20/01/2017 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Ellie Crisell.

Four of our hospitals on the highest alert,one of them almost

every day for a month, an NHS director says pressures are

I was just siting there, I asked them if they had any chance of a

bed. They said they had none. How hundreds of grammar school

pupils drop out halfway through their A-levels

because the school doesn't think Could there be stormy weather

on the horizon as plans go public to double the size of this

Thanet windfarm? As the new President takes office,

a Kent author's novel about Russian spies and US politics hits

the bestseller list. And seeing the light -

we get a sneak preview of an illuminating new exhibition in

Eastbourne. One of the south-east's biggest

hospital trusts has been on the highest possible state

of alert since Christmas, meaning that patient safety has been

compromised every day In addition, this programme has

discovered that patient groups have been warned

that the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton is expecting to continue

in that state all winter. It comes on the day that one

of the NHS's senior Directors said that pressure on the health service

is the "toughest" Our health Correspondent

Mark Norman has more. Another week, another insight

into the pressure the NHS is under. This trust has been at the heart

of the highest state of alert every The impact is being

felt by patients. I was taken to A and I

had to sleep in A I was just sitting

there and said, any There are four levels of alert,

Opel 4 is the highest, The trust told us its

staff were working hard to give patients the emergency

care they needed and it was making improvements to help

with the flow of patients. However, the impact on patients

is concerning some. Some who have been

in hospital, as soon as they are ready to go home,

or likely to be asked to go home, the support systems

in the community, whether it is family

or friends or a service that they pay for, provided

by the local council, they are At least three other trusts

in Kent and Sussex went to the highest level

of alert last week. All our trusts failed to hit

the specific target for A At Durham Valley, they even took

to social media to encourage former staff members to come

back and cover shifts. For our members, they would say

they are at the end of their Most organisations across the system

had been working at high While Brighton is not in the worst

performing trust, it is under pressure and is telling patient

groups it doesn't expect to come out Our Health Correspondent Mark

Norman is with me now - It is not good news. It is the fact

they had been on high alert for a month, and other parts of the NHS

have had to get involved. Nearly a 5% increase in the number of people

going into it A Delayed transfers of care. The fear is the impact on

patients. It is serious. I spoke to the Royal College of nurses and they

said it was more bad weather or a flu epidemic it would take the

system over the edge. Its being claimed that Kent grammar

schools are forcing some children to leave halfway

through their A-level studies because their Year 12 grades

were not considered good enough. Parents have told us their children

have been made to feel like failures, separated

from their friends, and given just weeks to find a new place

for their final year at There are 32 grammar

schools in Kent. In the last year, 266 Year 12s,or

students in the lower sixth form,left by the end

of the academic year. Invicta Grammar School had

the highest number leave, Our education correspondent

Bryony MacKenzie has more. Selective education not just

from primary to secondary but in many cases

in year 12 as well. But for one parent

who wanted to remain anonymous, their child didn't reach

the required grades at AS-level They claim the policy

at Invicta Grammar left them We felt not completing her education

with her peers would be detrimental She just needed more support,

mainly with revision techniques. Whether they acted legally or not,

their treatment of our daughter, and the harshness of pastoral care

we received, was shocking. There is no legislation that allows

them to remove students on the grounds of performance

halfway through a course. Students are asked to sign

a home-school agreement at the beginning of the sixth form

course, but that actually Invicta's sixth form

learning agreement states: If a student is allowed to continue

despite serious reservations... It's a common policy but not

one that works at every school. A lot of them make significant

improvements between year 12 and the end of year 13,

and I think schools need to have faith in their own students

and to push them hard Invicta Girls' Grammar denies

the claims and says students are supported and advised

about what is best for them. Bryony MacKenzie,

BBC South East Today, Maidstone. Why does one MP says she is dating

the return to southern rail? Controversial plans to double

the potential output of the Thanet offshore windfarm have gone

on display today in Ramsgate. The windfarm owners, Vattenfall,

want to build up to 34 extra They would be significantly bigger

and more powerful than the existing 100 and once completed,

the whole windfarm could generate enough electricity to

supply up 430,000 homes. But some local industries

are worried about their impact. Our environment correspondent

Yvette Austen has tonight's report. Thanet wind farm generating

electricity on a winter day. The idea is to make it bigger. Reacted

more top buys of the offshore wind farm. It is a great place to develop

and extend and we are confident about it. Technology has moved

answers to that then ten, and by ending 34 more turbines, output

could double. These turbines look so much bigger up close compared to how

they appear from the beach. The new ones will be twice the height of

these at 210 metres tall. This will improve the economies of scale. But

not everyone is happy with the idea, like the operators of boats who taxi

pilot to and from container ships to navigate them through sandbanks and

busy shipping lanes to port. They fear losing an additional 27 square

miles of seed wind farm, putting ships at risk. The ships require a

lot of room to manoeuvre. This is where they are slowing down to pick

the pilots up so they become affected by the tides and the wind.

This is where you don't want to close in the area. It will be

uncomfortable if you are the captain of a cargo ship. You would be

worried about slowing down. Fishermen are worried too. Anything

that takes up any area that we are working in and reduces our

capability of catching is a concern. It is said the plan is still an

early stages and people views would listen to. This is part of a

consultation process. We have already engaged them I will be again

about their issues and will be addressing those as a movie project

forward. Early next week, exhibitions are being held so people

can learn about the plan and see what it might look like. There is a

lot to before construction. Yvette Austen joins

us from Ramsgate now. They look quite sizable

turbines, Yvette? And they are the latest technology

capable of generating up to 80 megawatts each. They say that you

will see little difference from the shore because they are so far away

and local people say they welcome the boost to economy. I am sure that

the company would want to see collisions with ships because it is

the people who are out at sea would be most concerned. We will see how

it develops. A Sussex teenager who admitted

selling thousands of pounds worth of fake festival tickets has been

sentenced to 21 months in a young Benjamin Hyland-Ward from Saltdean,

left hundreds of people disappointed after taking ?60,000

for tickets that he failed to produce for the Bestival event

on the Isle of Wight The 19-year-old had pleaded guilty

at Lewes Crown Court. Two members of a drugs gang have

been jailed following the discovery of almost 8 million pounds worth

of cannabis in Sittingbourne. 57 year Thomas Cullen from Liverpool

was sentenced to 8 years in prison and 48 year old Joseph Graham

to 6 years. Kent Police discovered the drugs

when they searched an industrial A Sussex MP says she "dreads"

the prospect of returning to what the Southern's operator

calls a "normal timetable". A full service is expected to be

restored from Tuesday next week after the train drivers' union ASLEF

suspended industrial action. Our reporter Juliette Parkin is live

in Uckfield for us now. Juliette, surely this is good news

at last for passengers. Then it is understandable. After

what she calls 18 months of misery for commuters in her constituency

and elsewhere in the south-east, places like New Haven had been cut

off at the height of this dispute. Those talks, we have just heard will

resume on Monday and there is a promise of a fool normal timetable.

She says even a fool and normal timetable on Southern is inadequate.

We do dread returning to a normal Southern timetable,

we want a good Southern timetable, trains that

turn up on time, that aren't cancelled, aren't delayed, don't

terminate early at stations, are accessible for all passengers.

And what was the Government's response today?

In response, the transport minister said the service has been utterly

not good enough. He says they have to get back to improving the line.

There is another union involved, the R in the union, who are angry that

they have not been included in this round of talks. Southern say they

are happy to get involved in another round of talks with the RMT. No

cause this evening for commuters to start celebrating.

Campaigners in Folkestone have vowed to fight plans to demolish

a dance studio in the town, which has been teaching dance

and hosting community events for 80 years.

The decision to close the Dance Easy Studio in order

to build 6 private flats comes at a time when traditional forms

of dance have never been more popular, thanks to shows

It is a family entertainment show that has millions of fans of all

generations. Strictly Come Nursing is a successful programme. They last

dance at this studio in Folkestone. But that hasn't stopped it from the

threat of been closed down. I causally tell people when they start

new businesses, to come here. The building came a dance school in

1934. These dancers have been... The owner was a knock it down and turn

it into flats and locals are fighting it. There are lots of flat

already here. There aren't community spaces. When they demolish it, they

will demolish more than 1970s light fittings and an oak sprung floor,

they will demolish aspirations of young people. It is for yoga, for

dancing,... Protesters have produced this video urging people to oppose

the plan is. The owners bought the dance school in the 1970s. They

competed as dancers before and after they were married. The only bit that

persuaded me to do it is that the law was Canadian maple. All the

professionals have danced on it. They all remarked on the floor.

Opponents to the plans have until Tuesday to object. If approved, the

dance Easy studio could be holding its last dance by the summer.

This is our top story tonight. For other hospital trusts are on high

state of alert, under pressures one NHS Director

says are the toughest The Royal Sussex Hospital

in Brighton has been in that situation every day for a month -

and warns it will remain the rally driver with a race on her

hands. Louise Cook puts out charges at Kirby on eBay to raise funds.

Baulk and if you are enjoying the weather, good news, lots of

brightness over the weekend. This afternoon Donald Trump has been

sworn in as the 45th US president. His campaign has been

controversial throughout, not least because of claims

and counterclaims that Russian spies were somehow

involved in the outcome. The situation has led

to a spy novel written by a kent author in 1980,

becoming top of the book Ted Allbeury, from

Tunbridge Wells, wrote a spy novel about how

the Soviet Union tried to get their own man

elected as US President. Jon Hunt has tonight's

special report. Ted Allbeury, A former

British spy, a prolific He wrote more than 40 novels,

many from his home. But, in 11 years

since his death, a book he wrote nearly 40 years ago

is once again popular. It is all because it

bears an uncanny resemblance to current

political events in America. It is about what would happen

if the Russians were able to effectively get their own

man in the White House. Sally Bowman is the

author's daughter. --Boorman She is pleased

that her father's work is I think it is quite a nice

testament to my dad, and I think he would

be quite tickled. I don't think the attention

is undeserved. Donald Trump was sworn

in as the new US President today, amid claims that Russian

intelligence agents hacked Ted Allbeury's spy thriller tells

a story which has parallels The whole nation is excited that

they've got a new kind of man, somebody who isn't

a lifetime professional politician. The author's former agent isn't

surprised that life appears to be Ted was often described

as the spy writer's spy Partly because the had a very

distinguished career in He was very aware of

the kinds of things that Ted Allbeury is believed

to be the only secret agent to have parachuted

into the Germany in World War II. He ran agents during

the Cold War, and was Speaking to the BBC

in 1986, he explained that it was his own experiences as a spy

that made his books authentic. Authenticity comes

from knowing how you got recruited, knowing what

the training is like, knowing

what it feels like when you His book is now in the top ten

of its genre on one online store, and now there is talk

of new publishing deals and even the From the time man first

gripped a paintbrush, artists have been fascinated

and inspired by the study of light. Now the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne

is dedicating its major new exhibition to art

influenced by light. Called 'A Certain Kind of Light'

the exhibition covers six decades featuring artists from LS

Lowry to Anish Kapoor. It opens tomorrow but today Piers

Hopkirk was given a sneak preview. It is somehow fitting that the town

which boast the Sunnis climate in the UK should devote a exhibition to

artists and their relationship with light.

Baulk light has always fascinating artist, both as material and as

subject matter. What you see here is an extraordinary mirror ball that

has an is very surface... It's recorded every solar eclipse that

has been documented. The whole room circles and spends as a solar

eclipse is place. Dry together paintings, sculpture, installations

and photography, this is a reflection of British art over five

decades. This is a work by Anne Easterbrook, one of the great

British sculptors. He is interested in -- Annish Kappoor. It is was like

hours going through the rabbit hole. This shoddy editing work oppose the

Eckstein rephrased to give the exhibition space its own rainbow. It

is made up of 360 lives and requires twice that. People were being around

for twice that... Tensioning and walking around. It is quite a

beautiful thing. You can't visibly see the thread but you could see

people walking and shipping it around. It's an odd form of my

neighbours on for days. In the exhibition has been drawn from the

Arkansased collection, the touted as one of all venues as part of the

partnership programme. It is brilliant for Towner, it is built

for Eastbourne developed to bring these big names and lesser-known

ones together an ease and basses thematic group shows. It is

brilliant. A certain kind of light opens tomorrow.

Brighton are hoping to bounce back from their defeat at Preston

when they face Sheffield Wednesday at home this evening.

The Seagulls suffered their first loss since September on Saturday,

but they'll go back to the top of the table if they win

They are a good side. That showed in the fact that they got in the

play-off final last season, and I think they have added well to the

squad. That makes them equally as good if not better than last year.

Charlton athletic at Scunthorpe. They will travel to Sheffield United

in League 2. Maidstone rally driver Louise Cook

is the first woman to win a non-gender FIA rally championship

trophy, and it's her However, if you're an eBay bidder

you could be its new owner, she is so desperate to continue her

rallying career she's been forced to auction it

online to raise funds. The situation has come

about after two major sponsors dropped out,

leaving her needing to find 25 thousand pounds to start her season

at the Rally of Sweden Louise has been competing

professionally in rally driving for seven years. In 2012, she became a

world record in the sport. When I first set foot in a rally car, I

found it amazing to just be controlling it and instantly hoops.

It is such an amazing feeling. But now she may be forced to drop out of

the latest competition. Her main sponsors have delayed their plans.

She is trying to raise the money herself by putting her winning

trophy for sale. When effort lifted it, I felt sick, it didn't feel

right. After a couple of days, I got used to the idea and edges are, I

would rather let the trophy let the whole season go. Crowd find a group

set up by supporters have raised enough to halt the option for now,

but with nearly ?20,000 left in fine, the 29-year-old may still be

forced to sell. Women face greater challenges in finding sponsorship

for the sports than men, partly because of the perception of the

sport, that it is sometimes perceived as a women's sport and and

so less technical and less valued than men's, partly because of the

lack of coverage. Despite this, Louise says he's not giving up. The

higher, crossing the finish is her only option.

Bravely day. Rachel, is it that continue been a skilled?

-- this cold? Today we had highs of around two or three Celsius. The

sunshine will last. Clear skies mean those temperatures plummet tonight.

Those of around minus five Celsius. It stays dry over the next couple of

days, lots of sunshine, perhaps a touch more clout for Sunday, but

very bright and it is going to be very cold. Overnight, like the wind

and clearer skies, we expect to see some hill fort here and there, and

once again, the temperatures plummet. Several degrees down on

that in the rule all spots. Widespread, hard frost is that the

weekend. Saturday, lots of sunshine from the word go. We are still under

the influence of this area of high pressure. The wind will change

direction, but it is light, 510 mph. We will do well with temperatures,

they will creep up... Keep the heating on, lots of sunshine though,

but crisp and cold winter's day. You can spot the difference between

Saturday and Sunday. As we head to Saturday night, temperatures will

quickly fall away, it is more likely to be a cold night and I'm tonight.

In towns and cities LB around minus two Celsius. You can see -6 and -7

in rural spots. Italy killed at least at Sunday. A touch more clout

cover around, but very similar picture. A good deal of sunshine, by

the afternoon the temperature will be around for five or six Celsius.

Many of is still hovering around two or three. Enter the next week, even

as we look towards Thursday, the high pressure doesn't look to be

going anywhere. There will be a touch more clout and Tebbit is ever

so slightly less cold. Sunshine over the weekend but staying cold. That

is egg from us for the moment. I am back with the late news at 10:30pm.

Have a good evening. TV: He's not your father.

WOMAN GASPS so why not pay your TV licence in

weekly instalments, too? Parents are facing an explosion in

the number of children saying