28/06/2011 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today. I'm Rob Smith.

And I'm Natalie Graham. Tonight's top stories: Facing prosecution -

the Sussex hospitals where patients still aren't receiving basic

standards of care. I would have thought eating and drinking is

something that we should look at a thing, if we can't give this to our

patients, where are we going wrong? Homes across the South East are

struck by lightning as intense thunderstorms and batter a Kent and

Sussex. Also in tonight's programme: Why wasn't he properly

supervised? An inquest jury questions how a prisoner due to

stand trial for the murder of his daughter came to commit suicide.

The Canterbury artist who is creating crazy concrete reefs in

Mexico. My bike has a service where you send them a text message, and

this in due back a balance. I think the LOL on the end was a bit harsh.

And we meet Angela Marsh, the Sussex comic tipped for great

Good evening. A Sussex hospital trust is being warned to improve

patient care or face prosecution. The Care Quality Commission has

ruled that, despite previous warnings, the East Sussex Hospitals

NHS Trust is still failing to meet essential standards of quality and

safety. Even so, the bosses of Eastbourne District General

Hospital and the Conquest Hospital in Hastings say they are confident

of making significant progress by the September deadline. Sara Smith

reports. Two hospitals, one Trust and a

deadline of 2nd September. They have to make urgent improvements in

patient care. When we first went in February, we advise the trust of

what we had found, and when we went back in April, things had improved.

But it still doesn't make the progress that it needs to, so they

are on their last warning. Incomplete patient records and

assessments are leaving patients at risk, says the commission. If the

trust do not sort this within the timetable, services could be

reduced. I want it sorted. The residents of Eastbourne deserve for

it to be sorted. The trust was warned to make improvement after

inspections in February, but just last month Neil Adams's brother was

discharged without any recognition of his vulnerability. Robert Adams,

who has learning difficulties, had been taken to hospital by ambulance

after a collapse. He was extremely vulnerable. He was left to walk

home from Eastbourne to Seaford, 15 miles, in a pair of pyjamas. He had

no mobile phone. By chance he was found by his nephew. It was also

observed that patients did not always receive the help they needed

to eat and drink. I would have thought that eating and drinking is

something they really ought to look at, and think if they can't do that

the patience, we really must be doing something wrong. But the

Trust insists it has made improvements, and will continue to

do so. We have moved on substantially in the areas they

identified, and they have lifted to of the warning notices. They have

identified that we have got further to do, but we have already shown

that we can do this. And they have until 2nd September to prove that.

Sara Smith joins us live from Hastings. What sort of sanctions

could the trust be facing? commission says the trust has to

make these urgent improvements by the deadline, or they could be

fined or even prosecuted. They say the trust is failing to ensure the

care and welfare of service users, failing to protect them against the

risks of receiving unsafe or inappropriate care or treatment.

The chief executive who we just heard from, he has been in place

for a year, and he has another two months to turn things around. He

has a very angry local MP who will be looking for heads to roll if

those improvements are not made. Sara, thank you.

Lightning strikes have started fires and caused damage at a number

of homes across the South East. A man and woman had to be rescued

from a property in Ashford after it caught fire just before two o'clock.

Fire crews also tackled blazes in Crawley, Medway and Tunbridge Wells,

from where our news correspondent Mark Norman joins us. Mark - some

spectacular thunderstorms this afternoon, causing widespread

problems. Indeed, Natalie. This looks like a

quiet residential street now, but lightning struck at the bottom of

the Road this afternoon, travelled along the road and hit this

telegraph pole. It then hit this chimney breast and Loch -- knocked

off some tiles. But then travelled down the living room wall and burst

out of the wall. Something similar happened in Ashford. We have spoken

to the occupants of both homes. struck the corner of the chimney

stack, broke the tiles, the tiles fell down on the lovely sports car

of the man next door, which is so sad. But it seems to have come down

the chimney stack and through the wall. I could smell smoke and

burning, and my friend went upstairs to my computer room which

was set alight, and it had come from the aerial. It had gone right

down to the system. It was terrifying. Mark, what about

elsewhere in the region? Were heard earlier at a house fire

started by lightning. There was another strike at Gatwick which

knocked out flights. Then we were sent this stunning picture of the

lightning strike in minster. Wafted makes dramatic pictures, it was a

terrifying incident. You can see more dramatic pictures

In a moment: Down to the final dozen - fighting for a coveted

place in next month's Open at An inquest jury looking into the

suicide of a man in Lewes Prison have raised serious questions into

how potentially vulnerable inmates are supervised. Tony Couchman died

just two days before he was due to stand trial for the murder of his

daughter, Victoria. The jury returned a narrative verdict,

particularly concerned that no full mental health review was carried

out on Couchman, despite having been deemed at risk of suicide or

self-harm some months before. John The suicide of Tony Couchman may

have left his daughter's death shrouded in mystery,. The. That the

jour -- the jury chose to flag up in court was that he had been given

inadequate mental health support. Also prisoners can be locked up

unobserved for too long overnight, especially at weekends. And razor

blades are available in cells even to those on suicide watch.

The deputy governor of Lewes prison said that to deprive men of shaving

kit could lead to anger. They have to strike a balance between

prisoners' rights as grown men and a slight risk. This is only the

second case of suicide with a razor blade that he had come across.

The jury today heard that improvements were already in place

both in the criminal justice system and the health service. Some

comfort, perhaps, to those still Ministers have asked Network Rail

to explain how train passengers came to be left stranded in very

uncomfortable conditions in yesterday's extremely high

temperatures. Thousands of train passengers were caught up in long

delays getting out of London after a train broke down at Dartford.

Passengers on another train forced the doors open to escape the heat,

and walked along the tracks. An 11-year-old girl with a rare

condition of the immune system, thought to affect only five people

in the UK, has died. Melanie Cottle from Folkestone suffered from

Chediak Higashi Syndrome, a condition so rare her doctor has

not seen it for 20 years. Her family had appealed for people with

the blood type B positive to come forward as she was in need of blood

donations so she could have a bone marrow operation. But she died from

heart failure over the weekend. The head of a Kent primary school says

she believes it's morally wrong for teachers to go on strike. Angela

Konarzewski says none of her staff at Fleetdown Primary School in

Dartford will take part in the day of action planned for Thursday. But

union activists say that it's vital that teachers have the right to

protest over significant issues like pension cuts. Katherine Downes

reports. Thousands of families across the

South East are preparing for a day of disruption on Thursday. But not

those with children at Fleetdown Primary, though teachers there will

be making a stand in another way. think we have a great

responsibility towards our children, which is why I feel uncomfortable

about striking, and I have done throughout my career. There is a

moral issue about whether we should go out on strike, even if we have a

very strong point, and leave our children without school that day.

But teachers will be making a stand. We wanted a different way of

approaching the issue. We are thoroughly concerned and heard by

the proposed changes, but at the same time, we feel and understand

that there is an obligation that we have towards the children.

decided we wanted to make a protest in a different way, and we decided

we would put together a letter to send to Michael Gove. We are going

to ask our parents if they would be good enough to sign a petition

which they will send in as well. It's an approach that's supported

by pupils' parents. I am proud of the school that they are not

striking, because it would be inconvenient, but I do agree with

their pensions and their rights, too. They are not striking, but

making their views known in a way that puts the children first.

schools, though, are being forced to close as a result of the strike.

141 Schools in Kent will be closed or partially closed out of 600 in

the authority. In Medway, 32 will be closed or partially closed, in

East sussex 75 will be affected, Brighton and Hove will see 43 shut

or partially shut and finally a picture is gradually emerging in

Surrey, where 120 schools are I am prepared to put up with a

lifetime of lowish pay, but I want to have reasonable salary --

pension to look forward to, but I'm not prepared to put up with lowish

pay and no pension. Trish has been excused her duties in parliament to

help out at her local school on Thursday. Until then, one last

ditch attempt and David Cameron. These strikes are wrong. For you,

for the children, for the good of the country. These changes we

Northumbrian police are trying to trace a suspected sex offender who

may be in Kent or Sussex. Spencer Philip Clark is wanted on suspicion

of sexually assaulting a 14-year- old he met through a dating website.

Officers believe he may be in the South East because he has

The government is being condemned for planned cuts to the probation

service in Kent. The shadow justice minister Helen Goodman told the

Commons that the county was facing a cut of �1 in every seven. The

justice secretary, Ken Clarke, blamed overspending by the previous

It's been reported that the police dog handler at the centre of an

inquiry after two dogs were found dead in a locked car as

temperatures reached 30 Celsius has received hospital treatment for an

apparently self-inflicted injury. Today Britain's most senior police

officer has said he's very saddened by the deaths at a police dog

training centre in Kent. Sir Paul Stephenson said Scotland Yard is

taking the matter "very seriously". Simon Jones reports.

Colleagues in shock. Two dog's dead after it appears they were

forgotten about in a locked car. It prompted Britain's most senior

police officer so Paul Stephenson to state that he was very saddened

by what had happened. The officer believed to be involved is Sergeant

Ian Craven, filmed dog handling here. You don't want an adult talk

constantly looking for attention, and we want the dog that will sit

there and ignore them. On Sunday, the two dogs were found collapsed

and couldn't be saved. It is believed the officer threw himself

on a colleague's car when he had the dog had died. In a statement,

the Metropolitan Police confirmed that an officer went missing from

duty. A search was launched because of concern over his well-being. He

was eventually recovered with an injury to his hand. I was shocked

when I heard it was a police handler dock, because we tend to

hold that these people know better. The RSPCA and the police themselves

are now investigating. It should never have happened, and I can

fully understand the anger, the sadness, the disappointment of dog

lovers everywhere, and that includes every other member of our

dog section and the police. But we need to take the emotion out, look

at the facts and work out how the tragedy happened. The officer is

It is 16 minutes to seven. This is our top story tonight. A Sussex

hospital trust has been warned it faces prosecution if it doesn't

improve patient care. The Care Quality Commission says despite

previous warnings, staff at Eastbourne District General and

Hastings Conquest hospitals are still failing to provide the

essential standards of quality and safety. The Trust has until

September to make significant progress.

Also in tonight's programme: I went to visit my friend and her new baby.

That's tedious, isn't it? We need Angela Barnes, R comic tipped for

success. And what a difference a day can make. After the dramatic

weather, things are coming down. If you have a story you think we

should be covering on South East Most artists opt for a gallery to

display their work, but a sculptor from Kent has chosen a very

different location. Jason deCaires Taylor from Canterbury has crafted

an underwater world of concrete creations near Cancun in Mexico.

His latest installation, a VW Beetle, has just been lowered onto

the sea bed. Juliette Parkin has Not an accident, not an abandoned

piece of scrap - but a cement sculpture destined for life under

the ocean. What started as a small- scale project has grown into a

watery underworld of 400 sculptures, all planned with the marine

The Volkswagen was particularly designed for crustaceans and

lobsters, and they like particular spaces with particular sizes at the

particular height. I am looking at making a bigger piece which

actually has normal urban architecture, but designed for

marine life, so each house would be designed for a different type of

The artist, who had experience in traditional stone-carving

techniques in Canterbury Cathedral, has left his mark on his home city

with an installation fixed to the bed of the river Stour. Alluvia is

cast in cement, the sculptor using the special materials needed to

encourage marine life to flourish I was living on an island that had

a lot of problems of hurricane, and some of the can hurricane -- coral

reefs had been particularly wiped out. I was looking for ways to

express myself artistically, but also do something practical for the

environment. The long-term aim - to create

artificial reefs and protect the natural ones by giving tourists

There are just a couple of weeks to go until the Open Golf Championship

starts at Sandwich, where the likes of Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood

will battle it out for the most prestigious prize in the sport. But

alongside them will be a number of people you are unlikely to have

ever heard of - amateurs and club pros who have battled through

qualifying tournaments for the right to have a crack alongside the

best in the game. Neil Bell reports on those competing for the final 12

spots. For these golfers, the chance to

play in the Open is one of the highlights of their career.

Thousands of players around the world were hoping to make it to

sandwich. This was their final chance. Michael Campbell, based in

Brighton, was one of the biggest names involved today, and well

placed at the halfway stage. used to the pressure of a golf

tournament. Are just going low, it is a strong field once again, with

a bunch of amateurs out there playing. So it is a true test of

golf. The Windies up for the second round, which is great. Tom Sharratt

successfully qualified for the Open as an amateur three years ago, and

eventually finished 19th. He knows how nerve-racking the process can

be. There is no point. If you finish 4th, you wait -- may has

well finished 44th. If it is your day, it comes off, and if it

doesn't, you can always come back next year. But that almost didn't

happen for Benn after he was diagnosed with cancer just months

ago. Despite weeks of treatment, he would love to make it to the open.

I will be disappointed if we don't. I am lucky to be here, lucky to be

playing golf again. But I can't seem to put a score together.

Weather interruptions this afternoon halted play, and

increased the tension. The scoring on all four courses was impressive.

It may well be later this evening or even tomorrow before the

identity of the 12 golfers will be It will be exciting if one of them

do as well. Now, if you're worried you might be getting too old to

play your favourite sport, you might want to think again. The

Sussex over-70s cricket team have never been beaten. Yesterday they

defeated Worcestershire at Malvern by 54 runs in the Over-70s League,

which was set up last year. We have a player with two new knees and two

new hips. I have had a knee replacement. At our age, if you

enjoy the gauge so much -- the game so much, you put up with the pain.

I tell you, they are quick between the wickets! She turned

professional comic just 18 months ago as a tribute to her late father,

who thought she had the gift for making people laugh - and Angela

Barnes from Brighton is already getting noticed on the comedy

circuit. She's just won the much coveted BBC Radio Two New Comedy

Award, which in the past has recognised the talents of Lee Mack,

Rhod Gilbert and Alan Carr. Robin Gibson has been to meet her, and

joins us now from Brighton. Robin, she's a Kent and Sussex girl

through and through, isn't she? I think we will claim her as one of

ours. She was a student here in Brighton. She still works here, so

no stranger to venues like this one here. She still has a day job here,

although after these awards, she may find herself in a lot of demand

A giddy moment she still finds hard to accept. She only gave the

competition a go at the last moment, with little or no expectations.

have still not quite got my head around it. Suddenly around getting

offered gigs that two weeks ago I would never have been offered,

which is brilliant, and they get to play these clubs are no wanted to

play for ages. I am 34, which I was absolutely

fine about until I realised I had outlived five Blue Peter dog.

worked hard for it, chasing standup dates in front of many... And not

so many. She's still a very funny woman. Wherever I go and the

country, they love Brighton. It is because we are so optimistic here.

We sell buckets and spades. It is a She lives in Brighton and grew up

in Maidstone, home turf. I love playing in Kent, because I am from

Kent and have jokes about Kent. My dad used to come to all the comedy

nights, and he would say, have a go, you do it. I would say no, I am too

shy. Then I lost my dad very suddenly a few years ago, and it

made me think, I should have just done it. So I signed up to a course

in 2009, and six months later I started doing gigs.

Some critics said in the male- dominated world of comedy she was a

token gesture in the comedy awards final, but she showed them. This is

really awesome. Thank you. A really popular winner here tonight. Well,

a great talent and a very nice person. We put two in front of a

microphone with just as in the room, and I have to say, she did have us

in stitches. So, where can you catch up with the homecoming queen?

She is in Hastings later this week, and next week back here behind me.

So you could come and make your minds up.

Thank you very much. Very mean to put her to the test! But she did

make them laugh. Staff and pupils at a Kent school are spending the

entire day in complete silence. The challenge of teaching 1,000 pupils

without speaking at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls was staged

to raise money for a new building and to highlight the importance of

We could never do that, could we? It wouldn't work here. Now, the

weather has been doing dramatic What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday, are standing temperatures. Today, a different

picture. I have received so many tweeds about the what the weather

has been like way you are. It has been a case of short, sharp showers,

some of the money 30 seconds but pretty dramatic, and a lot of

thunder and lightning. Tonight,, and cooler. We should be seeing all

of the thunder and lightning dying out. All of this heavy cloud has

now cleared away, but we are still seeing a small amount around. That

is going to mean still a few more showers to come, particularly

towards Folkestone, but overnight it should be a pretty dry picture,

becoming clear for many of us. Temperatures down to about 12

Celsius, so quite a bit cooler. Tomorrow we will start to see a

little bit of sunshine. Around the middle of the day, the clearest

skies will occur, and then it will cloud over again. Those

temperatures, only up to 21 Celsius, so quite a lot cooler then

yesterday and today. Tomorrow night, cooler once again, a low of about

ten Celsius. Clear Sky for most of us, and that will be how things

will be over the next few days. High pressure in charge by Thursday,

sitting across the south-west of England, but for us and the South

East, there will be quite a bit of sunshine, although those

temperatures really just not that impressive for this time of year.

Yesterday was very hot, but it is a different -- different story for

the next few days. There will be a little sunshine around, the odd

shower creeping in by the evening. Come Thursday and Friday, a mixture

of cloud and sunshine, but the weekend should bring us some

writers sunshine, even though temperatures are really not up to

much. And that is the weather for Not too bad, but it doesn't seem to

know what it is doing. Well, let's recap tonight's top stories. David

Cameron has urged thousands of public sector workers not to go on

strike on Thursday. In a speech in Birmingham this afternoon, he said

the proposed changes to their pensions were fair and essential. A

hospital trust in Sussex has been given a warning to urgently improve

patient care, or it could face prosecution. The Care Quality

Commission has ruled that despite previous warnings Eastbourne

District General and the Conquest Hospital in Hastings are still

failing inessential standards of safety.

And an artist from Canterbury has created an underwater world of

concrete sculptures of the coast of Mexico. They include a VW Beetle