25/07/2014 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans.

A minimum of 20 years jail for the man who murdered a kent teenage girl

An MP accuses Sussex police of a terrible miscarriage of

justice after an off`duty officer caused the death of another driver.

Police warn South Coast residents to shut windows at night as they hunt

a burglar who broke into bedrooms while homeowners were asleep.

He has got to be cot because he will kill someone. I just hope I can get

over this. A dramatic rescue at sea

for the brother and sister who were And just good friends

and co`stars in a new musical ` Paul Nicolas and Suzanne Shaw bring

game show Blockbuster to the stage. A man who murdered

his former girlfriend from Folkestone and then hid her body in

his uncle's grave has been jailed for life and told he will serve

a minimum of 20 years in prison. Ben Blakely strangled 17`year`old

Jayden Parkinson and then moved her body in a suitcase to a cemetery

in Oxfordshire. It's said to be the first time

in British criminal history that a body's been buried

in an existing grave. Today, detectives spoke

of their "shock" about Strangled and dumped in a grave,

17`year`old Jason Parkinson Strangled and dumped in a grave,

17`year`old Jayden Parkinson from Folkestone was murdered

by her former boyfriend, just hours after she told him that

she was pregnant with his child. Today, 22`year`old Ben Blakely

from Reading was given Speaking outside Oxford Crown Court

today, Gillian's family struggled to We will never be able to

find forgiveness for that We will never be able to find

an ounce of forgiveness for the evil that murdered Jayden and then

concealed her body in such a cold, Since the beginning

of the police investigation, he has treated the whole process

with complete contempt. He has lied

and attempted to deceive the police, and that culminated in him burying

her body in the most wicked way. And that is how the judge

described it, and I echo that. The court heard how Blakely,

seen here on CCTV with Jayden at Oxford station, was obsessive

and controlling, with a history He even threatened to post naked

photos of her on Facebook CCTV footage shows Ben Blakely with

Jayden last December, arriving at Didcot station, apparently on

their way to discuss her pregnancy. Later that night, Blakely returns

to the station alone after killing He was convinced that she

had been cheating on him. Five days later, he returned

and put Jayden's decomposing body into a suitcase and then buried her

in his uncle's grave. CCTV footage shows that

his clothes are stained with mud. Police discovered Jayden's body

at the churchyard 16 days They believe it was

the first time in British criminal history that a body has been buried

in an existing grave. It was awful because it

disturbed somebody else's grave. Well, it didn't actually disturb

anybody else's grave, but it upset a lot of people that it

had taken place in the churchyard. Jayden was eventually buried

in Cheriton near Folkestone, where hundreds of mourners saw her finally

laid to rest, surrounded by flowers. From the day Jayden's life was

so cruelly taken... this we will always be grateful

from the bottom of our hearts. Because Jayden was known to

social services, there will now be a serious case review

and an independent investigation into Oxfordshire police to

establish whether she could have Victoria Holland,

BBC South East Today. Sussex Police says it will review

any new information about a fatal crash involving

a serving officer who has been Stewart Chalmers' car struck

and killed Luke Bland and injured his friend Ben Blackfield on a road

near Uckfield five years ago. The off`duty officer was found not

guilty of causing death by careless driving, but speaking

earlier this week in Parliament the Conservative MP for Wealden

Charles Hendry said, "There has been It was a jury that acquitted the

traffic officer of causing death by careless driving while he was off

duty one night in feathery 2009, his car hit and killed this man knew

Cockfield. His friend was severely injured in the collision. In the

House of Commons, it was said that it was a terrible miscarriage of

justice. Mr charmers drove his car illegally in a non`roadworthy

condition and did not bother to test the legality of his tyres, even when

warned to do so. His defence would have fallen apart. In Parliament, Mr

Hendry said, four months before the crash, the car had failed its MOT,

because one of the tyres was not illegal. It was then taken away and

driven 455 miles without a valid MOT or insurance before the tyre was

replaced. Mr Hendry said it had eventually pass its MOT, but with an

advisory notice that the tyres were close to the legal threshold and

that at the time of the collision, those tyres were below the legal

limit. Sussex belief that smack Sussex Police have accepted that

they should have done things differently. We have given a

personal apology to the family, and an inch assurance that we will

investigate thoroughly. The family welcome any future review by the

police. I hope that they will now look at the new evidence, and make

some enquiries about what actions can be taken. Stewart charmers still

serves as a policeman. The police watchdog had looked into the

handling of the case. They found that there was no misconduct on the

part of the officer. The case was investigated thoroughly and

effectively by Sussex Police, and it would appear that the case was

treated with at least as much integrity as any other investigation

would have been if it had been any other member of the public at the

wheel. It was stressed the officer had not been found guilty of any

offence and there was no breach of professional standards and the

investigation had been properly conducted.

Mark, Mr Hendry raised in the role of the

Yes, in the Commons, it was found that the Police Federation had acted

ferociously in this case. When he was first arrested, it is claimed

that the Police Federation actually threatened the arresting officer

would be personally sued if he proceeded with that. Now, the Home

Office has said it is going to look into that allegation, but Sussex

Police told this programme today, that there is `` if there is to be

an investigation, it could not comment at this stage.

Teachers leaving and parents complaining. Allegations at a Kent

primary school. An intruder who broke

into homeowner's bedrooms to steal their possessions while they slept

is being hunted by police. Sussex Police say the spate

of burglaries in St Leonards happened last week and they're

warning people in the Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill areas to

keep their windows and doors shut attacker used menace and terror to

control her. I must have been screaming, I don't

know... He said to me, because his head was right down on my ears

hear, and he said to me, you are awake, you are living this, and

I thought I was going to die. I intruder broke into a woman's

bedroom in St Leonards, just after 4am. She chased him away and

the attacker left empty`handed. On the same day, there was another

break`in. Again, it involved a woman sleeping in her bedroom. On the

following day, Jane Halton was sleeping in her bedroom. On the

following day, Jane Howdon was A hot night, the mother

of five left her windows open for cool air. Police say there are few

clues to go on. We have placed a lot of resources

into it. We are completing house to Today, teaching unions met with

Kent County Council to discuss the situation, amid claims from

parents that Mrs Porter has turned Our Correspondent Mark Norman

joins us live from the school. Mark what happened in

at today's meeting? There is going to be this local

education authority investigation. The unions were at the meeting

asking some transparency in that investigation, but there is a huge

discrepancy around, some of the papers have reported that 25

teachers have resigned, that is simply not the case. We understand

that around ten teaching assistants have left since January, but maybe

only two or three due to the head teacher, and that fact was knowledge

this afternoon. Several of our members have resigned and have gone.

Several of our members have resigned and have gone, and obviously the

county has got to make sure that, for the sake of the kids in the

school, there are teachers in place in September, and one of the things

that we heard, one of the assurances that we

received this morning from the county was that they will make sure

that there is a qualified teacher in front of every class in the school

I understand some parents spoke to you today and have concerns about

I think we should emphasise it is only some parents. They have been

raising concerns about the way that the headteacher has changed things

since she started here in January, in particular with children who have

special educational needs. I spoke to one father earlier on. There is

no medication. `` there is no medication. Usually we get a lot

more detail. This year, it was like one sheet of paper. There is not

enough going on. The kids are not happy, no one is talking. The

parents are mad. Nobody knows or can say what is actually going on here.

There will be a fool, and staff come September after the holidays, and I

should say that many parents have come up to me to say how pleased

they are with the skill, but we will get the results of this

investigation sometime this year. Footage of a brother

and sister being rescued after they were swept out to sea in Ramsgate

has been released as a warning 12`year`old Alexandra Hewitt was

in the shallows when she and her older brother were dragged

out of their depths. As Juliette Parkin reports,

the siblings were very close to ending up in the path

of a busy shipping lane, before Just moments after this lifeguard

Howard reports of two stranded swimmers, his training was

immediately put into action. Passing others in the shallows, he headed

out to deeper waters to a 12`year`old and her brother who were

struggling to make it back to shore. They were struggling quite a bit, so

I pulled them both towards the board and let them catch their breath for

a bit, and then we started to swim back in until one of them could

stand up. The girl who could not swim that well was still out of

breath. She got on the board and I helped her back in. They were

heading quite quickly towards the shipping lane. There was relief on

the face of her face as help arrived. They have been swept out

into the path of ships. The footage was written `` released as a warming

`` warning to other swimmers. You should always take in what lifeguard

say, and always swim between the flags. With hundreds of people

flocking beaches in the hot weather, the advice is, as ever, is to stay

safe. A happy ending for this young swimmer who was clearly very

grateful to be back in shallow waters. A man who murdered his

former girlfriend and then head her body has been jailed for life and

told he will serve a minimum of 22 years in prison. He strangled his

girlfriend and then moved her body in a suitcase to a cemetery. Also

tonight. The crucial role that was played by thousands of workers at

Chak dockyard keeping the Navy afloat during World War I. Things

turning a little fresher by the time we get to Sunday. Join me later.

A kent woman who suffers from a rare brain tumour that makes everyone she

hears sound like a dalek has been talking to this programme about how

Katie Barnes has an acoustic neuroma, which is

a benign non`cancerous growth that develops on the acoustic nerve

As well as affecting her hearing, it also causes problems with balance.

Katie has been talking to Chrissie Reidy for tonight's Special Report

Going for a walk is something many of us do without even thinking about

it, but a wok for Katie resemble something like this. She has a

strange brain tumour which means she struggles with balance and people's

voices sound similar to the Alex. `` did Alex. Obviously, being an adult,

I understand that nothing is coming to get me, but as a child, I was

terrified of that sound so it is definitely strange. A good way of

describing it. The former hairdresser was diagnosed last year

after having an MRI scan. When I was blow drying people's here, I

couldn't hear them. I would be cutting their hair and go to

blow`dried hair, and then I would think, why can I not hear them

speaking. It's progressed from there, because what was the odd

stumble then became real dizziness. One in 7000 people are diagnosed in

the UK every year. If they go undetected and untreated they can be

life threatening, because they do grow, so it is important that they

do get medical diagnosis and follow a treatment part. Katie opted for

surgery. It involves blasts of radiation to the tumour while the

head is held tightly in a clamp. I like to concentrate on the positive,

and that is why I give myself positive goals for the future. The

treatment has significantly reduced the size of the tumour, but doctors

they are hearing will never return to normal.

While the trenches may be the defining image of World War One,

the Royal Navy played a crucial role protecting trade

In Chatham, the dockyard was one of the most important naval bases

in the country and tomorrow a new exhibition, called Valour,

Loss and Sacrifice opens there to mark its role in the conflict.

100 years ago, this dockyard would have been a hive of activity,

thousands of people building warships for a conflict which, by

then, the powers that be new was coming. This exhibition looks at the

role of this dockyard and also the ships which came under this

division. For several years am a Pozner dockyard had been building a

new Navy for the new century. Here, thousands of men arrived to board

the warships which were based at the dock. They were preparing battle

damaged destroyers, they were preparing submarines, and refitting

ships so that they could get back out into sea again, get back on to

patrol, and make sure that the troop convoys were all getting in and out

of Britain safely. Those who came to see the ships gathering felt that

Britain must be invincible. After all, the last time her fleet had

been tested was during the boy Nick was 100 years earlier, but within a

few weeks their confidence would be severely shaken. Just one month

after war was declared, this ship was on patrol of the Scottish coast,

when she was sunk. Among the 259 who died was John Magee's grandfather.

It was sunk by a torpedo which came from a German U`boat. I think it was

a wake`up call to the Admiralty. There are photographs of the

Pathfinder which was sunk by a German main. It had become a bit of

the cover`up to ease the public's concern about submarine warfare. If

they wanted to ignore their concerns about submarines before, the public

no longer could. Not all damage was caused by the enemy, however. Carol

Nixon's grandfather was among many who died with ammunition on his boat

cod fire. Many but refused to believe that it was an accident. My

grandfather was convinced that there had been a big party on board an

American ship, she reckons that two of the ladies at the party were

spies. In 1917, the German fleet was contained, prevented from cutting

off the crucial Atlantic surprise route, but many British vessels were

lost or damaged. Here, women were brought in so that workshops could

operate at capacity, replacing and repairing ships, the dockyard 's

continuing their role, helping to keep the Royal Navy afloat. The

exhibition opens tomorrow. These people are here for a preview.

Anyone who visits will learn more, not just about the role of the

British fleet as a wall, but also the individual stories of many of

the people who were based here. And our World War One commemorations

continue with a special event in Folkestone on 4th August, the day

that war was declared 100 years ago. BBC South East Today and

BBC Radio Kent will be broadcasting live and you can join us at a free

all day event on the harbour. There's been disappointment at the

Commonwealth Games this afternoon Meanwhile Tonbridge teenager

Katie`Jemima Yeats`Brown, who was a last minute call`up to

the England judo team, However, she has now won a bronze

medal. Congratulations to her. There's been disappointment at the

Commonwealth Games this afternoon The 27`year`old from Woodchurch

near Ashford qualified for the bronze medal match in the

women's skeet competition but missed Paul Nicholas is best known

as the heartthrob star of TV comedy Just Good friends, but

his latest venture sees him going back to his song and dance roots,

directing a show that features Blockbuster The Musical also stars

Suzanne Shaw of Hearsay and Emmerdale fame and our own

Jane Witherspoon has been along to Bromley to chat with them about

showbiz, pregnancy and, er, Sheppey. His career might have started as a

pop star in the 60s, but it was playing the character of things in

just good friends that made him a household name. Should we have a

dance? Don't be silly. He's combining his skills in his latest

role as he takes to the stage in Bromley. It is a great story, great

for the families, it is sort of like grease meets back to the future. It

is a fun evening, lots of great songs and dancing. Helping him get

the crowd on their feet is Suzanne Shaw. It was a poignant return to

the theatre for the actors. The last time she was here ten years ago, she

went into labour in the dressing room. Apparently the ugly sisters

were waiting outside, and they offered to comment and be my

partners, and I said, no way. My life is enough of a pantomime

without the ugly sisters being involved in the birth of my child.

It stirred up lots of memories burble stars. Paul was also

reminiscing about his childhood holidays spent on an island near

Bath that lack nearby. The big part for me was riding on the donkeys

around the beach, I don't know if the donkeys are still there, but I

am sure that the wreck is. They are hoping audiences will be reflecting

on a great show when it opens on September the 11th.

By Sunday, things will feel much fresher. The reason for that is a

cold front. We are going to see some showers and some rain, particularly

for Sunday. As we go through, temperatures will still be humid.

Those showers will stay with us. Temperatures this afternoon have

been very warm, 26 Celsius or 27 Celsius, with a fairly light breeze.

Those showers have been quite a sharp, and we have got a warning out

about them for nine o'clock this evening. The potential that the

goods seek some storms tonight. Eventually, those showers should be

easing, leaving a warm night, temperatures only dropping to around

19 Celsius. Not particularly comfortable fast living. The chance

that you could catch a shower tonight. Or Saturday, it will be the

warmest day of the weekend. Decent spells of sunshine during the

morning. The heat will also bring with it one or two showers by the

afternoon. Temperatures still in the top 20s, 27 Celsius. Just a little

bit cooler for the North and east. You could see some showers, and they

are likely to be heavy but short lived. As we go through to tomorrow

night, we will see temperatures sting in the mid teens again. Humid,

pretty uncomfortable for sleeping, but things will be turning fresher

as you get into the new week, least. We start with temperatures of 17 or

18 Celsius. There is going to be some rain throughout the day.

Temperatures of 24 Celsius and 25 Celsius. Rain stays with us as we go

into Monday, but then there's high pressure will build back in again

from the West. Increasingly settled as we get into the new week, but

their badgers does a little bit down on this week. For the next couple of

days, lots of sunshine, particularly for Saturday. Rain for Sunday and

for Monday, but then things settling down again. Enjoy your weekend.