20/02/2017 South East Today

The world's most prestigious golf tournament, the Open,

comes to Sandwich, bringing a ?100 million windfall.

We're live at the Royal St George's tonight.

How a Sussex zoo accidentally killed a collection of its exotic

Four in every ten pounds spent by the NHS in Sussex hiring

mental-health nurses from agencies goes directly

I believe that money would be better spent on patient care, I truly

believe that. It is in! And Lincoln city take the

lead with a major goal! The Kent footballer who made FA

Cup history with his And walls of fame -

we ask which of the big names in music should be honoured

with a blue plaque Golf's most prestigious tournament,

the Open Championship, will return to Sandwich in three

years' time, bringing with it an estimated

?100 million windfall. Businesses in East Kent have

welcomed news that the Open will be held at the Royal St

George's in 2020. The course has hosted the tournament

14 times in the past - This is what it is about. The

grandstands, cameras, crowds and the greatest names in the sport of golf.

Royal St George's is regarded as one of the best courses. The Open has

been here 14 times already but it is an honour not taken lightly. It will

be a big challenge, a big event for the next three years. The course

will need work. We can host the RMA, the infrastructure is bigger every

year, the crowds get bigger every year. Expect still more than the

180,000 spectators who came in 2011, who brought ?77 million to Kent.

Those few days of golfing drama nudged the Kent tourism figures up

by -- by 3.2%. This is good news for everybody, whether you are golf fan

or a tourism provider, because it is an opportunity for people to use

sport as a means of bringing more money into the economy. In the town

of sandwich itself there are memories, they experienced the cars

but not the money. A lot of the shops didn't benefit from the golf,

because people had to walk into Sandwich. People were spending

several hours a day travelling to watch a few hours of golf. But as a

golfer it is great. That is why behind the scenes there have been

intense negotiations over travel arrangements and local

infrastructure before the go-ahead was given. It is hoped the Open at

Sandwich in 2020 will B membered for all of the right reasons. -- will be

remembered. Well, Robin Gibson joins

us now from Sandwich. This really will be

a global event won't it? You are talking about a global TV

audience perhaps of hundreds of millions of people, all focused on

those 50 acres of turf at Royal St George's. There is pressure on the

organisers to make sure everything goes right. Just imagine if you were

a player. A zoo in Sussex has admitted that 11

of its exotic birds have been inadvertently killed -

by rat poison. Drusilla's Park near Eastbourne

called in pest controllers after they realised five

of its flock of rainbow lorikeets The zoo says the incident

has been very upsetting for all its staff,

and they are reviewing These are the lucky survivors,

escaping both the rats and the rat poison. The poison was buried deep

below their enclosure but was brought to the surface by the vermin

it was designed to kill. Head keeper Mark Kenwood says moving the birds

before tackling the predators would have brought its own risks. If we

had done that we could have had just as many casualties, more casualties,

who is to say? It is really unfortunate that this happened as

nobody is more affecting it -- affected by it than the staff. The

rats had managed to bite through the metal mesh under the enclosure which

is supposed to keep them out. The zoo's response to getting rid of

them has brought some criticism. I believe that the thing any sort of

trap, chemical in this case but any trap, that kills animals is not

ethical. We really think that trapping those animals and releasing

them somewhere else or finding a better way of not killing the rats

would have ended up in aid Etta outcome. -- a debtor outcome. But

other methods bring their own outcomes. One way is to bring in

boxes, rats are worried about anything new so it can take them a

while to go into the boxes. The surviving rainbow lorikeets are

being kept inside. Only when the keepers are absolutely sure that

every last bit of poison has been found will they be allowed back in

their enclosure. With 16 already dead, 11 from the poison, keepers

are determined to keep these ones safe.

Will this have any long term effect on the way they run things there?

Speaking to the head keeper today it is clear they are all very upset by

what has happened and also stung by the suggestion that they could have

carelessly allowed any harm to come to their animals. That is something

the pest control experts we spoke to today, there should always be a way

of keeping non-intended targets of rat poison out of the way and today

they said they would be reviewing their procedures to make sure

nothing like that happens here again.

Trading insults - businesses in Eastbourne protest

against the latest Southern strikes due to take place this week.

NHS managers in Sussex have admitted they're spending too much money

on agency fees and urgently need to recruit and retain more staff.

The Sussex Partnership NHS Trust runs mental-health

The trust spends more than ?195 million a year on staffing costs.

It says more than ?6 million has been spent

And 40% of that money goes straight to the recruitment agencies.

Our health correspondent, Mark Norman, has our exclusive report.

It is a relationship that many think is critical to making people well

Louise is a patient with the Sussex Trust,

During a coffee break here, staff tell me how important a full

complement of staff is both for their work and for patients.

If we don't have enough staff on, you know, we can't do

the therapeutic things we want to do with patients, get them out,

It also leaves the patients feeling unsafe, they think,

what can I do today if there's only three staff on?

Agency staff have a role - they are flexible, can cover

vacancies and sickness at short notice - but they're expensive.

This trust has spent ?6 million this financial year on agency nurses

and a huge proportion of that money went straight to the agency.

?6 million, it's a big sum, isn't it?

And you've worked out how much of that is for agency fees?

What could you be doing with that money?

Recruit more nurses, improve patient care.

Is it frustrating to know that much money is just going on fees?

I am a nurse and it is disappointing.

You know, I believe that money would be better

spent on patient care, I truly believe that.

The answer to the problem, to recruit more staff and once

you've got them make sure you keep them.

The pictures are for the Trust's national recruitment campaign

that begins shortly, but with London so close,

with its higher wages, the trust have to offer more.

So there will be fast-track promotion for our really talented

staff, but this is a much more structured, co-ordinated approach

And unfortunately, with every hospital and mental-health trust

competing for often the same staff, it's a problem that

The train drivers union Aslef will hold fresh talks

with Southern Rail, in an attempt to resolve the ongoing

Today businesses in Eastbourne took part in a protest

against another round of strikes due to take place this week.

As these business leaders in Eastbourne protest against more

anticipated disruption on the trains, there may be some

hope for long-suffering Southern rail passengers this week.

The train drivers' union Aslef aims to hold talks with Southern bosses

tomorrow to try to resolve the dispute over driver-only trains.

But the ten-month argument has already left some

It has been devastating for our business.

We run a small independent cafe on the concourse of the station,

which means we are very much dependent on regular

trains and commuters, which we are losing.

During last year we had to get rid of half of our staff,

we were doing really well, it was all picking up,

and now we are about to celebrate our third anniversary in May,

In the business community if we don't agree on something,

we have a dispute, we sit around a table and resolve it.

Why the unions and the train company can't do that is quite beyond me.

Nobody down here can understand why that is the case. But it seems like

the row between Southern and the RMT has worsened. Southern sent its

staff a letter urging them not to strike, saying if they do it maybe a

breach-of-contract and they could apply additional sanctions and

employees should think very carefully about the decision to

strike. It is intimidation and threats and it is not specific but

it is directed at individuals. My members are in jury intimidation

and threats. The RMT is not involved in any negotiations this week so it

looks like any final agreement could still be a long way off.

The most prestigious competition in golf, the Open,

It's estimated that when the tournament is held

at the Royal St George's course in Sandwich, it will bring

a ?100 million boost to tourism and business in the county.

We meet the young classic American car enthusiast

who's putting her foot down on sexism.

in the male-dominated motor industry.

Turning colder this week and the risk of wintry showers by Friday. I

will have the full forecast later in the programme.

The Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee says she's "shocked"

at the conditions unaccompanied children are living

in at the Dunkirk migrant camp in northern France.

Yvette Cooper made the visit before her committee holds

an emergency session on Wednesday to examine the Government's decision

to end the scheme which brought some particularly vulnerable children

Charities say hundreds of young people have returned

to the area in recent weeks and are risking their lives trying

Our reporter Simon Jones accompanied Yvette Cooper

Yvette Cooper said she wanted to see the situation for herself.

Some young people who had been moved to centres across France

when the Jungle was shut have now returned, after they say

their requests to be transferred to the UK were turned town.

Some children are with their families but others

This camp in Dunkirk is home to around 1400 people.

Officially there should be no unaccompanied children

here but the charities say since the start of the year

they have alerted the authorities to 97 who are calling this home.

How can you have small kids living in conditions like this?

You see the little girl up there and you think,

Since the Jungle was closed, going up in flames, 750 children

Next month the Government is ending the so-called Dubs scheme

which allowed some of the most vulnerable children with no family

It says it was encouraging them to make perilous journeys, leaving

Instead it will resettle 20,000 refugees, including children,

The real fact is for Kent is that we have really been

We have no more families available to take in unaccompanied minors,

Isn't the danger that, as the Government says,

you are once again making northern France a magnet for people who do

I think the danger is that without proper secure systems,

without having Britain and France working together on proper managed

systems to help these lone child refugees,

instead what happens is they end up in the arms of traffickers,

and it's the traffickers actually who are driving them into very

Yvette Cooper will deliver her verdict to fellow MPs

at an emergency session of the Home Affairs

Well, Simon joins us now from Calais.

Simon, you've been there many times in recent years -

how does the current situation compare to other visits?

Driving around Calais today you see far fewer migrants, in fact we

spotted just two, but you see a lot of police, and charities reckon that

is driving some of the migrants who are returning underground. One

charity reckons around 200 and accompanied children are sleeping

rough in northern France. It is difficult to be precise around

figures is but what is clear is that the desire of some children to come

back to Calais to try and get across the Channel hasn't gone away.

This weekend, Lincoln City Football Club made history by being the first

non-league club in 103 years to make it to the FA Cup quarterfinals.

And they did so courtesy of a last-minute header

from Sean Raggett, who grew up in Gillingham and learned his

A little earlier today, I went along to his old school,

Featherby Road Junior, where his mum still works part-time

and where the current pupils have a new hero to look up to.

The moment Sean Raggett sent Lincoln fans into la-la land,

his header in the 89th minute knocking out Premier

And Lincoln City take the lead with a minute to go! It was crazy,

unbelievable. Still hasn't really sunk in but I am sure it will in a

few hours or so. It is unheard of in modern football so it shows what a

great achievement it is and the great quality we have in the squad

at the moment. It's a moment the current children

at Featherby would love As soon is he scored we jumped up

and my stepmum came down the stairs and said, what's that noise? We

said, Sean Raggett has just scored, we went wild. He is just a little

boy like us and he has grown up to be a footballer.

His mum Jane still works at the school where Sean went.

They really did themselves proud and the fact that he scored the winning

goal was the icing on the cake. When did you know when he was little that

he had real talent? He has always been able at sport, not just

football, any sport. You saw him come all the way through, playing on

this field. That is right. It doesn't seem that long ago. The next

round, you don't know who they will play, will you be watching the telly

this evening? Definitely. Who is your money on? I am hoping Arsenal,

it will be a great experience. How disappointed will you be if they

have to place at? It will be just as good.

Sean is actually an Arsenal fan and he would love the opportunity to

knock another Premier League club out of the club. -- the cup.

In football, Brighton moved back to the top of the Championship

table with a 2-0 win away at Barnsley.

Sam Baldock scoring both goals in the second half.

Meanwhile Charlton salvaged a 3-3 draw as Jorge Teixeira scored

Gillingham lost 2-1 away to bottom-of-the-table Coventry.

The Gills are in danger of being pulled into

And Crawley lost 3-1 at home to Morecambe.

A James Collins penalty the Red Devils' only consolation.

From the moment she first set eyes on an American classic

car as a young child, Kelly Culver was hooked.

And now the 20-year-old from Dover is following her dream,

running a business restoring and selling them.

But in the course of her work Kelly has

She's been speaking to us as part of our series called This Is Me,

which looks at young people and their passions.

When we first started up this Camaro, I remember

I had the biggest smile on my face, honestly.

It was such an exciting moment - every time I hear a VA,

I've loved them pretty much all my life.

We were going to American car shows every year,

Working in a male-dominated industry is very amusing.

Sometimes I do trade shows with my dad.

And people will go up to him, ask him about the products,

the cars, but they refuse to speak to me.

When I ask why, they say, you won't know anything, will you?

I think it is silly, but to be honest, it empowers me

more, because at the end of the day, I know my story will inspire

somebody else who wants to go into mechanics.

I want to be the go-to person for classic American muscle cars.

I am a firm believer of following your passions,

I will say that to everyone, follow your dreams, don't

settle for second best, do what you want to do.

And you can see all our films from the series on our website,

bbc.co.uk/kent, or on social media using the hashtag #thisisme.

As part of BBC Music Day this summer, we're celebrating local

music legends by putting up official "blue plaques" across the country.

And we need your help choosing who, what and where we honour

You could nominate a singer, songwriter or musician

who may even no longer be with us, or a place in the South East

which has played a part in our music heritage.

But first, here's our reporter Piers Hopkirk to give

# Don't you worry about what's on your mind, oh no... #

From Mick Jagger and Keith Richard's chance meeting at Dartford Station

which gave birth to the Rolling Stones, to Hastings Pier hosting

the likes of Hendrix and The Who, the South East has countless claims

to musical history, but who or where should be commemorated?

Abba's ascent to superstardom was launched at Brighton Dome,

where they won Eurovision with Waterloo in 1974.

Writer and performer Christopher Green is a superfan of both.

The event and venue his picks for a blue plaque.

Nobody knew who they were, they entered Eurovision and blew

everybody's minds away, and Eurovision went from this little

They surely have to be up amongst the reckoning with that one.

It has certainly gone down well here inside the Dome in Brighton.

This is a major event and it happened here in the Dome,

in Brighton, and I think it needs to be celebrated.

You may not know that Led Zeppelin once owned Hammerwood Park

near East Grinstead, that punk idol Sid Vicious

was raised in Tunbridge Wells or that Jimi Hendrix Experience

bassist Noel Redding was born in Folkstone.

Tommy Steele, arguably Britain's first rock'n'roll star,

attended Gravesend Sea School, whilst Baker Street legend

And blues guitarist Gary Moore in Hove.

It will be a piece of history as well.

40 plaques in one day to great musicians and musical venues

right across the country, all voted for by BBC local radio

For David Bowie devotee Stephen Johns it's David Bowie's

early steps into the music business that are worth marking.

Bowie lived in Maidstone during the early '60s,

playing in the rhythm and blues band the Mannish Boys, at venues

like the Corn Exchange and the Hazlitt Theatre.

He was still learning his stagecraft so he'd come to small venues

like the Corn Exchange, and when he joined the local group

in Maidstone he became part of the Maidstone community.

I can totally imagine, I've seen photographs of him

when he was in the Mannish Boys, I can totally picture

It would have been amazing to be here, absolutely amazing.

To go back in time would be unbelievable.

So those are just some examples of the South East's

But which person or place is worth commemorating?

And we would like you to tell us where you think a blue

plaque should go in Kent, Sussex or Surrey.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected],

on our Facebook page or on Twitter using the hashtag

Make sure you get in touch before this Sunday.

It It has been ridiculously warm for

Sleet and snow by Friday? Possibly, especially over high

ground. I will be back for the late bulletin

at 10:25pm. You're sponsored to swap

clothes? I don't get that. Maybe you wear your mother's

clothes? Cool. Yeah, finally. What? I don't get it, what does she wear?

No, no... Like, she wears someone else's.

Cool, yeah. No, she's... OK, that's too complicated.

Do another one. So, like, you get sponsored to let

people lick stuff off you for a day. Ugh. No, but, like, you get these

flavoured... Not going to happen. You take a selfie and post it on

social media or whatever, and then people have to pay

to guess who it is? That's a no-brainer,

we love the secret selfie. 'For better ideas,

get your free fundraising kit now.'