04/12/2013 South East Today

An emotional appeal to catch the man who raped a teenager during a night

out in Brighton. Also in tonight's programme.

600 jobs safeguarded as Eurotunnel wins an appeal to continue its

MyFerryLink service. A Kent doctor returns to the UK

after helping amid the devastation of the Philippines typhoon.

And extraordinary musician Tim Edey talks about coping with life on the

road when battling OCD. Good evening.

Three months on from one of the biggest road crashes ever seen in

the UK, a Kent MP says he's still waiting for answers to his calls for

a government safety review. More than 130 vehicles crashed in thick

fog on the Sheppey Crossing in September. Our reporter Fiona Irving

is there for us. The local MP Gordon Henderson, along with people who

were affected by the crash, have some real concerns about safety

there. There were concerns about the lack

of lighting, the speed limit of 70 miles an hour, that there is no

safety barrier, and people want something in a pipeline to address

these concerns soon. Dozens hurt and many in a state of

shock. It has been three months since cars and lorries piled into

each other on the bridge from the Isle of Sheppey. Today was the first

time Jill and Andrew Hudson had scenes footage of the crash they

were involved in. It is quite upsetting. It is a miracle no one

was killed. Absolute miracle, you look at pictures like that. That

fanfare, the whole of the bonnet is underneath the car. Another few

inches... You realise how lucky you have been. Gill suffered whiplash

when a vehicle ploughed into the back of her. She is still having

physio and fine striping over the bridge difficult. It is as we got to

this part that we actually hit... At the point that we hit, we felt like

we were in a tunnel because it was so thick with fog. It feels really

uncomfortable coming off the road there. It feels very uncomfortable.

There have been calls to improve safety on the bridge but three

months on nothing has changed. I managed to collar the Transport

Minister a couple of weeks ago. He invited me to write to him and he

would personally check into it. He would let me have an update. I

worked with `` I wrote to him last week and I am still waiting for that

update. In a statement, the Highways Agency say that the crash is still

under police investigation. The bridge has been designed in

accordance with standards. They say it has had a good safety record

since its opening and that they would consider any recommendations

made by the police from their investigation. Something has to be

done, money has to be spent to make the bridge safer. Yes, it may be up

to help them `` health and safety standards now, but put a bit extra

in. No one was killed three months ago but they want to see action

taken to make sure there are no fatalities in the future.

Well, it will be a lengthy investigation. 130 cars were

involved and the police had to do their measurements, assess each

vehicle and look at the causes of the crash. There is a real demand

here that this bridge doesn't stay as it is that all those safety

concerns people have said, and that it will change soon.

Eurotunnel is to be allowed to continue running the cross`channel

ferry service, MyFerryLink, after an appeal ruling went in the company's

favour. Managers say it is a victory for common`sense and safeguard 600

jobs. The Competition Commission had ordered Eurotunnel to give up its

ferry service amid fears it would lead to higher prices for

passengers. Let's speak to Simon Jones who is in Dover to lead. This

might not be the end of the legal battle, though.

When SeaFrance went bust, Eurotunnel saw the opportunity of getting

involved in the ferry business buying three of its ships and

launching the MyFerryLink servers. The Competition Commission said,

hang on a minute, potentially Eurotunnel has 50% of the market and

that is too much. Today, the commission was ordered to look again

at that decision. The threat to Eurotunnel is being

forced off the water has been lifted. For now. To the relief of

the 600 MyFerryLink staff on both sides of the Channel. I think we are

all delighted that this ruling has been made. I think it is a victory

for common sense, a victory for logic, and a fantastic victory for

staff. With established ourselves as a very credible business. See France

went into liquidation in November 2011. MyFerryLink launch it in

summer 2012 using three former see France ferries. In June, the

Competition Commission told Eurotunnel it must stop running

those ferry services. The commission has now been ordered to look again

at that decision by the competition appeal Tribunal. To the

disappointment of the Dover MP. My concern is it will mean higher

prices for passengers because too much market share is in the hands of

one player. The cross`channel route isn't just important for the Dover

and deal, it is of national importance. We need to make sure it

is a fair and open market. Eurotunnel says it came to the

rescue of redundant see France workers. Eurotunnel makes a fairly

convincing case why it should supplement the tunnel itself with a

ferry offering. However, I must say that the other players, particularly

PN dog are going to be saying, for goodness sake, it is tough enough

competing with the tunnel alone, let alone with the tunnel's own ferry

fleet. For rival operators, the waiting continues. From our point of

view, it is clearly a case that there is no winners and known Luna

's, `` and no losers. The Competition Commission is set to

reset its case. It been the data transport is. The government

announced it is planning to sell its 40% stake in Eurostar, the rail

service from London through absolute and Ashley to Paris and Brussels.

That is part of its infrastructure review. ?50 million is going to be

used to improve the railway station at Gatwick Airport. The government

admitted that at present it doesn't give the best welcome to people

coming into this country. In a moment, 12 months, 12 T`shirts. The

teenager making light of his cancer with a teenage calendar.

Sussex Police are appealing for witnesses after a teenager was

forced into a flat and raped. The 19`year`old was attacked after a

night out in Brighton. We have disguised her voice to protect her

identity but she has chosen to speak to a report in the hope that it will

catch the rapist and stop him carrying out further attacks.

He just pushed me down this corridor into this squatted at all flat. I

felt panicky, I was crying, I didn't really know what to do. There was

nothing I could do, he held me down. I knew I wanted it over. I was

saying, "stop! " And he was saying, "it's okay."

The 19`year`old had been at this nightclub in Brighton with friends.

As she left, a man approached her. The man started walking to the woman

as they The man started walking to the woman

as th I as th%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% The man started walking to the woman

as they walked past the ocean on a nightclub and headed west towards

home. He pulled her into a building in Norfolk Square and raped her.

Officers have been unable to identify where the attack happened

but the victim has described the flat is being small. It had white

walls, a grey carpet and a desk or bedside table with a train set or

train figure on it. There was a bedside table, a tiny white bed, and

a figure like trains at. I remember it being a train set but I'm not

sure, like, black, something was on there. This CCTV image recorded in

the area shows a man that officers would like to speak to. The attacker

was of Middle Eastern descent, stocky and between 30`40 with short

dark hair. He was wearing a black T`shirt and three quarters

trousers. Rape is a pernicious and nasty offence and this will have a

long`lasting impact on the victim. We can say that without fear of

contradiction. It is an illustration of how we have to all join together

to provide proper support services for this kind of crime. If you saw

drunk young girls or anything, I'd assume he'd do it again. You feel

dirty and horrible, you feel like you need to shower, and stuff.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Sussex police.

The jury in the trial of a man accused of murdering his partner,

and then leaving his body to rot in a flat in Brighton, has retired to

consider its verdict. Ricardo Pisano denies the murder of 63`year`old

Michael Polding, whose body was found at the flat they shared in the

city in July. Deliberations will resume tomorrow at Lewes Crown

Court. A woman from Bexhill has been jailed

for two years for stealing ?50,000 from an 89`year`old pensioner she

was supposed to be caring for. Elizabeth Wonnacott was sentenced at

Lewes Crown Court after pleading guilty to 18 counts of fraud.

The Sussex and Surrey Police forces are looking at ways to merge more

services as they try to make millions of pounds worth of savings.

The forces are jointly advertising for a Head of Change with

responsibility for unifying services. The forces already share

major crime services, forensics and firearms. The Sussex Police

Federation says huge changes are needed because of government funding

cuts. Sussex and Surrey Police forces are working more closely

together. There are over 2800 people working together. This change needs

to be managed very carefully. It might well mean that some back

office jobs might have to go but we hope that money can be reinvested in

front`line policing. When EU rules change next month,

Bulgarians and Romanians will have full rights to come and work in the

South East. A recent Kent County Council report estimated that

thousands of people will come here over the next ten years. While that

could contribute tens of millions of pounds to the UK economy, some

believe the competition for jobs could leave British people

struggling to find work. Our political reporter Ellie Price has

been looking at the potential impact of the new immigration rules here in

the South East. Three quarters of the

this farm near Faversham this summer came from Romania and Bulgaria. Part

of the seasonal agricultural workers scheme, they've gone home but the

farmer says that with the EU rule changes in January, coupled with the

end of the scheme, you'll lose the backbone of his workforce. That core

group of people that used to commit early would dependency turn up,

you'd guarantee they would turn up and work for six months, that will

be a loss. It has created an uncertainty in the business. This

man is from Latvia and has had full rights to live and work in the UK

since 2004. He doesn't think there will be an influx of Bulgarians and

Romania and is but he thinks those that do come vital

understand the situation. People like me, there are too many here but

from another side, I don't believe your country could survive without

us. Between 1995 and 2011, recent immigrants from Europe made a net

contribution of ?8.8 billion to the British economy. They were also 45%

less likely to claim state benefits. Big trouble for politicians is

knowing exactly how many people will come when the rules change. Kent

County Council estimated will be more than 8500 people over the next

ten years. Critics say that will bring unnecessary competition in the

jobs market to the 50,000 people claiming jobseeker's allowance in

the South East. One recruitment consultant in Maidstone says that

view is too sadistic. It makes me very cross because I know that there

are a lot of unemployed people in Kent. We do interview them and we

see them and they come through our doors but when we put them out to

work, they let us down. Is that really the case? We showed some of

the company's job specs to people outside the Jobcentre. It wouldn't

be my first choice of job but it would be something if it came to

it. The pay? It is a problem. Would you do this? Yeah. You've got to do

it if you've got no money. The economic impact on the South East

will depend on how many migrants come here and that is impossible to

predict. We're joined from Westminster by the

Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood Mark Reckless, who's also a

member of the influential Home Affairs Select Committee. Thank you

very much for being with us this evening. You're worried about the

impact of immigration come January. David Cameron's PM for three years.

Has he failed to address this issue? What is happening in January

reflects a treaty agreed by the previous Labour government eight

years ago. What that agreed is that Romania and Bulgaria would join the

EU in 2007 and we would have transitional controls until 2013 and

then we would have to open the doors to any remaining all Bulgarians to

work in the UK. So what the government is doing is following

through on what Labour agreed and the changes to EU law they made.

Although MPs, like me, would like to see us extend those transitional

controls whether the EU likes it or not. New migrants would be able to

claim benefits for the first three months when they come over. You

think that is too little too late? I don't think they should be able to

claim benefits at all. People who have paid in into this country, it

is fair they get something back. If they become unemployed is, we

support them as long as they are trying to get work and they take a

job rather than stay on benefits. I don't think we should be supplying

benefits to people who haven't paid into our system, who have income is

I%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% much into our system, who have income is

much lower than they do in this country. What angers me is paying

child benefit to children who remain resident in Poland or Romania. We

need to put a stop to that. According to the centre of research

and analysis, the net benefit to the UK of all immigrants is ?25 billion.

That is ?25 billion generated for the British economy by immigrants.

That is a good thing, isn't it? You said generated for the British

economy but the money goes to them and they spend it on themselves,

supporting their families here or scenting that money back to the

country they come from. There is a real influx from southern Europe

coming here, a lot of the money gets sent back to families in those areas

rather than people from Kent getting those jobs, it is people coming in.

Obviously, if they work harder for less wages, employers will like

that, but we should support young people here to help them into jobs.

Frankly, it's our decision, we should control our borders rather

than allowing the EU to do that for us. We'd be better off as an in end

and `` we'd be better as an independent country controlling our

own borders. Thank you. This is our top story tonight.

Three months on from one of the biggest road crashes ever seen in

the UK, the Kent MP Gordon Henderson says he's still waiting for answers

to his calls for a government safety review. More than 130 vehicles

crashed in thick fog on the Sheppey Crossing in September.

Also in tonight's programme. A month on from the Philippines typhoon, we

talk to a Kent doctor just returned from the worst area. Andy Taylor

will join us live in the studio. And we will speak to the award`winning

Kent guitarist who hasn't let OED 's `` OCD is stop him from pursuing a

career in music. Cancer's not much of a laughing

matter, especially when it affects a child, but Sussex teenager Aidan

Stiebahl`Breeds is determined to make light of his ordeal, as he

undergoes debilitating treatment for leukaemia. The 15`year`old from

Lewes has created his own charity calendar to raise money for the

specialist hospital that's treating him, depicting him wearing a series

of T`shirts that poke fun at his illness. Alex Beard has tonight's

Special Report. It started with one T`shirt poking

fun at a disease Aidan Stiebahl`Breeds has been fighting

since the age of 13. I personally like the one I am wearing, my

oncologist is my hair. But as one of my favourites. As his collection

grew, he decided to make a calendar despite being very ill himself. One

of the shoots we did was straight after I had quite a major surgery so

I was feeling quite down. But I really enjoyed it. Because we did

some shots with the nurses at Brighton and they really made me

laugh even though I was in pain. We had a very short here it of time

between being in hospital and out of hospital. We did six shoots and he

was shattered by the end. But he was a star. He has raised ?2500 for the

teenage cancer unit at the hospital, somewhere where he spent seven

months in isolation. Teenagers deal with cancer in such a different way

to children or adults. They are resilient and it's a great way of

dealing with it. It was his idea to do the calendar. He has a sense of

humour about it. He is an extraordinary boy. Everyone thinks

their kids are amazing but I couldn't come close to the things he

has done. He is extraordinary. He continues to receive treatment for

his leukaemia but he hopes that the calendar will raise awareness, raise

money and even raise a smile. And you can see more of Aidan's

calendar pictures on our Facebook page.

When it struck the Philippines last month, Typhoon Haiyan proved to be

one of the worst storms on record,