:00:10. > :00:14.Welcome to South East Today. I'm Polly Evans. And I'm Rob Smith.
:00:14. > :00:16.Tonight's top stories: Murdered by their own mother: A court hears
:00:16. > :00:26.that Fiona Donnison confessed to a policeman that she'd killed her
:00:26. > :00:26.
:00:27. > :00:31.children. Ace cyclist is punched by an angry motorist. Also on
:00:31. > :00:40.tonight's programme: Pulling the plug on youth funding: Kent County
:00:40. > :00:42.Council is slashing grants to nearly 50 projects. Dramatic
:00:42. > :00:48.footage of a Kent pilot's miraculous escape after a mid air
:00:48. > :00:56.collision at a vintage airshow. was an extremely loud impact which
:00:56. > :01:03.I could hear above the noise of the engine. And sail away on a boat
:01:03. > :01:11.built of memories: The project to build a yacht for the Cultural
:01:11. > :01:15.Olympiad seeks crew in Hastings. Good evening. He Sussex police
:01:15. > :01:20.officer has told court today that the woman accused of murdering her
:01:20. > :01:26.two young children walked into the police station and said, "I killed
:01:26. > :01:31.my children". Fiona Donnison denies murdering her children in January
:01:31. > :01:41.last year. Police found their bodies inside to sports holdalls
:01:41. > :01:45.for inside her car. Three year-old Harry was dressed in a racing car a
:01:45. > :01:50.T-shirt and the little girl in a pink jumpsuit. They were just --
:01:50. > :01:56.they were zipped into a two sports holdalls. Today, the court heard of
:01:56. > :02:02.Fiona Donnison's movement on that fateful day. Fiona Donnison was
:02:02. > :02:05.purchasing painkillers and over- the-counter sleeping remedies from
:02:05. > :02:13.a chemist. By now, the prosecution claimed her children were already
:02:13. > :02:19.dead in the back of her car. At 10:25am on the 14th the gallery,
:02:19. > :02:24.she walked into the police station. The police thought she had taken
:02:24. > :02:34.something -- 14th January. Fiona Donnison told the court she had
:02:34. > :02:43.
:02:43. > :02:46.come to hand her sovereign. The The jury was told that soon after
:02:46. > :02:50.this Fiona Donnison's condition worsened. An ambulance was called
:02:50. > :02:54.and officers searching her handbag found a note written to her two
:02:54. > :03:02.older children. It said, by the time you receive this, I will have
:03:02. > :03:12.gone to be brave my children -- to be with my children. The letter
:03:12. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:20.Police rushed to her former home and found the children's bodies in
:03:20. > :03:24.her car near by. A post-mortem examination concluded that they
:03:24. > :03:30.died from suffocation. Fiona Donnison denies murdering her
:03:30. > :03:34.children. The trial resumes in the morning.
:03:34. > :03:38.British a road-rage assault on a cyclist on a Dover to London bike
:03:38. > :03:42.ride has been posted online in a bid to try to catch the attacker.
:03:42. > :03:49.Simon Page was punched in the head by a car driver as he cycled
:03:49. > :03:54.through side -- south-east London. Do we know any more about why he
:03:54. > :03:58.was attacked? It all started here endeavour. This group of cyclists
:03:58. > :04:01.were training for a charity bike ride. All was going well until they
:04:01. > :04:05.reached the outskirts of London and they had a confrontation with the
:04:05. > :04:13.driver who was trying to overtake them. Some of you may find this
:04:13. > :04:19.video shocking, but take a look at what happened next. This video was
:04:19. > :04:23.taken by another cyclist who had a camera attached to his Hamlet.
:04:23. > :04:29.There's a technique by it -- being used by many cyclists now to record
:04:29. > :04:32.evidence of such incidents. police dealing with this incident?
:04:32. > :04:36.Cyclists are taking matters into their own hands. They have posted
:04:36. > :04:40.the video online in the hope that someone might recognise the
:04:40. > :04:42.attacker or give up fresh evidence that could bring him to justice.
:04:42. > :04:47.The police say they are investigating allegations of an
:04:47. > :04:51.assault. In a moment: Cats and kittens are
:04:51. > :05:01.abandoned in increasing numbers. The recession and the cost of care
:05:01. > :05:03.
:05:03. > :05:06.A pilot from Kent he managed to jump clear from his second world
:05:06. > :05:10.war plane just three seconds before it smashed into a field at an
:05:10. > :05:14.airshow has been talking about his extraordinary escape from death.
:05:14. > :05:18.Rob Davies from Ashford was flying a P-51 Mustang when he lost control
:05:18. > :05:26.after it clipped the wing of another plane at Duxford in
:05:26. > :05:31.Cambridgeshire. Remarkably, no one was hurt. Bob Davies, leading his
:05:31. > :05:39.team into a spectacular display. Suddenly, everything is thrown off
:05:39. > :05:43.course. He is forced to eject himself from a plummeting plane.
:05:43. > :05:50.was an extremely loud at impact, which I could hear above the noise
:05:50. > :05:56.of the engine and my head that. The aircraft was violently thrown onto
:05:56. > :06:01.its side. Professionalism kicks in and to deal with the situation. In
:06:01. > :06:08.this case, to save your life. Looking out if the judge again, the
:06:08. > :06:13.wing clipped the Mustang in mid-air. It manages to go on and land. The
:06:13. > :06:23.Mustang, however, Korea's straight for the ground. It was floating
:06:23. > :06:23.
:06:23. > :06:30.down, it looked like a piece of cardboard. This was the parachute
:06:30. > :06:40.that saved rock's left. It is an emergency parachute, much smaller
:06:40. > :06:41.
:06:41. > :06:47.than the average parachute -- saved Rob's life. I got out at an
:06:47. > :06:52.extremely low level, but the motivation was extremely high.
:06:52. > :06:56.Miraculously, he suffered only bruising. It is obviously very
:06:56. > :07:04.upsetting. Incredibly close, he is a very lucky man. It is a miracle
:07:04. > :07:09.that he survived it. Rob had owned the Mustang for 15 years. He
:07:09. > :07:13.described being in the cockpit like being have -- at home. It was a
:07:13. > :07:19.simple error of judgment which caused an accident and we are both
:07:19. > :07:26.very fortunate in that we got away with it with our lives. The Air
:07:26. > :07:30.Accident Investigation Branch and now looking into the incident.
:07:30. > :07:34.The wife and daughter of a retired bookmaker who disappeared without
:07:34. > :07:38.trace 10 years ago have been refused bail at the Old Bailey. 64-
:07:38. > :07:42.year-old Shirley Banfield and 40- year-old Lynette Banfield, both
:07:42. > :07:46.from Canterbury, are accused of murdering Don Banfield. He was last
:07:46. > :07:53.seen leaving the family home in north-west London in May 2001. The
:07:53. > :08:00.prosecution claimed that two-putted to kill him for his pension.
:08:00. > :08:08.Bash the two plotted to kill him. Fair Fuel UK was among the
:08:08. > :08:13.campaigners taking part in the protest against high petrol prices.
:08:13. > :08:23.An elderly Sussex won an event and as both for a racist ranting has
:08:23. > :08:24.
:08:24. > :08:33.been arrested again. -- an elderly Sussex woman. She was accused of
:08:33. > :08:40.hurling racist abuse at neighbours. The private sector and other
:08:40. > :08:46.voluntary groups and charities will be invited to fill the gap to save
:08:46. > :08:55.the organisation �1 million. While 12 help youth centres will be
:08:55. > :09:00.remaining, 19 centres and 27 projects could be withdrawn. How
:09:00. > :09:04.have the group they responded to this news? Some of the young people
:09:04. > :09:09.I have been speaking to are already threatening protests give it does
:09:09. > :09:15.come to closure. This place gets funding of around �60,000 a year
:09:15. > :09:18.from Kent County Council, largely to pay for the youth workers. The
:09:18. > :09:22.council says that would like this per to be run by the community,
:09:22. > :09:28.saving that wage bill. Critics say this play -- these plans could be
:09:28. > :09:34.disastrous. It has become a second home for many, but it could now be
:09:34. > :09:41.under threat. It helps other people, especially people like us because
:09:41. > :09:46.we ride a bike stay in, day out. It would help us a lot if places like
:09:46. > :09:52.this stay open. It is easy to scaremonger, but I think there will
:09:52. > :09:59.be a rise in teenage pregnancies, anti-social behaviour. It is a real
:09:59. > :10:05.reality that the councils have got to deal with. 12 so-called hobby
:10:05. > :10:11.centres will be funded by Kent County Council and a others could
:10:12. > :10:16.face an uncertain future. There will be replaced by -- they will be
:10:16. > :10:19.replaced by smaller projects. It could lead to a million pounds
:10:19. > :10:27.reduction in spend on the youth services budget but it excepts
:10:27. > :10:30.there is a significant risk to the quality and capacity of service
:10:30. > :10:37.delivery at the outset. We put it here so the children are not
:10:37. > :10:42.hanging around in the wrong areas. You can find anti-social behaviour
:10:42. > :10:47.made go up, kids are in inappropriate places, but here
:10:47. > :10:51.everybody knows where they are. I think that is a major asset and it
:10:51. > :10:56.would be a worry if they could not be here. Kent County Council is
:10:56. > :11:04.promising a first-class service will remain. Politicians opposing
:11:04. > :11:07.need convincing. It will have a devastating effect. We already have
:11:07. > :11:11.a relatively poor spend on new services in comparison with other
:11:11. > :11:15.county councils. The council is pressing these are just proposals
:11:15. > :11:22.that the stage, but campaigners are already vowing to fight any
:11:22. > :11:25.closures. Castle Espie would not be interviewed today but they say the
:11:25. > :11:28.proposals will first be considered next Monday by Cabinet and then
:11:28. > :11:32.there will be a full consultation where everyone can have their say.
:11:32. > :11:38.The young people are warning, don't forget, they will the voters of the
:11:38. > :11:41.A Sussex peace campaigner has been speaking of his relief at arriving
:11:41. > :11:44.back in Britain after being detained in Israel. John Lynes from
:11:44. > :11:47.St Leonards was one of 12 Britons arrested on Saturday for trying to
:11:47. > :11:50.join a mass protest over conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank.
:11:50. > :11:58.He arrived back in the UK early this morning and our reporter
:11:58. > :12:03.Charlie Rose was there to meet him. Campion's by pro-Palestinian
:12:03. > :12:08.activists have made international headlines over the past 12 months.
:12:09. > :12:16.This is the moment last May when a flotilla of aid was stormed. Last
:12:16. > :12:21.night, John Lynes arrived home from his yacht. Detained over the
:12:21. > :12:24.weekend as he attempted to gain access to the West Bank. He was
:12:24. > :12:29.amongst several hundred activists planning to hire LAT -- highlight
:12:29. > :12:38.conditions there. What for the charges against you? It is an
:12:38. > :12:45.absurd situation. Because what did we do? We went into the airport
:12:45. > :12:49.with a very clear intention to go to the West Bank. The campaigners
:12:49. > :12:53.say that John Lynes was one of 12 British activists to be detained at
:12:53. > :12:59.the airport in Tel Aviv over the weekend. Israel says it has to
:12:59. > :13:05.ensure -- ensure public order at its main gateway to the world. So
:13:05. > :13:12.John Lynes was sent home. Also on the plane home was at -- was this
:13:12. > :13:17.activist. I was placed in leg shackles and handcuffs and taking
:13:17. > :13:19.to a mobile prison. I was kept there for several hours.
:13:19. > :13:29.Israeli Government says restrictions were necessary to
:13:29. > :13:34.tighten security. It is time for us to say, you were not well come and
:13:34. > :13:39.this is the procedure. If you refused to go home we will help you
:13:39. > :13:45.go home. Some of the other members of the great are expected to return
:13:45. > :13:55.to the UK later today. As for John Lynes, he says he takes it all in
:13:55. > :13:55.
:13:55. > :14:00.her stride as his mission as app peace campaigner.
:14:00. > :14:05.A woman accused of killing her two young children walked into a police
:14:05. > :14:15.station and said, I have killed my children. 45-year-old Fiona
:14:15. > :14:15.
:14:15. > :14:21.Donnison denies murder. We are sailing on a boat built from
:14:21. > :14:25.memories. Accrue is wanted for a yacht for the Cultural Olympiad
:14:25. > :14:29.built from bits and bobs. We have had rain at pushing into
:14:29. > :14:34.the South today. That will clear and we will have a dry day tomorrow.
:14:34. > :14:44.I will have all the details later. Campaigns by pro-Palestinian
:14:44. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:50.activists have made international Animal rescue homes say they have
:14:50. > :14:54.seen a huge increase in then at -- in the amount of cats and kittens
:14:54. > :15:02.who have been abandoned. The charity says that it is concerned
:15:02. > :15:08.that the situation will worsen over the next few months.
:15:08. > :15:13.They are cute and cuddly, and yet struggling to find homes. Usually
:15:13. > :15:16.be, the summer season kitten season because there is always an increase,
:15:16. > :15:23.but particularly this year we're getting more calls from Warners and
:15:23. > :15:29.members of the public with stray cats and kittens. Usually, we have
:15:29. > :15:34.a lot of people looking for kittens but it seems this year it is taking
:15:34. > :15:39.a lot longer. In fact, the number of cats and kittens has doubled in
:15:39. > :15:44.parts of Kent and Sussex. It is being blamed on people losing their
:15:44. > :15:49.homes in the recession, renting instead when often a pets are not
:15:49. > :15:53.allowed, as well as the rising costs of keeping the animals.
:15:53. > :16:00.are notice that people are not having their animals neutered at an
:16:00. > :16:04.early age, so we would usually advise at six months. People have
:16:04. > :16:08.left that to a later time when they can afford it. In the meantime,
:16:08. > :16:15.cats have gone out doors and we have found they have got pregnant
:16:15. > :16:20.and had a litter. The other up problem that they have -- problems
:16:20. > :16:23.at home is finding is that they have more cats -- black and black
:16:23. > :16:28.and white kittens because people are looking for more unusual
:16:28. > :16:34.colours. Kittens were once thought of as a luxury commodity that
:16:34. > :16:40.people now find they cannot afford. The charity is wide that it will
:16:40. > :16:44.become harder and harder to reform the cats. They not only want
:16:44. > :16:54.prospective owners to come forward but also current owners to more
:16:54. > :17:03.
:17:03. > :17:10.It is a mystery that has a sort -- baffled a Sussex village work
:17:10. > :17:15.decades. A family that feel a girl may have been murdered in the 1920s
:17:16. > :17:20.finally have an answer. Alice Smith went missing in her --
:17:20. > :17:25.from her home in East Sussex. 80 years on and the police got Annette
:17:25. > :17:29.-- got involved again and have announced their conclusions.
:17:29. > :17:38.Did she run off with her lover to a life of freedom in Ireland or was
:17:38. > :17:43.she abducted as she cycled along a lane? The villagers's own film asks
:17:43. > :17:49.those questions a few years ago using local actors and local scenes.
:17:49. > :17:54.It caught the eye of the police and they have now it announced a clear
:17:54. > :17:58.that conclusion. There was no murder. We took some advice from a
:17:58. > :18:01.forensic archaeologist who was able to tell us that if her bike had
:18:01. > :18:08.been put in the pond that there would have been some remains of
:18:08. > :18:14.that, even after this long period of time. There would have been some
:18:14. > :18:21.remnants of her body. We were told, if she had been put in a pond, we
:18:21. > :18:26.would find her. So why was a village murder even suggested? In
:18:26. > :18:29.the 50s, her sister had said an elderly man confessed to it on his
:18:30. > :18:35.deathbed. But the local was Dorian who wrote the film thinks that it
:18:35. > :18:40.had been to cover up for the family's shame. I think the police
:18:40. > :18:47.are pretty sensible to close the door on it. Frankly, they have
:18:47. > :18:51.better things to do. I think they are wise to shut the door. But it
:18:51. > :18:55.still leaves the question, what really happened to her? It is a
:18:55. > :19:00.mystery that Sussex Police are keen to stress they spend days rather
:19:00. > :19:08.than weeks working on. And mystery as curious as a site in the village
:19:09. > :19:16.churchyard. A headstone for a body that isn't there. A Graystone that
:19:16. > :19:21.bears no date of death. It is the most prestigious prize in
:19:21. > :19:26.golf. At the Claret Jug, awarded to the winner of the Open Championship.
:19:26. > :19:31.In just a few days' time, the competition tees off in Sandwich.
:19:31. > :19:35.In a few days' time, Rory McIlroy met the press and many expect him
:19:35. > :19:39.to be crowned champion on Saturday. The conditions may not be quite so
:19:39. > :19:44.inviting but for every you looked top players were hard at work
:19:44. > :19:47.preparing for her one of the most open championships in years. That
:19:47. > :19:53.are a host of potential winners but for many the favourite is Rory
:19:53. > :19:57.McIlroy. There is a lot more attention on me this week than
:19:57. > :20:02.there has been in the past. It is just something I am going to have
:20:02. > :20:06.to learn to deal with. It is nice. It is nice to have all the support.
:20:07. > :20:13.All the expectation is a good thing. I will have to go out and play good
:20:13. > :20:19.golf and live up to it. A few miles away, Colin Montgomerie was holding
:20:19. > :20:22.a class for local enthusiasts. He did not qualify this time but is
:20:22. > :20:27.optimistic there will be a British champion for the first time in 12
:20:27. > :20:34.years. There is no reason why it should not be one of the Brits.
:20:35. > :20:40.There is to names spring to mind, one is a Rory McIlroy. I feel that
:20:40. > :20:46.one of them will not just compete but contend right to the end. I
:20:47. > :20:52.really do feel that we will have European success, and let us hope
:20:52. > :21:02.British success within that. Monty is far from alone thinking it could
:21:02. > :21:02.
:21:02. > :21:12.be a British champion here on Sunday. It could be a few of them.
:21:12. > :21:14.
:21:14. > :21:20.The list goes on. I would like MacDonald to win it. The organism
:21:20. > :21:26.are held in Kent every eight to 10 years. This makes it special.
:21:26. > :21:30.love coming to this part of the world. It is a lovely location. We
:21:30. > :21:35.love Scotland and the West Coast and coming down here at a slightly
:21:35. > :21:39.different flavour. It is always nice. People love golf in this part
:21:39. > :21:43.of the world and the British Open all this gets fantastic support.
:21:43. > :21:49.There is just one practice round to go before the Open gets underway.
:21:49. > :21:59.Butterflies are beginning to be felt. This is the truest test of
:21:59. > :22:00.
:22:00. > :22:03.golf that there is. You are excited. I am.
:22:03. > :22:08.It is an extraordinary concept, to build a yacht entirely from
:22:08. > :22:12.memories. It started construction using hundreds of donated objects
:22:12. > :22:18.from around the south coast, each with a story to tell.
:22:18. > :22:25.She sets out on her maiden voyage during next year's Olympic --
:22:25. > :22:30.Cultural Olympiad. From the joins I have seen, she is
:22:30. > :22:36.a very pretty boat indeed. A combination of art and design and
:22:36. > :22:40.boat-building. The appeal today was for her crew. They will have a very
:22:40. > :22:44.exhilarating experience. She will go as fast as to why three times
:22:44. > :22:48.the very posh family cruisers and as they are skimming along the they
:22:48. > :22:53.will be able to look down at her decks and marvel at how she was
:22:53. > :22:58.made. For months now, people have been bringing all sorts. There
:22:58. > :23:04.their limbs, bits of nostalgia, pieces of their past, all to go in
:23:04. > :23:12.the boat project. It is art, but it is state of the art. I donated a
:23:12. > :23:18.jigsaw puzzle piece. I donated my grandmothers walking stick.
:23:18. > :23:28.brought along a wooden object I carved at school. How do they all
:23:28. > :23:35.fit together? They are sliced, diced and sealed in resin. This was
:23:35. > :23:38.a speed, I Brocket to digging spreads. This panel is primarily
:23:38. > :23:43.from a workshop. That is how I make the planks which will then make the
:23:43. > :23:50.boats. By using resin and modern boat-building techniques, we can
:23:50. > :23:58.make the boat very light. So it is not going to be and are Tino
:23:58. > :24:02.world's art. It too be able to go very fast. This is from a Hastings
:24:02. > :24:07.resident. It was the hand of a brush that was used to describe
:24:07. > :24:12.many generations of children in the back-up. We give it a number so we
:24:12. > :24:17.can track and locket. We have an archiving system. The number is
:24:17. > :24:22.there's a big contract where it goes in the boat. A prize bull to
:24:22. > :24:26.need it -- needs a prize crew so they are appealing for nominations.
:24:26. > :24:32.We are looking for a whole range of different people to whom this could
:24:32. > :24:39.make a difference. Someone at who this could make a real difference
:24:39. > :24:43.to their life. Even building it has made a difference to my life.
:24:43. > :24:48.is one of the problems at -- projects that has been funded for
:24:48. > :24:51.the Cultural Olympiad. There are more donation days around our
:24:51. > :24:57.coastline to come and the nominations for that should be end
:24:57. > :25:07.-- should be in by the end of the month.
:25:07. > :25:18.
:25:18. > :25:23.That looks really exciting. I have Some people like rain! It has been
:25:23. > :25:27.agreed day for us all today. There has been more at rain the further
:25:27. > :25:33.south and east you are. I cannot promise you a lot of sunshine
:25:33. > :25:39.tomorrow but it will be a brighter start to the day. Dal into the
:25:39. > :25:48.afternoon. Today, fairly grey for us all. More rain likely than work
:25:48. > :25:58.south or east you are. Temperature is not too bad for the time of year.
:25:58. > :25:59.
:25:59. > :26:06.Noticeable for today, we have had an orderly breathed. -- breeze. Low
:26:06. > :26:11.pressure has been pushing up from France. We have been seeing rain.
:26:11. > :26:16.That rain will be clearing as in a move through tonight, increasingly
:26:16. > :26:21.drive for us all. All the same, pretty dull. Temperatures will have
:26:21. > :26:28.a fresher feel from last night. They will not drop much below 12
:26:28. > :26:33.degrees. The best of any brain is tomorrow likely through the morning,
:26:33. > :26:41.increasingly dull throughout the afternoon. That rain will clap Cark
:26:41. > :26:47.-- parts of Kent. House of around 19 degrees. Wednesday from a
:26:47. > :26:52.northerly direction. Through tomorrow night it was to drive.
:26:53. > :26:58.Temperatures were not drop much below 10 degrees. Into Thursday,
:26:58. > :27:04.high pressure will be building. Parts of Kent likely to see some
:27:04. > :27:10.rain fall. Friday was days settled. Into the weekend and low-pressure
:27:10. > :27:19.per such -- as she is then from the West, bringing some rain. At cooler
:27:19. > :27:26.feel to the day as well. Today, grey for resolve. Most of us will