:00:11. > :00:13.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans. And I'm Rob Smith.
:00:13. > :00:16.Tonight's top stories. Cold-blooded, brutal and callous -
:00:16. > :00:18.the man who murdered a kent woman for the life insurance is jailed
:00:18. > :00:22.for at least 30 years. Parents who campaigned to keep
:00:22. > :00:26.their school open two years ago say they are furious Medway is now
:00:26. > :00:32.planning to build a new school because of a surge in pupil numbers.
:00:32. > :00:34.It just makes us furious. We just want answers, or why close a
:00:34. > :00:37.perfectly good school? Also tonight...
:00:37. > :00:39.As adoption rates fall sharply, Kent County Council brings in
:00:39. > :00:44.former Barnado's chief Martin Narey for advice.
:00:44. > :00:50.We import more than half the food we buy - a Kent MP calls for the UK
:00:50. > :01:00.to grow its own. And find out why this phone-box is
:01:00. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:09.the centre of attention in one Kent Good evening. A man who murdered
:01:09. > :01:15.his wife in a faked car crash and then went on to try and kill his
:01:15. > :01:17.second wife in the same way has been jailed for at least 30 years.
:01:17. > :01:20.Malcolm Webster killed Claire Morris, from Upchurch near Rainham,
:01:20. > :01:23.in 1993. He then tried to kill again in New
:01:23. > :01:27.Zealand in 1999, looking to claim almost a million pounds in life
:01:27. > :01:37.insurance. The judge described his crimes as cold-blooded, brutal and
:01:37. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:47.She married for love, he married for money. Little did Claire Morris
:01:47. > :01:51.nor, the man she was prepared to devote her life to would murder her.
:01:51. > :01:56.Today, he was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
:01:56. > :02:01.I am pleased, not just for myself, but for my family and any other
:02:01. > :02:06.person involved with Malcolm Webster, but also for society as a
:02:06. > :02:10.whole. Despite his mild-mannered appearance, you are dealing with a
:02:10. > :02:16.dangerous and wicked man. If he was still at large in society, he would
:02:16. > :02:22.be a danger to many women. Despite the sentencing, Malcolm
:02:23. > :02:31.Webster continues to torment her family, the headstone, which he
:02:31. > :02:36.owns, at Reading, to my beloved wife, and he refuses to change it.
:02:36. > :02:39.As a last resort, clear's family have said that they will try and a
:02:39. > :02:43.resume her body and bring it back home.
:02:44. > :02:48.Clare Morris was murdered 17 years ago in a car-crash staged by
:02:48. > :02:54.Malcolm Webster. It was originally treated as an accident. Five years
:02:54. > :03:03.later, he tried to kill his second wife in New Zealand. Last month, he
:03:03. > :03:09.was found guilty of clear's murder and of his second wife.
:03:09. > :03:17.The man is as wicked as it is possible to be. He faked emotions,
:03:17. > :03:24.he faked dry add their wedding, -- he fate of joy at their wedding,
:03:24. > :03:34.desolation at the funeral. In sentencing Malcolm Webster,
:03:34. > :03:37.
:03:37. > :03:43.In sentencing Malcolm Webster, As Malcolm Webster begins at 30
:03:43. > :03:50.years' sentence, clear's brother hopes to launch a foundation in his
:03:50. > :04:00.sister's main to offer support to other bereaved families. -- in his
:04:00. > :04:02.
:04:02. > :04:05.Less than a year ago, Medway Council closed a local primary
:04:05. > :04:08.school against the wishes of parents. Now it has emerged the
:04:08. > :04:09.council will have to create a new council will have to create a new
:04:09. > :04:12.school because of shortage of places. Medway currently has 263
:04:12. > :04:16.empty primary school places. But the number of children of
:04:16. > :04:19.primary school age is predicted to rise by 10 % by 2016, because of an
:04:19. > :04:22.increase in the birth rate and more families moving into the area. This
:04:22. > :04:25.is expected to lead to a shortfall of places of more than 17% in
:04:25. > :04:28.Chatham, and up to 10% in Rochester and Gillingham within three years.
:04:28. > :04:32.Rebecca Barry has the latest in our Chasing Places series.
:04:32. > :04:36.The last year has been full of ups and downs for Diana and her
:04:36. > :04:44.children, forced to move to a new school after midweek council did
:04:44. > :04:48.David to close their local primary. -- Medway council decided to close
:04:48. > :04:52.their local primary. The council said there was a surplus of places,
:04:52. > :04:59.but now a report highlighting a Phaedrus shortage of places in
:04:59. > :05:03.Medway has infuriated pedant. -- a future shortage.
:05:03. > :05:08.The hear the council is now proposing to build new schools, it
:05:08. > :05:14.makes us furious. We want answers, quite close a perfectly good Ysgol
:05:14. > :05:22.y Berwyn and he did not listen to all the argument in the first place.
:05:22. > :05:26.-- quite close a perfectly good school?
:05:26. > :05:30.This report suggests things could get worse.
:05:30. > :05:37.The report predicts that within three years demand will outstrip
:05:37. > :05:47.supply, and Chatham, Rochester and Gillingham will need at least one
:05:47. > :05:51.new school. Just two years ago, campaigners
:05:51. > :05:56.went to Whitehall. Now those campaigners want answers. We want a
:05:56. > :05:59.full investigation into their conduct into a house they carry out
:05:59. > :06:04.investigations. If we do not investigate this
:06:04. > :06:08.further, they will railroad through other theories bad ideas and we
:06:08. > :06:10.will be back trying to correct the mistakes.
:06:10. > :06:20.mistakes. In a statement, Medway council
:06:20. > :06:31.
:06:31. > :06:35.The proposals will now go out for consultation until September.
:06:35. > :06:40.Families like Diane and her children will just be hoping the
:06:40. > :06:45.year ahead is less per Bint -- turbulent.
:06:45. > :06:49.Joining us now is Peter Read from Kent Independent Education Advice.
:06:50. > :06:55.Thank you for joining us. On the face of it, this looks like clumsy
:06:55. > :07:00.maths from Medway council. On the face of it, it does. Parents
:07:00. > :07:06.will always be concerned, as communities are damaged when
:07:06. > :07:11.schools closed. The bottom line is, the Government puts pressure on
:07:11. > :07:16.local authorities to close schools with supplies spaces. The school
:07:16. > :07:22.that closed had a declining numbers, therefore teachers were forced to
:07:22. > :07:26.leave and the school would have gone into a spiral of decline.
:07:26. > :07:30.Could it they not have looked ahead at the Trent when this happened?
:07:30. > :07:35.They could indeed, and I am sure they would have done, but the fact
:07:35. > :07:41.remains, for 2011, there are eight schools that have more than half of
:07:41. > :07:47.the place is empty. Medway council has to manage this somehow. The new
:07:47. > :07:51.places, from as far as I can make out, from a very detailed plan, are
:07:51. > :07:59.in very different places. Children were not going to Ridge Meadow
:07:59. > :08:03.Primary School in sufficient numbers. They were going to a new
:08:04. > :08:09.school in Chatham, where there is a housing development. Presumably
:08:09. > :08:13.this will cost them more money. Could this keeps happening?
:08:13. > :08:18.The Government has said that local authorities should not spend money
:08:18. > :08:24.on new schools. What they are planning to do, and their
:08:24. > :08:28.organisation plan set out a lot of detail, the Government has said it
:08:28. > :08:30.new schools will have to be academies, funded by Government and
:08:30. > :08:33.not the local authority. In a moment...
:08:33. > :08:43.Synchronised scooters - a group of pensioners from Sussex hits the big
:08:43. > :08:57.
:08:57. > :09:00.The Governments childcare advisor has been at Kent County Council
:09:00. > :09:03.today to help solve the problem of sharply falling adoption numbers.
:09:03. > :09:05.Martin Narey, a former head of the Prison Service and of children's
:09:06. > :09:08.charity Barnardo's, hopes to cut red tape and significantly increase
:09:09. > :09:11.adoption rates in the county. The number of adoptions in Kent has
:09:11. > :09:15.fallen significantly in recent years, down from 91 adoptions four
:09:15. > :09:23.years ago to 57 over the past year. To solve the problem, Mr Narey says
:09:23. > :09:26.adoption rates need to double over three years.
:09:26. > :09:29.A Allison Burrows adopted her first child when she lived in
:09:29. > :09:33.Hertfordshire ten years ago. She said the process took four years,
:09:33. > :09:40.and she and her husband found it interesting.
:09:40. > :09:44.I was frustrated, angry at times, let down, felt that they were
:09:44. > :09:50.trying to find fault in everything that you did, to find a reason not
:09:50. > :09:56.to let you be an adoptive parent. She thought adopting a second
:09:56. > :10:00.trialled would be easier - not so. Last year, Allison claims that Kent
:10:00. > :10:07.County Council told her that, because she has four dogs and the
:10:07. > :10:10.limit is three, she would probably be ineligible. You have to look at
:10:10. > :10:14.the situation. But they said this limit that was
:10:14. > :10:19.not based on any kind of measure, just a limited?
:10:19. > :10:29.There could have been there four lap dogs.
:10:29. > :10:30.
:10:30. > :10:34.The delays experienced like those like Alison cause damage, and it is
:10:34. > :10:39.felt it is the children who suffer. It has a long-term in packed on
:10:39. > :10:47.those children, and also on the foster carers who have to parent
:10:47. > :10:55.for them. It is for this reason that Kent
:10:55. > :11:00.County Council has hired an adoption Tsar to advise them.
:11:00. > :11:08.I think it is good to bring someone in from roadside to do things a
:11:08. > :11:12.little difficult -- differently. What about the three dogs ruled?
:11:12. > :11:18.That sound unusual to me. I want to unpicked these stories to make sure
:11:18. > :11:22.they are not just tick box culture. This lady, as she said has already
:11:22. > :11:28.provided a loving home for another child, we should take up her offer
:11:28. > :11:38.with will go open arms. There are over 1,400 children in
:11:38. > :11:42.
:11:42. > :11:45.care in Kent, with just over 57 adopted in the last year.
:11:45. > :11:48.Residents near Lydd Airport who are opposed to its expansion have been
:11:49. > :11:51.given their first chance to speak at a public inquiry into the plans.
:11:51. > :11:54.The inquiry, which began in February, is considering whether
:11:54. > :11:56.the economic benefits of a larger airport on the Romney Marsh would
:11:56. > :11:58.outweigh the impact it would have on wildlife.
:11:58. > :12:03.The RNLI have expressed their disappointment and frustration
:12:03. > :12:07.following a two-hour search after a distress call. They received a
:12:07. > :12:12.distress call yesterday afternoon reporting a large Spanish yacht in
:12:12. > :12:16.difficulty of the coast of Eastbourne, but the Kohl has now
:12:16. > :12:25.been traced to a Spanish student in the town.
:12:25. > :12:33.Armed robbers have threatened as security guards with a shotgun.
:12:33. > :12:38.CCTV pictures that showed them threatening security guards, and
:12:38. > :12:41.took suspect's attempted to rob a safe with a crowbar.
:12:41. > :12:44.A Sussex man says the actions of a pilot whose light aircraft crashed
:12:44. > :12:47.into a playing field near Shoreham airport saved his family's life.
:12:47. > :12:54.The 63-year-old pilot was killed when his plane hit the ground after
:12:54. > :13:01.a mid-air collision yesterday. Sara This is the wreckage of a crash
:13:01. > :13:05.which took one life, but incredibly not more. Former British Airways
:13:05. > :13:09.pilot Alan Weal died when his light aircraft came down, but managed to
:13:09. > :13:15.steer it away from houses and avoid a family in a playing field.
:13:15. > :13:20.All I could see was the play at -- the plane coming down towards us. I
:13:20. > :13:25.screamed at the wife to grab the kids and run. He then banged left
:13:25. > :13:29.and crashed within 20 metres. He is our to save year.
:13:29. > :13:35.The crash happened after two smaller planes collided in mid-air.
:13:35. > :13:39.The second was also badly damaged, having lost part of a line, the
:13:39. > :13:43.propeller and its gearbox. The two pilots on board managed to land at
:13:43. > :13:47.a nearby airfield and were left uninjured.
:13:47. > :13:55.They managed to keep control of the aircraft and glided back onto the
:13:55. > :14:02.runway when it was 30 disabled. I think they displayed exceptional
:14:02. > :14:07.piloting skills. -- pretty disabled. With the wreckage strewn over a
:14:07. > :14:12.wide area, the road to Brighton was closed while on investigation began.
:14:12. > :14:16.Alan Weal's family said in a statement today that he loved
:14:16. > :14:23.airplanes and built his own after retiring. They added that his fine
:14:23. > :14:32.expedience added -- helped to avert a tragedy even greater than the one
:14:32. > :14:35.Our top story tonight... Malcolm Webster, who murdered
:14:36. > :14:39.Claire Morris from Upchurch in a faked car crash in 1993 and then
:14:39. > :14:42.went on to try and kill his second wife in New Zealand, has been
:14:42. > :14:48.jailed for at least 30 years. The judge today described his crimes as
:14:48. > :14:52.Also in tonight's programme - singing in a box, how villagers
:14:52. > :14:56.trying to save their phone booth came up with a novel way to keep it
:14:56. > :15:01.as an attraction. And it has been a warm, dry and
:15:01. > :15:05.bright day today, but it is all change tonight, are rain on the way.
:15:05. > :15:08.Join me later for the details. If you have a story you think we
:15:08. > :15:18.If you have a story you think we should be covering on south-east
:15:18. > :15:26.
:15:26. > :15:29.today, we would love to hear from The UK must produce more of its own
:15:29. > :15:34.food if consumers are not to be faced with massive hikes in their
:15:34. > :15:38.household bills. Kent MP Laura Sandys says that Britain must cut
:15:38. > :15:44.back on its dependency of international markets. Ten years
:15:44. > :15:47.ago, the UK imported more than 30 million tonnes of food. Last year,
:15:47. > :15:52.that figure had risen to more than 34 million tonnes, so we now import
:15:52. > :15:56.more than half of the food we buy. The concern is that it could make
:15:56. > :16:00.us vulnerable to global crisis in the markets. But farmers here in
:16:00. > :16:06.the south east believe the UK market is well placed to cope with
:16:06. > :16:11.demand. The industry is well set to meet
:16:12. > :16:18.the challenges of the future. The a will always be a variety of large
:16:18. > :16:25.and small producers. -- there will always be. As an injured -- as an
:16:25. > :16:31.industry, we are well set to produce for the future.
:16:31. > :16:37.There is no doubt there is pressure on food production worldwide. The
:16:37. > :16:42.demand for globally produced food is expected to increase by 40 % in
:16:42. > :16:48.the next decade. A report by the UN shows that almost one-third of the
:16:48. > :16:52.food bought in the UK end up thrown away. In the longer term, a lower
:16:52. > :17:00.supply can keep up with demand, but food prices are expected to rise by
:17:00. > :17:07.another 30 % by 2035. Farmers believe this is a good reason to
:17:07. > :17:14.have more intensive farming methods. Tippett naturally produced.
:17:14. > :17:17.I produce a lot of my own food in my own garden, and genetically-
:17:17. > :17:21.modified products don't rear their head in that setting.
:17:21. > :17:25.I think there are more people in the world that could do with more
:17:25. > :17:28.food. But it helped to produce more, we should do it.
:17:28. > :17:38.The MP for South Thanet Laura Sandys joins me live from
:17:38. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:50.She said that weak need to rethink we -- the way we produce our food.
:17:50. > :17:55.From my perspective, I am concerned about food price rises for my
:17:55. > :18:05.constituents. We have experienced for 0.9 % inflation this year, and
:18:05. > :18:12.
:18:12. > :18:16.we need to put in measures to address domestic supply. -- 4.9 %.
:18:16. > :18:26.I will be discussing food production on breakfast tomorrow
:18:26. > :18:27.
:18:27. > :18:30.Of all the unusual places to hold a music concert, this has to be one
:18:30. > :18:32.of the most bizarre - and indeed acoustically challenged. It is a
:18:32. > :18:35.phone box in the village of Egerton near Ashford.
:18:35. > :18:39.When their old-fashioned phone box was going to be removed, the people
:18:39. > :18:42.there wanted to save it, so they bought it for a pound from BT, and
:18:42. > :18:46.now they are on a mission to make use of it whenever they can. Ria
:18:46. > :18:48.Chatterjee joins us live from the phone box now. Ria, it looks like
:18:48. > :18:52.quite a squeeze? It is just your average sized
:18:52. > :19:02.flower box, but it is slowly becoming the artistic hub of this
:19:02. > :19:08.
:19:08. > :19:15.village. It cost just �1 Mac, and the
:19:15. > :19:19.villagers decided they wanted to make use of it. It had a wedding
:19:19. > :19:22.dress for the Royal Wedding, now they are in the midst of their
:19:22. > :19:26.music festival and it is being used as a venue.
:19:26. > :19:33.It is probably the smallest place we have performed, but we have just
:19:33. > :19:38.come back from a canal boat tour. That felt pretty similar to this, I
:19:38. > :19:46.think. Also earlier this year we did a
:19:46. > :19:53.tour of 10 Tabernacle trenches. A few of those did not hold more
:19:53. > :19:57.people. -- Tabernacle churches. Why did you decide to use this as
:19:57. > :20:03.an artistic the news. BT took the telephone box of way,
:20:03. > :20:07.so we thought, by Noddy use it as an arts venue? It is a beautiful
:20:07. > :20:13.object and the village wanted to keep it. -- why not use it as an
:20:13. > :20:21.arts venue? We have had a visiting artists and things happening in the
:20:21. > :20:27.box. What have you been doing?
:20:27. > :20:31.We had a bride in there for the Royal Wedding, we are having solo
:20:31. > :20:35.gigs all this week for the music festival, and then we are going to
:20:35. > :20:43.invite artists to come and do all sorts of...
:20:43. > :20:50.Brilliant. BT's say that in the last year, they had it, but
:20:50. > :20:54.hopefully it will have a more exciting life from now on.
:20:54. > :20:57.On to a bit of sport now. Tiger Woods will not be challenging
:20:57. > :20:59.for his 15th major title at next week's Open Golf Championship in
:20:59. > :21:03.Sandwich. The 35-year-old, who finished two shots off the lead
:21:03. > :21:06.when the Open was last held at Royal St Georges in 2003, hasn't
:21:06. > :21:12.recovered from a leg injury which has he picked up in May and will
:21:12. > :21:17.not be playing. -- which he picked up in me.
:21:17. > :21:20.In football, Gillingham have made their seventh signing of the summer.
:21:20. > :21:23.Peterborough midfielder Charlie Lee, who spent a month on loan with the
:21:23. > :21:30.Gills last year and helped the club launch a mid-season revival, has
:21:30. > :21:33.agreed a three year deal at the Perhaps as a set of wheels they
:21:33. > :21:36.lack the instant glamour of a Ferrari or a Porsche. But don't let
:21:36. > :21:39.the leisurely pace of a mobility scooter fool you, because in the
:21:39. > :21:42.right hands they can still pull off some pretty nifty moves. In fact, a
:21:42. > :21:44.group of pensioners from Whitehawk in Brighton have polished their
:21:44. > :21:52.syncronised scootering skills to such a degree they are actually
:21:52. > :22:01.featuring in a national ad campaign. Reversing into position to run
:22:01. > :22:06.through their figure of eight. 1, 2, 3, fade away but might be the
:22:06. > :22:11.bright and pensioners set off, not letting stroke, paralysis, and knee
:22:11. > :22:16.replacement or arthritis stand in their way.
:22:16. > :22:20.Last week, they were filming an advertisement up in London.
:22:21. > :22:25.It is not easy growing old, millions live in poverty and
:22:25. > :22:30.isolation. But it soon picks up speed.
:22:30. > :22:35.And if we fast-forward through the first 45 seconds come up we reached
:22:35. > :22:45.the bit we are really interested in - just after the rowing boat.
:22:45. > :22:49.
:22:49. > :22:56.There they go! They call themselves the red cards.
:22:56. > :23:01.-- red tarts. No attention to detail is spared, look at the ball
:23:01. > :23:07.faster flames. What is the inspiration for this?
:23:07. > :23:11.Showing life is worth living. You do not even have to have a mobility
:23:11. > :23:21.it so good for. If he can get about, do not sit inside thinking you
:23:21. > :23:26.
:23:26. > :23:30.They are brilliant fun to work with, never a dull moment. They were
:23:30. > :23:35.doing this on Saturday at the local festival, and we were never quite
:23:35. > :23:39.sure what would happen next on some of these. It is good, it keeps you
:23:39. > :23:44.on your toes. You sense there is a little work to
:23:44. > :23:48.go before the wind Britain's Got Talent...
:23:48. > :23:52.And you said to go left! At you went right!
:23:52. > :23:58.I went left! But they won't let anything stand
:23:58. > :24:03.in their way. Where do they go from here?
:24:03. > :24:08.I may have been going for one year has so far, they have had three
:24:08. > :24:14.digs raising money for charity. The paper picked up on it, aged UK, we
:24:14. > :24:18.picked up on it, so I think they are enjoying the attention. If you
:24:18. > :24:26.have a party coming up, perhaps they could turn up. At the moment,
:24:26. > :24:32.I did like them to do a rain dance and try to shift some of this rain.
:24:32. > :24:37.I have a fact about at mobility skidders - they can get up to a
:24:37. > :24:47.speed of 10 mph. That is a lot of fact.
:24:47. > :24:48.
:24:48. > :24:52.Let's get some weather. It has Ms, we are seeing some heavy rain
:24:52. > :24:56.spreading east winds. It clears for the air early hours of tomorrow
:24:56. > :25:04.morning and leaves behind sunshine and heavier showers. We have
:25:04. > :25:09.blustery south-westerly winds, a cooler field for the day.
:25:09. > :25:15.Temperatures were rarely above average for the time of here, but
:25:15. > :25:21.26 Celsius. We can see cloud feeding in from the West earlier
:25:21. > :25:28.today, all of us will be affected at some point through the early
:25:28. > :25:34.part of to date. It clears in the early hours of tomorrow morning,
:25:34. > :25:38.leaving scattered showers, perhaps some with thunder and heal.
:25:38. > :25:46.Temperatures not too bad, stay in double figures for us all, not
:25:46. > :25:52.dropping much below 13 Celsius. Tomorrow, a scattering of showers,
:25:52. > :26:02.some heavy, and in the afternoon increasingly dry and bright. South-
:26:02. > :26:07.westerly winds feeling blustery. Gusts of wind are up to 26 mph.
:26:07. > :26:13.Eyes of 19 Celsius, but under the scattered showers the wind-chill
:26:13. > :26:17.factor will feel cooler than the numbers suggest. As we move through
:26:17. > :26:21.tomorrow night, another weather system spreads eastwards, but by
:26:21. > :26:25.the end of the night there will be a scattering of showers.
:26:25. > :26:35.Temperatures staying in double figures come are similar to today
:26:35. > :26:40.eight, lows around 13 Celsius. -- similar to tonight. For Saturday
:26:40. > :26:45.come increasingly dry, temperatures nothing like what we have seen
:26:45. > :26:54.today, overnight lows staying mainly in double figures, and by
:26:54. > :27:00.the weekend we should see more Tonight's top stories...
:27:00. > :27:06.Press allegations have surfaced in the News Of The World phone hacking
:27:06. > :27:11.scandal as police confirmed they contacted schoolgirls Holly Wells
:27:11. > :27:20.and Jessica Chapman, following yesterday's revelation the paper
:27:20. > :27:25.hacked into Milly Dowler's phone. A man who murdered his wife has
:27:25. > :27:31.been jailed for at least 30 years, Malcolm Webster, who killed Clare
:27:31. > :27:35.Morris was sentenced today. And it has emerged that Medway