24/06/2014 South East Today

Kent Police are pledging to provide a better service with fewer

resources, announcing their plan for ddaling

with a further ?20 million cut from the budget and losing 600 officers.

Under the plans, district commanders will be given more powers to direct

But critics claim yet more savings will inevitably impact

Our Political Editor Louise Stewart reports.

Kent Police responding to an emergency call.

Under a new policing plan launched this

morning, the officer who responds in future could be much closer.

Police officers will be man`ged by district commanders

in 13 new teams, including @shford, Canterbury and Medway,

The aim is to provide a gre`ter connection with local communities,

but with fewer staff, while delivering savings of ?20 mhllion.

I?ve got no more resources, it?s as simple as that.

What I am offering is, I thhnk, local communities,

when they see officer, the same PCSO, the same special constabulary,

day`in`day`out in their loc`l communities, you get to know the

It's building that community cohesion.

Due to a cut in funding from the government,

forces across the country h`ve seen their budgets squeezed.

In Kent, 20 percent of the workforce has alreadx been

cut in the last two years, including 500 frontline offhcers.

Earlier this year, Chief Constable Alan Pughsldy

announced that a further 100 officers? jobs are at risk.

Every victim of crime no longer gets a visit from a police officdr,

and recently we have seen schools liaison officers disappear.

We know the cuts are having an impact on the levels

of service provided, but we want to make sure th`t we can

still proactively target crhminals, but also, of course, respond to

Some victims of crime believed police ard already

Teenager Carl Gregory was rdcently viciously attacked by a gang

He needed 19 stitches in his face, but

his family say they were disgusted by the lack of action from police.

It scares me that already wd had to wait a fortnight

before police contacted us when my son was assaulted.

If the police force is to bd reduced in numbers any more, how long does

that mean we need to wait again should something to someone else?

Kent Police say the new moddl allows them the best opportunity to provide

local policing, whilst sust`ining the same level of overall sdrvice.

The hugely controversial issue of maternity services in

East Sussex will be decided at a meeting in Eastbourne tomorrow,

a year after the unit at thd DGH was temporarily downgraded.

Three options have been put forward, which include shutting

the Crowborough Birthing Centre and combining midwife and

consultant led services at just one hospital in Eastbourne or H`stings.

The trust says it will make maternity services safer `

but campaigners still believe they will put lives at risk.

Are in a serve, as I expect, there will be a midwife led hospital at

GDH. I will be urging the council is to

listen to the people of East Sussex and refer it to the Secretary of

State for an independent clhnical decision.

One person has died and another been injured in

Four fire engines were calldd to what?s been described

as a commercial premises Bath Road at around 3:30pm

Around 100 firefighters are currently tackling a blaze

Fifteen fire engines are at the scene and a large amount

Residents are being asked to close their windows because

One person has died and another been injured in

Four fire engines were calldd to what?s been described

as a commercial premises Bath Road at around 3:30pm

The fire, which involved a quantity of gas cylinders,

A second senior figure at Pilgrims Hospices in Kent h`s

The sister of a man who drowned in the River Medway is warnhng

people of the dangers of getting drunk and out of control.

An inquest heard that Kieron Knowlden from Tonbridge was

three times over the drink drive limit when he fell into the river

His body was found nearly three weeks later.

The coroner recorded a verdhct of misadventure.

Keiron Knowlden's family arrive at the inquest with

He fell into the River Medw`y when he was nearly three tiles over

Don't drink so that you don't know what you are doing.

Don't go near the river when you?ve had a drink.

If anything, get a taxi from where you'rd going.

Have a laugh but don't be stupid because we've lost a big part

Keiron had been to the pub with family on the night

He was reported missing the following day.

His body wasn't discovered until 18th March.

The case echoes that of Medway soldier Josh Thomas,

who drowned last year after falling into the River Medway in Rochester.

Accidental drowning causes lore than 400 deaths each year.

Once you've fallen in, your decision`making, like with

You perhaps don?t react as quickly as you might.

If the water is cold, you have a cold shock response.

Keiron?s family says they hope lessons can now be learnt.

The inquest here at Tunbridge Wells police station heard that

the cause of death was immersion, there were no suspicious

circumstances and the corondr recorded a verdict of misadventure.

He has a three`week old little girl that he?s never going to medt.

He has nieces and nephews that miss him, ly mum.

There is a big hole that will never heal

Their plea to others, don't go near the river after drinking.

That's it from me, the national weather forecast follows in a tick `

but first let's get the picture in the South East with Rachel Lackley.

Good evening. It has been a sunny and warm day but we've also had some

sharp showers will stop over the next couple of days it will be dry

bed feeling fresh. By Fridax, expecting some heavy rain. Tonight,

one or two showers but they should be easing, increasingly dry as we

get into tomorrow morning. Temperatures at 13 or 14 degrees.

Generally some decent spells of hazy sunshine. Mostly a settled story.

The odds fairly light shower during the morning. Temperatures bx the

afternoon I bit cooler than today, but still reaching the top teams.

Through tomorrow night, staxing mostly dry. It's a fresher feeling

night with temperatures dropping around eight or 9 degrees. Thursday,

settled with decent spells of sunshine and temperatures in the top

teams and low 20s. This is heading our way into

with the summary. Turning more unsettled as we head towards the

weekend. Good evening. After what has been a

glorious few weeks of summer sunshine for many of us, things are

about to change over the next 2 hours. We are seeing the change

marked by the weather front on the satellite image. To the south of

that, 25 degrees, in Bournemouth for instance, but in the north and east,

cooler, fresher air. That sets the scene for tomorrow. A cooler day. We

will have hazy sunshine on offer, although cloudier skies than we have

been used it over the past week Tonight we have thicker cloud

bringing more two spots of drizzly rain for some southern areas. Many

parts dry, but we have the rain heading in towards the far

north-west for the early hours of Wednesday.