19/12/2013 South East Today

Adebowale show nod remorse. That is all from us. Now we join our news

teams We'll be getting all the details

live from our correspondent. Accused of flying into a wild

tantrum and harassing a Paralympic official. Heather Mills storms out

of contention for next year's Winter Games. She was harassing her,

pushing her, and saying some very unkind things.

Also in tonight's programme. Four people are jailed for their

part in the ordeal of a woman trafficked into Kent and sexually

abused. Unfinished business, champion judo

athlete Ben Quilter tells us about his tough decision to retire. And

join me live from Westfield where the light side getting bigger and

better and they are raising more than ?100 for charity every day.

Good evening. Record compensation pay`outs have been given to

commuters by rail companies in the South East because of delayed

trains. Together, Southern, Southeastern and First Capital

Connect paid out more than ?2 million in the last financial year.

The companies say the amount keeps rising because more passengers are

becoming aware that compensation's available. But commuter groups say

it's a sign of unacceptable delays. Our correspondent Yvette Austin

joins us from Brighton Station, what's the reaction from passengers

there tonight? Well, many commuters will not be surprised at the

figures. There have been some serious bad figure delays, more

people have been claiming, and ticket prices are not cheap. A

return ticket to London is ?33.60. People will get a truly 5% refund if

they are delayed for between half an hour and one hour. Between one hour

and two hour, they will get 50%, and they get a 100% refund after.

Commuters groups say more can be done.

Stranded in the snow, something south`east commuters are familiar

with. Delays and cancellations are commonplace when the weather turns

and occasionally when it doesn't. Russia by commuter groups has led to

a new compensation scheme whereby commuters can claim refunds more

easily. They said the train companies could still be more open.

We are calling on train operators to make passengers more aware of their

rights, to promote the system and when trains are delayed for 30

minutes or more, to make greater efforts to take things out

passengers. The train companies are paying out more than ever. In the

last financial year, Southern trains paid 100 5,000 `` 800 ?5,000. First

capital connect us hundred 22,000, and a total of more than ?2 million.

Increases because more people are learning about the scheme. More

passengers are claiming. They are entitled to this compensation. In

the last you, we've spent a great deal of effort advertising this fact

and customers are aware. Whilst the train companies are paying out, they

feel wrongly blamed at times for the cows. The instance, the fire at

London Bridge station was a Network Rail problem. A recent report said

more than half of delays are caused by problems attributed to a Network

Rail. Passengers often know there is only a delay. Quite often the first

capital connect it are pretty appalling, usually. Southern are not

quite as bad. But I think most days of the week, I get at least a couple

of minutes delay. For the last three weeks, I have given up saying I'm

late at work because it is getting embarrassing. Every single day, Mike

Trainor is best to get in at ten minutes pass and it is 20 past every

single day. It is not good enough. The service they provide. They are

constantly ruler `` late at the moment. Network rail says it is

investing millions of pounds of the next five years and stands to face

steep and `` financial penalties if targets are not met. The London

Bridge fire and the October storm delays will be reflected in next

year's refund figures. So we'll delays expensed on the network

today. There have been more signalling problems today in Dover

and Gatwick. Those figures, two will be reflected. Some of the problems

will be down to network rail. Let's cross to Westminster where

we're joined by the MP for Hastings and Rye, Amber Rudd. Thank you for

being with us. You're not impressed with either the train companies, or

network rail. I am not impressed. I think commuters deserve a much

better service. The idea of fighting and blaming each other is absurd.

They need to work closer together to get a to result. These fares are not

cheap. I think most commuters are pretty reasonable when it comes to

an exceptional circumstance or something really damaging. When it

comes to relentless delays, they are rightly infuriated. So you don't

think it's just more people becoming aware of the delay would pay

scheme? I don't buy that. It's essential for the companies to face

up to the fact that this is to do with the poor service and we deserve

much better. As for this compensation anyway, it's good to

have some sort of financial compensation but it doesn't

compensate you for the aggravation, irritation, the inconvenience of

being made to work. We need real improvements. How do we make `` how

do they make real improvements? The real problem is you have Network

Rail and the train companies but if you had one organisation in charge

of everything, that would simplify the whole thing. There is no

evidence of that. That is a smoke screen. It is very clear who has

responsibility for what and we need to make some work closely together.

The have been some improvements. But they just needs to be more joined up

thinking and joined up thinking. Network rail has been supported by

the government and we need to make sure they invest properly and find

out where the pinch points so we can get better outcomes. This isn't

rocket science, we need people to work together for a better outcome.

Thank you. Heather Mills, the former wife of

Sir Paul McCartney, has been accused of verbally abusing and physically

harassing an official from the International Paralympic Committee.

The former model, who lives in Sussex, had been hoping to compete

in the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi. But she was told the prosthetic leg

she was competing on had not been approved, leading, according to one

source, to a wild tantrum. Her coach claims she's the victim of a

vendetta. Claudia Sermbezis has more.

Heather Mills has been one of the most high`profile athletes

attempting to qualify for next year's Winter Paralympics. It seems

her dreams of competing in Russia art over the accusations see ``

should be used in International Paralympic Committee official who

ruled her new prostatic leg was illegal for competition. She alleges

the former model jumped on her, swore at her and said, you don't

know who I am. She was harassing and pushing her, saying some very unkind

things to someone who has over 25 years experience. It is absolutely

disgraceful behaviour and we expect better from athletes. Heather Mills

began her career in skiing soon after her divorce from Paul

McCartney. She lost the lower half of her leg with a collision with the

police motorbike in 1993. She had a new prostatic limb made earlier this

year but it was not clear by the IPC, who insisted on less germane

changes to the boot, she would be disqualified from competing. She has

trained hard, it's sad the situation, but I don't know the

facts. I don't know a great deal about the situation. It is sad for

her she is not here. But, at the end of the day, I'm focusing on my

performance. In a statement, a spokesperson said...

Not at home here in Sussex today, Heather Mills is still in Austria

and her spokesperson says that she is now focusing on Christmas with

her daughter. The IPC are seeking to take disciplinary action and it's

likely Heather Mills will be fined up to 1000 euros and the incident

will be referred to their legal and ethics committee for its

consideration. In a moment, the primary pupils

who've been to tell the Prime Minister they don't want their free

school to be shut down. Save our school! Save our school!

Four people have been jailed tonight for their role in the trafficking

and sexual exploitation of an Eastern European woman brought into

Kent, then forced into a sham marriage. The Slovakian woman was

brought to Gravesend, and eventually sold for ?4,500 to a man who went on

to rape her. Simon Jones reports. This grainy CCTV image shows on the

left the victim being taken by the man controlling the trafficking

family business, seen in the middle, to a bank. There he will withdraw

money to why have. In the trafficking case linked to this

street in Gravesend. This is an appalling case and we are pleased to

see the perpetrators have been brought to justice. What's the most

important thing is the victim is kept safe. The victim had been

living on the streets in Slovakia. Two men convinced her to go to

England to marry a man in exchange for a better life. Another man drove

her from Slovakia through Europe to Dunkirk where they took a ferry to

Dover. She was then driven to Abbey Road in Gravesend before being sold.

I just think it's appalling, dreadful. I find it shocking people

were living like that. And it is happening all around. It worries me

it has been in the street and I didn't know. It's disgusting, in our

street? Never. The man bought the woman to legitimise his stay in the

UK. He was jailed for 8/2 years. This is him taking her home where he

raped her. Injuring has she had to go to hospital, alerting the

authorities. In order to catch the culprit, the police of the victim

around the streets of Gravesend until she was able to identify she

had been held in this street. This man was jailed for ten years. His

wife for 16 months. And her brother for three years. The judge said

trafficking people is a modern day form of slavery.

He said it was clear the family was involved in a much wider trafficking

operation. 40 firefighters have been dealing

with a house fire in Gravesend today.

It's believed the fire broke out in the kitchen this morning, before

spreading throughout the house. No`one was seriously injured, but

paramedics treated one man at the scene for the effects of breathing

in smoke. Pupils from the Pent Valley

Technology College in Folkestone met the Prime Minister today at a visit

to a First World War cemetery in Belgium. They were joined by the

Folkestone Hythe MP Damian Collins during a trip to announce ?5 million

in new funding to help conserve and repair war memorials and graves in

the UK and overseas. Detectives investigating a robbery

at a Kent betting shop have released CCTV images of the suspects. Two

men, who were both wearing ski masks, escaped with hundreds of

pounds in cash from the Ladbrokes store in Snodland.

Parents and pupils from the Discovery Free School in Crawley

have delivered letters to the Prime Minister today, in a last`ditch

attempt to save it from closure. It was one of Britain's first free

schools, but the government announced last week that it will

close in April, because of concerns about poor teaching standards. Our

correspondent Mark Norman joins us from Downing Street. What do they

hope to achieve by handing in their petition today?

I suppose realistically they would hope to get a bit more time to try

to get this school up to scratch. However the chair of governors said

the school was being used as a scapegoat and the government wanted

to crucify the school. Very strong words from him. Less so from the

parents. If Discovery Free School is too

close, it went be without these pupils and their parents having

their say. Schmidt is `` it will not be without these pupils. This was

decided over two years ago that we would fail. We have no reason to

fail, we have a brilliant headmistress, brilliant children.

It's horrific. My bed goes to bed `` my daughter goes to bed crying. She

loves the school and the staff. Despite Ofsted criticising basic

learning at the school, the pupils have written letters for the Prime

Minister. If you ruin my education by shouting the school, we will

never forgive you. One person can make a difference.