31/12/2013 South East Today

on the BBC News Channel. I'm back with the News at Ten. Now it's time

for with the News at Ten. Now it's time

Good evening. A woman has died after what police have described as an

explosion in a house in Sussex. The incident happened around lunchtime

in the Pound Hill area of Crawley. It's not yet known what caused the

blast. Peter Whittlesea is outside the house now. Peter, police say

they're not treating the incident as suspicious. That is right. In the

last 15 years the road here has been reopened and there is still a police

presence at the property. Emergency services were called here shortly

after 12:30pm and by the time the Fire Brigade arrived the fire had

been put out and couldn't `` had been contained to the first floor.

Neighbours said the first time they realised anything was wrong was when

they heard the emergency services. A helicopter arrived in the local

field and landed and my son heard that but apart from that I didn't

hear anything else. They are still trying to work out what happened in

at the moment they think it is a gas canister or boiler. I don't know

anything. That is Orlando. Just unconscious. And the investigation

is still going on at the house this evening? Crime scene investigators

are at the property at the moment inside and the foreign litigation

continues. The Fire Service said they do believe there was a mains

gas explosion because the boiler is intact. They are looking at other

possibilities as to what may have caused the fire but are not treating

it as suspicious and neighbours have been to the property to lay floral

tributes. Patients faced a wait of up to ten

hours earlier today to be admitted onto wards at the Queen Elizabeth

the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate. The East Kent NHS Trust

said it was because of bed`blocking, caused in part by a large number of

people arriving at the hospital with minor ailments, like coughs and

colds. The situation has now returned to normal. Think the two

major problems are asking patients who are coming into A to do so

only if they are feeling they would benefit from our help and support.

`` I think. And if they have been advised so by their GP.

Homeowners across the South East are preparing for more heavy rain to hit

tonight, even while many are still clearing up following the floods

over Christmas. There are 14 flood alerts across the region, with

Tonbridge and Yalding in Kent once again areas of particular concern,

as Sara Smith reports. The remnants of a ruined Christmas

joined piles of furniture spoiled by the floodwater. Sarah and her team

of volunteers have been helping clear these homes into umbrage so

they can dry out, for now at least. `` in Tunbridge Wells. It is just

the devastation and the emotion. I'd just feel so sorry for these poor

people who have lost absolutely everything. Although families here

are grateful for the help, some are angry about the lack of warning. It

was too late. We literally couldn't save anything. The water was filling

up the house and the electricity was on and was terrified my sons would

get electrocuted. It was a nightmare. We will carry out a

review with our partners, the police and the Fire Service and authorities

but we will include the communities affected and we will be able to find

some lessons learned and those will be implemented for future flooding.

In Yalding, firefighters joined the clear up effort, while Environment

Agency staff were visiting residents to give advice on what still may be

to come. It is a situation the village is all`too`familiar with. We

have made the point strongly with government that we must find

permanent solutions for the flooding in Yalding and that is going to

require some more flood defences. As the rain keeps coming down, hundreds

of sandbags have been issued and the hope is homes won't be back

underwater to start the New Year. Meanwhile, Gatwick Airport has said

that it will give ?100 of high`street shopping vouchers to

every passenger whose flight was cancelled on Christmas Eve. Flooding

caused a power failure in the North Terminal, which meant thousands of

passengers had their travel plans ruined.

Police are still looking for a pensioner from Seaford who went

missing two days ago. Richard Wise is described as unsteady on his feet

and has mental health issues. Neighbourhood groups and volunteers

helped with the search for the 77`year`old but have been struggling

because of the bad weather. From tomorrow, restrictions will be

lifted on migrants coming into the UK from Bulgaria and Romania. The

changes have been roundly criticised by the UK Independence Party, whose

leader, the South East MEP Nigel Farage, believes allowing open

immigration from the former Eastern bloc countries will put a strain on

services here. I'm afraid we've seen unprecedented numbers coming into

Britain. 4 million people have settled here over the course of the

last 13 years and what most people are saying is the strain on public

services is such, the pressure on youth unemployment and wages, that,

frankly, enough is enough and it is about time we had an Australian

style system where we only take people in who have skills to bring

to this country. In the New Year Honours list

published today, almost 1,200 people have been recognised, including the

leader of Kent County Council, Paul Carter, who has been awarded the

CBE, as has Matt Dunkley, the former director of Children's Services at

East Sussex County Council. Meanwhile, the former chairman of

Folkestone`based Saga and philanthropist Roger De Haan gets a

knighthood. Now for the weather.

Good evening. Lots of rain around, of course, earlier, but it has been

clearing eastwards and as we go into tonight, the rain clears, but behind

it, one or two hefty showers. Temperatures at nine or ten and

really blustery, so just look at the wind. If you are heading out

tonight, perhaps take a brolly with you. There will be showers around

but it would be a cold night by any stretch of the imagination.

Temperatures only dropping to around six or seven. Showers just after

midnight so hopefully it won't spoil too many fireworks. We start with a

relatively mild but it will be relatively wet. We have warnings

from the Met Office for heavy rain with ten to 20 millimetres of rain

expected. Strong winds around as well, particularly along the south

coast, picking up to 30 to 35 miles an hour. Wet and windy in the

afternoon with temperatures of nine or ten, so not feeling pleasant at

all. The good news is, it finally clears out of the way tomorrow and

then Thursday, some sunshine. You can tell from the isobars it will be

quite a blustery day with those south`westerly winds around. It

isn't going to be lasting as we go into Friday and Saturday, as the

winds picked up again and the rain is back. If you are heading out, the

risk of a shower but have a lovely evening.

Thank you. That is it from us for 2013. We will see you next year!

Good night. Good evening. It looks like mother

nature may provide her own pyrotechnics in the run-up to bid

night tonight. We have some heavy showers in western parts, starting

to ease a bit across Scotland and Northern Ireland. But the showers

further south are heavier, with some flashes of lightning as they move

eastwards. They do get a bit more hit and miss as we head towards

midnight, but a greater chance of getting wet in the south as we move

into 2014. Cardiff and London could see heavy downpours. Further north,

you could be greeting the New Year on a dry note. A touch of frost in

northern and eastern areas going into New Year's Day. A few