since she was born. But

after years travelling up and down from Gillingham to visit her, her

parents are finally preparing to bring her home. Fiona Irving

details. As she plays with her lead though, you can hear in the

background the reassuring kiss of the ventilator —— with her toys.

Just weeks away from turning three, she is heading home. For the first

time in her life. We are excited and happy. We never thought it would

happen. We thought it was a bad situation. You have just got to

believe in yourself. She suffers from a genetic disorder. It is a

rare form of central nervous system failure where the brain does not

send the right messages to her lungs to tell her to breathe. Her

condition is complicated by the fact she also has an air race disease

meaning that her respiratory tracts do not hold their shape properly. As

she gets older, she copes better. She is bigger. It is a lot of

waiting. She has to grow so that her lungs get bigger and her airways get

stronger. Hopefully over time she will need less ventilation and we

can start taking it away from her. As she was so small, she needed more

help. When Maisie was one, doctors were concerned she would never go

home. Advances in technology, that means that her respirator is easier

to manage. The batteries last six hours. She can always go out and be

on this. The other ones were not as good and mobile as this one. Today

the nurses threw a party for her, a celebration of the start of her new

life. What will it mean for you? We can be a family. Maisie will be

discharged on Monday. Amazing.

Behind every tale of sporting success there is someone who did a

lot of the hard work but received very few of the plaudits. We're

talking about Sports Unsung Heroes — the coaches and groundkeepers who

make our clubs tick. In a moment we'll let you know how you can make

a nomination South East Sports Unsung Hero. But first, Kent's

former GB and Olympic hockey star Mel Clewlow has been telling Neil

Bell about her unsung hero. He has travelled the world playing hockey

for Great Britain and has appeared in Olympic and Commonwealth Games

and is still a regular in the team which currently heads the top

league. She admits much of her success is down to the many

volunteers who dedicate much of their spare time to doing almost

anything. She is one of the infamous dinner ladies on a Saturday, 830 in

the morning, they make the hot food and the sandwiches. Back again on

Sunday morning for the hockey when you have 200 juniors here. All of

them are voluntary. That is probably one of the reasons why the hockey

club has been so successful. A player, official and now sandwich

maker. I have great pride in the club. We have come a long way from

when we first started on the grass pitch with one team. I get an

enormous sense of pride when they come back and say they have won. Why

do I do it? I enjoy it. And I like to give something back to the sport

that gave me so much enjoyment over the years. The success of the club

's owes much to the skill of those involved but also the selfless hard

work of those behind the scenes. If you want to nominate a sporting

unsigned hero, you can download the format our website —— unsung hero.

The deadline for entries is the 16th of October.

Onto football, and Brighton and Hove Albion's star striker Leo Ulloa has

been ruled out until December, after undergoing surgery for a broken

foot. The 27—year—old, who's scored four goals in eight games this

season, has had a metal screw inserted in his foot.

When it comes to painters, they are household names. Constable, Turner

and others. Landscapes by the famous trio form the backbone of a new

exhibition in Margate. But there is a modern twist. It opens to the

public tomorrow. We have been along for a preview.

It is an exhibition of Turner and his contemporaries. They were

radical in their day. In a post—French Revolution period,

painting a pub in a picture was seen as a powerhouse of the people, a

risk but one that Turner was prepared to take. A working—class

bloke trying to make his way in an aristocratic world, he has slipped

something in that has a bit of an edge to it. This is even more

radical. This is extraordinary. Other European artists painted

skies, but they did it later. None of them did it with the degree of

scientific observation. Abstract art from Constable Chris Patten how does

a hell Marge to a whole host of —— abstract art from Constable? It is

what my landscape is. If I was a painter, maybe I would paint it.

What I do is I take these things and I reassemble them in a way and then

I create these are the landscapes within the gallery that you might

encounter things on a beach. When it comes to the audio guide, there is

not one. It is classical music. In the guidebook, there is very little

information. It is deliberate. The gallery once you to think for

yourself. —— wants. We have tried to encourage people to come and look

and use their eyes. There is some information but there is not perhaps

as much information as for some of our exhibitions. The concept is

being free from an information overload allowing you to focus and

feast your eyes on the art. Time now for a look at the weather.

Is it going to be a for the weekend. High—pressure

building. Warm unsettled. The temperature is above average for the

time of year —— warm and settled. Hefty downpours earlier.

Temperatures holding up. South—westerly breeze is. Mild but

breezy. 15 to 20 miles an hour. They will ease off. Some mist and dense

fog as we start the day tomorrow. Several degrees down on last night.

Staying in double figures though. It will feel cooler tomorrow but high

pressure will build. Mist and fog will be burnt away. Sunshine by the

afternoon. Temperatures and little bit down on today. But feeling

warmer. The winds have really eased off. They settled and warm

afternoon. Tomorrow night, more of the same. Staying dry. Missed and

dense fog patches forming. Overnight temperatures of ten or 11 degrees. A

cool start to Sunday. We will stay settled. Rain to the north of us.

Into the new week, the good news is that the area of high pressure will

be staying. A settled start to Monday. Temperatures above average

for the time of year. As we go into Tuesday, it is looking to be

settled. It will feel fresher and the chance of rain midweek. Over the

next couple of days, looking pretty lovely. Temperatures in the top

teams. It is likely to be brighter on Sunday —— top teams. A lovely

weekend. That is just the news we need.