06/01/2017 South East Today

Three men have been jailed for a total of 40 years

for smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into Kent -

by dropping the drugs from a light aircraft

But National Crime Agency officers had the gang under surveillance

and they were caught within hours of picking up the cargo.

It's the latest in a string of attempts to smuggle drugs

into the country using small planes and helicopters.

It would have been a manoeuvre similar to this one being

demonstrated for us today at a rural airfield.

A small plane swooping down to within a few feet of the ground

so that containers of drugs could be dropped onto the grass below.

Last June, National Crime Agency officers were planning a swoop

of their own and today, Andrew Barrett, Michael Mealing

and Jonathan Hart are starting their prison sentences.

Investigators who had been tracking the three men saw a light aircraft

They followed a Land Rover where they arrested two

of the smugglers and found two thirds of the cocaine.

The rest was found in a van in Watford where

For this experienced pilot, it's no surprise the smugglers

People in the flying community, and if you look around

you here at the airfield, everyone will notice something

unusual or if an unusual person drops into the airfield

However, if someone is smuggling some drugs or contraband in,

in poor weather, low visibility, flying low, dropping

it and disappearing, it's quite likely that no one

That could be in a field in the middle of the country.

Light aircraft are a manner in and out of which drugs can be

It could be firearms, people actually brought

in by a landing strip, no different to the coastline

with boats coming in in a similar way, doing a similar thing.

The important thing to understand is that we are now

focused, as an agency, on the tackling this threat.

This was officers last April stopping a car containing

That had been dropped into a field in Kent by helicopter.

In December, two men were found guilty of smuggling to gain

Three more smugglers may now be behind bars but the enormity

More cooperation is needed between providers of help for young

people with mental illnesses to ensure those who self harm get

the best possible care, according to campaigners.

There has been a 40% increase in hospital admissions

in the South East because of self harming with a marked increase

in the 11 to 18-year-old age group - that's gone up from 920

Sussex School pupil Olivia Nathan is studying hard for her A-levels.

One of her chosen subjects is psychology.

It's an area she has already researched extensively,

largely due to her own experience of self harming between

It all went back to the age of six when I lost my aunt to suicide.

I suppressed those emotions for so many years and

When I was 13 and had counselling, that was the first time these

emotions and thoughts had been unleashed and they

I couldn't cope with them so I ended up self harming.

Latest figures show a sharp increase in the number of admissions of young

people in the south-east to hospital due to self harming.

The Department of Health said they are investing ?1.4 billion

across the country to help and strengthening the links between

Doing exactly that is the Right Here project in Brighton.

They provide workshops, activities and to go into schools,

as well as providing online tools to help young people.

Demand for these leaflets is higher than ever.

We have known for a long time that there has been in an increase

in self harm but it's important to view them in the context of us

having more conversations about mental health and talking

to more people about self harm, and reducing stigma around

Now three years free of self harm, Olivia has a butterfly

symbol tattooed on her arm to remind her of an illness

that so often remains hidden and untreated.

Hospital staff involved in the emergency treatment

of a mother who had just given birth, failed to contact

the on-call consultant anaesthetist for three hours,

30-year-old Frances Cappuccini died after an emergency caesarian

Today, an expert consultant obstetric anaesthetist

told the hearing that - even after looking into the case

for more than three years - he still didn't know who that

The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says the unions involved

in industrial action affecting the Southern Rail Network need

to cancel strikes to allow talks 'without pre-conditions'

Mr Grayling asked that next week's planned action be called off.

Paul Cox from the RMT said they are always prepared

Well, we have a special debate programme on this issue coming up.

This is not a dispute with the public, this is a dispute

A bit of a disgrace, really, isn't it?

That it has gone on as long as it has.

I try to empathise with why they are striking.

You pay too much for delays, cancellations and disruption.

I don't think the Prime Minister has any idea of the level of suffering

and pain that rail passengers and businesses are suffering.

There is only one body responsible for the current strike, this

is a strike from the trade unions.

You'll be able to watch that programme on Monday

In your last few minutes, we have heard that there has been an

incident at Ashford station and services are disrupted.

That's it from me, your national weather forecast coming up,

but first let's get the picture in the South East

Good evening. A frosty start to day again today. That has really set the

tone for the weekend. More cloud around and feeling less cold than it

has week. At times, it will be some patchy drizzle around but, for the

most part, staying dry. The same can't be said for tonight. Heavy

rain at times, heralding some really mild air. Look at these

temperatures. Overnight lows, if you can call it that, of 5-6 C. As we

start the day for Saturday, four Celsius. A ridge of high pressure

giving us some cloud, south-westerly winds. By the afternoon, height of

nine Celsius. Good evening. The weather has been

turning milder and also cloudier through the course of the day. We

did see some clear spells moving in from the North will stop this was

the sunset, captured in Dundee. Some clear spells as we headed through

the course of the afternoon into the evening. Really, through the

weekend, wiki with a similar theme. Much milder than it has been. A lot

of cloud around in general, but for most of us think. Dry. Not dry

everywhere at the moment, particularly across central and

southern parts of England and Wales. We have a lot of cloud, bringing

outbreaks of light rain and drizzle. The patchy rain will ease away

slowly towards the south through tonight and further north across the

country, drier conditions. Wherever you are, it's pretty cloudy. Mostly

frost free to start the weekend, but there could be frost across the

central glens of Scotland.