:00:08. > :00:12.Welcome to South East Today. Tonight's top stories: Back from
:00:12. > :00:14.Bali but still in a coma - the man who did not renew his health
:00:14. > :00:18.insurance is in Maidstone hospital tonight.
:00:18. > :00:24.Simon Jones is like to explain how it happened.
:00:24. > :00:29.After the fire, the work begins - scaffolders moving to stop bringing
:00:29. > :00:38.Hastings Pier back to life. It is part of the town. We love it. I am
:00:38. > :00:42.glad they are starting work. Also: 21 and he survived the cancer
:00:42. > :00:46.men don't want to think about - now, he is talking about it in detail to
:00:46. > :00:50.save lives. Getting ready for 2012 - we need
:00:50. > :00:54.three hopefuls having to put in the hours if they're going to make the
:00:54. > :01:04.grade next summer. And they did it - the Amex Stadium
:01:04. > :01:10.
:01:10. > :01:15.Good evening. A critically ill man from Kent who was injured in a
:01:15. > :01:18.motorbike accident in Bali has finally been flown back to the UK
:01:18. > :01:23.in an air ambulance after weeks of campaigning by his parents. Richard
:01:23. > :01:29.Plummer has been in a coma since the accident a month ago. He
:01:29. > :01:32.decided not to renew his travel or -- is travel insurance, but an
:01:32. > :01:36.anonymous benefactor has now learned his parents the money to
:01:36. > :01:40.get him home. It is a day they feared would never
:01:40. > :01:47.come. His parents finally have them back in Britain after a month in
:01:47. > :01:51.hospital in Indonesia following his accident. Absolutely amazing, it is
:01:51. > :01:58.amazing to have him in this hospital where we can see the
:01:58. > :02:02.excellent care he is receiving is out of this world. Especially
:02:02. > :02:07.coming from the country we have just been in. It is an
:02:07. > :02:12.understatement. We have got over a big hurdle. We are so relieved.
:02:12. > :02:17.Richard Plummer's journey began yesterday morning at 4:40am. He was
:02:17. > :02:24.flown into Sri Lanka where his condition deteriorated. The
:02:24. > :02:28.decision was taken to fly on to Dubai. Then he went through Turkey
:02:28. > :02:32.before reaching Stansted this morning. At times it was touch and
:02:32. > :02:38.go about whether he would be well enough to get to Maidstone.
:02:38. > :02:44.looked comfortable, he looks much more comfortable now. We just hope
:02:44. > :02:54.he comes out of all less -- out of all this and get back to how he was
:02:54. > :03:02.before. That is what we are praying for. He is a very caring person. We
:03:03. > :03:09.just hope he comes back. No damage to him. Assessing the damage is
:03:09. > :03:13.another priority. First, we will reassess him. We will do further
:03:13. > :03:17.investigations. He is very ill at the moment, it is too early to
:03:17. > :03:24.ascertain how severely injured he is. What was the first thing you
:03:24. > :03:31.said to him when you saw him back here? Hello, darling. We have got
:03:31. > :03:35.you back home. His parents know having him back is only the start.
:03:35. > :03:40.Simon Jones joins us now from the hospital. Clearly this is very good
:03:40. > :03:45.news but a long way to go yet. What is his condition tonight?
:03:45. > :03:49.I have spoken to his family in the past hour. They say he remains
:03:49. > :03:53.under sedation. The hospital say they will wait for him to emerge
:03:53. > :03:57.from that before carrying out major tests to ascertain exactly what is
:03:57. > :04:02.wrong. They do have at the hospital scans that were taken of his brain
:04:02. > :04:07.in Bali, but those are now two weeks old. As for the family, the
:04:07. > :04:12.battle goes on. The received �80,000 from a mystery don't as a
:04:12. > :04:16.loan to help Clive Richard home. They now have 86 days to help pay
:04:16. > :04:20.back that money. Otherwise, their home there will be put up for
:04:20. > :04:24.auction. They are campaigning for fund-raising and they are using
:04:24. > :04:31.this as a reminder to anyone travelling to make sure you do have
:04:31. > :04:35.adequate insurance. Work began today to try to prevent
:04:35. > :04:42.Hastings Pier from collapsing into the sea, nine months after it was
:04:42. > :04:46.almost destroyed by fire. The peer opened in August 1872. In October,
:04:47. > :04:51.95 % of the upper sections were destroyed. The blaze happened just
:04:51. > :04:54.a day after redevelopment plans had been invited for the structure. Our
:04:54. > :05:00.reporter Caroline Fereday spent the day in Hastings and discovered that
:05:00. > :05:03.in spite of the challenges hopes are now high for the future.
:05:03. > :05:07.In its heyday, it hosted Tom Jones, Cilla Black, Jimi Hendrix and the
:05:07. > :05:12.Rolling Stones. But since a fire last year left it unstable,
:05:12. > :05:17.Hastings Pier has been closed. An urgent works warning was issued to
:05:17. > :05:22.the owners - a Panamanian company called Ravenclaw - at the start of
:05:22. > :05:26.July, which had no response. Hastings Borough Council started
:05:26. > :05:34.work today thanks to an English Heritage grant. This is just the
:05:34. > :05:38.first step. We have a grant of a quarter million pounds from the
:05:38. > :05:44.lottery fund which will be spent restoring it. They have appointed
:05:44. > :05:50.architects and engineers. They now basically have two years to put a
:05:50. > :05:54.proper plan and designs into place. They need to get it all proved.
:05:54. > :05:58.Then the regeneration work will start. Many thought it was too
:05:58. > :06:02.optimistic to expect this local landmark to ever reopen. It will
:06:02. > :06:05.certainly be some time before there is any noticeable cosmetic
:06:05. > :06:10.improvement because the force -- the first step for the construction
:06:10. > :06:13.company is to make sure it is structurally safe. It has been part
:06:13. > :06:20.of the landscape here since 1872, and locals are welcoming the
:06:20. > :06:24.prospect of its return. It will be nice to get it sorted out.
:06:24. > :06:29.Hopefully, they will get the club open again. The amount of fun
:06:30. > :06:35.nights we had out and there... used to sit out here, have a drink
:06:35. > :06:42.and enjoy the sun. We miss that. It is part of the town. We love it.
:06:42. > :06:45.I'm glad they are rebuilding it. Hastings Borough Council say they
:06:45. > :06:52.are now pursuing a compulsory purchase order from owners
:06:52. > :06:56.Ravenclaw. We are joined now by Councillor
:06:56. > :07:03.Jeremy Birch, leader of Hastings Borough Council. What is your
:07:03. > :07:06.reaction? It is very important, because the middle part of the pier,
:07:06. > :07:11.the most vulnerable bit, we would not want anything to happen to it
:07:11. > :07:17.before we can start spending the millions of pounds we have been
:07:17. > :07:22.given. So this is really reinforcing that central part to
:07:22. > :07:26.make sure no extra damage takes place before the real work starts.
:07:27. > :07:31.Clearly, many high hopes today as the scaffolders turn up. But let us
:07:31. > :07:37.remember the West Pier in Brighton. That went up in smoke in 2003 and
:07:37. > :07:43.it has pretty much stayed that way. Could the same thing happened to
:07:43. > :07:47.Hastings Pier? I don't think so. The local community have really
:07:47. > :07:53.been campaigning hard for this. They have a promise of this money,
:07:53. > :07:58.they get �350,000 to develop their business plan, develop their
:07:58. > :08:02.structural programme, and also to make clear they can raise the
:08:02. > :08:05.million pounds they need to match funding to unlock the full heritage
:08:05. > :08:11.lottery bid. So the money is there to start and to stabilise the peer,
:08:11. > :08:17.to get a functioning structure. Then we need investors to come
:08:17. > :08:22.forward. And what about this company Ravenclaw? Could a step in
:08:22. > :08:27.and mess it all up? Well, if they did, it would be a first. We have
:08:27. > :08:29.been writing to them, telling than the state of the structure, serving
:08:29. > :08:34.them an urgent works notice which means they are supposed to be doing
:08:34. > :08:40.the work happening at the moment. No reply from their head office or
:08:40. > :08:45.from their dress, so we then had to attach a notice to the pit gates. I
:08:45. > :08:53.will be shocked if they appear. If they do, there will be some legal
:08:53. > :08:57.notices awaiting them. Thank you very much for speaking tours.
:08:57. > :09:00.Six would be illegal immigrants had been found trying to get into the
:09:00. > :09:05.country by hiding inside a lorry load of wheelie bins heading for
:09:05. > :09:09.Dover. The UK board agency said today that the four men and two
:09:09. > :09:12.women from Vietnam were discovered in a lorry at the port of Calais
:09:12. > :09:16.after officials noticed the trailer's security cord had been
:09:16. > :09:19.tampered with. Train services between Gatwick
:09:19. > :09:23.Airport and London Victoria have been seriously disrupted today
:09:23. > :09:27.after a water main burst between South and East Croydon. Services
:09:27. > :09:30.operated by Gatwick Express, Southern and First Capital Connect
:09:30. > :09:34.have all been affected after the water brought earth and debris down
:09:34. > :09:38.onto the track. A mother from Sussex simply could
:09:38. > :09:42.not bring us up to utter the names of the two young children after she
:09:42. > :09:45.allegedly murdered them, a court has heard. Fiona Donnison referred
:09:45. > :09:49.to three year-old Harry and two year-old Elise Donnison as "my
:09:49. > :09:54.younger children", according to a forensic psychiatrist. Their bodies
:09:54. > :09:58.were found in the boot of her car at near the former family home in
:09:59. > :10:02.East Sussex. She denies murder. The father of the singer Aimee one
:10:02. > :10:06.house he was found dead nine days ago that a Home Office Minister
:10:06. > :10:13.today to discuss plans to set up a drug rehabilitate -- rehabilitation
:10:13. > :10:17.centre. -- Amy Winehouse. Mitch Winehouse, who is from Dartford,
:10:17. > :10:21.asked for his support centre for young people to address a gap in
:10:21. > :10:24.treatment services. A man from Brighton who survived
:10:24. > :10:29.testicular cancer before he was even 21 is now dedicating himself
:10:29. > :10:34.to persuading boys and young men to talk about it. Testicular cancer is
:10:34. > :10:39.the most common cancer in men under 40 and also one of the most durable,
:10:39. > :10:44.with more than 90 % left cancer free if it is caught early enough.
:10:44. > :10:50.We met Ryan Walshe to find out about his campaign. I'm going to
:10:51. > :10:55.take these to schools and give them up to children. The parcel contents
:10:55. > :11:00.may be unusual, but for Ryan Walshe, their essential to the mission he
:11:00. > :11:04.is on since discovering he had testicular cancer. I watched a
:11:04. > :11:08.programme on Channel 4 about testicular cancer. That is what
:11:09. > :11:13.prompted me to check myself and it saved my life. His right testicle
:11:13. > :11:17.had to be removed, he needed chemotherapy and there were other
:11:17. > :11:24.complications. More than one year on he is still sensitive to light,
:11:24. > :11:28.and his career is on hold. His time is spent preparing his talks to
:11:29. > :11:36.schools. I did something about it and I saved my life. Now, I must go
:11:36. > :11:40.and save other's lives. He wants people to listen to enough. It is
:11:40. > :11:44.something he wants to do. consultant says more openness about
:11:44. > :11:51.the disease should overcome the embarrassment factor for young men.
:11:51. > :11:54.In general, men tend to hold back, they are reluctant to seek advice,
:11:54. > :12:00.possibly they will ask someone in the pub first. It would be a
:12:00. > :12:10.tragedy if someone was to die when it is so durable. Meanwhile, Brian
:12:10. > :12:13.
:12:13. > :12:18.has had some good news. Cancer Research UK is backing his research.
:12:18. > :12:22.It is 20-7. This is our top story tonight: The man from Kent who was
:12:22. > :12:25.in a coma in Bali after a motorbike accident has finally been flown
:12:25. > :12:28.home after his parents appealed for help.
:12:28. > :12:32.Richard Plummer is now in Maidstone Hospital where doctors are
:12:32. > :12:37.assessing his condition. His parents means -- must now pay back
:12:37. > :12:43.a loan of more than �80,000. And with the sunshine out all over
:12:43. > :12:49.the region, temperatures have reached 28 Celsius. Find out how
:12:49. > :12:52.much longer able last with me later. If you have a story you think we
:12:52. > :13:02.should be covering on South East Today, we would love to hear from
:13:02. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:21.You can hardly have missed it - we are now less than a year away from
:13:21. > :13:24.the greatest sporting show on Arthur just up the road. For the
:13:24. > :13:29.south-east's hopefuls in the Olympics, the real work is just
:13:29. > :13:32.beginning. Between now and next July, or only hard training and
:13:32. > :13:36.successful qualifying will ensure they can realise their dream of
:13:36. > :13:41.being at the Games in London. Although the next year we will be
:13:41. > :13:45.sizing up the hopefuls. Tonight we meet a shooter, a show jumper, and
:13:45. > :13:51.an athlete who does everything. For three hopefuls with one dream,
:13:51. > :13:57.to compete at the 2012 games. With superstars like Usain Bolt on show,
:13:57. > :14:02.athletics will dominate, but looking to dominate the track and
:14:02. > :14:08.field headlines will be track and field's Martin Brockman. He is
:14:08. > :14:15.looking to build on that. With a year coming up, the pressure is
:14:15. > :14:21.starting to build. I have had to take training more seriously and
:14:21. > :14:25.bought a few hobbies and interests aside. You only get one chance, and
:14:25. > :14:30.you have to train as hard as you can and hope for the best and get
:14:30. > :14:36.in shape for the competition. He is not the only one focusing on
:14:36. > :14:40.the positive. Sussex should to Steve Scott has his sights set on
:14:40. > :14:44.Olympic glory. It is a big achievement just to get there and
:14:44. > :14:49.compete for the country, but everyone has the same goal, to go
:14:49. > :14:54.there to win. It can happen, and hopefully it win -- it will.
:14:54. > :14:58.All the competitors will have to clear many hurdles to get selected.
:14:58. > :15:02.Guy Williams from Canterbury is Britain's best show jumper, but
:15:02. > :15:09.that will count for nothing unless he can get a man and horse to peak
:15:09. > :15:14.at the same time. You have got to keep working hard and hopefully you
:15:14. > :15:21.will get a chance. Everybody thinks about it quite a lot at the moment.
:15:21. > :15:25.I have got a lot -- a good team of horses. When you are very close now,
:15:25. > :15:32.you think about it a lot. The next year will see many highs
:15:32. > :15:36.and lows for the hopefuls as they aim for the Olympic field of dreams.
:15:36. > :15:41.You will be able to keep up-to-date with highs and lows of the Olympic
:15:41. > :15:45.hopefuls from the South East as they trained for 2012 through our
:15:45. > :15:50.Olympic dreams series across our radio stations, here on South East
:15:50. > :15:54.Today and online. The Sussex wicket keeper Matt Prior
:15:54. > :15:58.has helped England secure a comprehensive victory over India at
:15:58. > :16:03.Trent Bridge. Prior hit an impressive 73 off just 60 balls
:16:03. > :16:08.this morning, before catching Rahul Dravid of the bowling of Stuart
:16:08. > :16:13.Broad, as the visitors slumped to a 319 run defeat.
:16:13. > :16:17.It may have ended at 2 - 1 defeat, but bright manholes Albion are
:16:17. > :16:22.celebrating after their victory over Tottenham. It marked the
:16:22. > :16:31.official opening of the �93 million Amex Community Stadium, and the
:16:31. > :16:33.club's new permanent home as their fans dreaming of future success.
:16:33. > :16:38.Imagine you are five again and waiting to visit Santa for the
:16:38. > :16:43.first time. That is what it was like for many Brighton supporters.
:16:43. > :16:48.Just seeing the stadium and going through the dark times and the
:16:48. > :16:58.campaigning, just to get this point now it is amazing. It is mind-
:16:58. > :17:01.
:17:01. > :17:05.blowing. We are very excited! has been really moving, we have
:17:05. > :17:09.been just surviving, and this is a big day.
:17:09. > :17:19.It was difficult not to be impressed by the �90 million
:17:19. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:31.The game may have been a pre-season friendly, but it meant more than
:17:32. > :17:37.that to the Brighton fans, as their reaction to the opening goal
:17:37. > :17:41.demonstrated. Losing to Tottenham is no disgrace,
:17:41. > :17:46.and today was all about coming to this remarkable new stadium for the
:17:46. > :17:52.first time. A I am very pleased with everything today. I hope they
:17:52. > :17:56.do well in the league. We made one mistake which cost us the game, but
:17:56. > :18:02.if we improve on that we may be able to move higher up the ranks.
:18:02. > :18:07.No one was happier with the day than the club chairman.
:18:07. > :18:12.It is everyone in Sussex. It took so much hard work, perseverance by
:18:12. > :18:20.so many people, and the fans were amazing to get us here. This is for
:18:20. > :18:27.everyone. I think it was a fantastic day for Brighton, and a
:18:28. > :18:34.good day for me. The next milestone is the first
:18:34. > :18:38.home game victory, and that surely will not take long.
:18:38. > :18:42.The sun is out, the kids are off school, it is August, so this
:18:42. > :18:46.Friday will see the start of four very special programmes coming up
:18:46. > :18:50.this month. When the sun is shining, there is
:18:50. > :18:55.nothing better than getting out of the Office for a trip to the
:18:55. > :18:59.seaside. That is what we have got planned every Friday in August.
:18:59. > :19:04.We are entering the first false buried by taking South East Today
:19:04. > :19:09.out on the road to join some of the biggest celebrations.
:19:09. > :19:14.We will be live on location each Friday, and would love as many of
:19:14. > :19:19.you as possible to come along and join in the fund.
:19:19. > :19:25.Polly and Rob will be starting at Broadstairs Folk Week this Friday,
:19:25. > :19:35.then the head to Eastbourne Airbourne on the 12th, it is
:19:35. > :19:39.Spexhall's De La Warr Pavilion on the 19th, and Herne Bay on the 26.
:19:39. > :19:48.De our fingers are crossed for the weather, but it is our biggest day
:19:48. > :19:54.It is 150 years today since the first weather forecast was
:19:54. > :20:03.published in the Times newspaper force top it was only a couple of
:20:03. > :20:07.lines long it, but for today it was a great day. 28 degrees nearly in
:20:07. > :20:13.Gravesend, not quite 33.1 that we saw at the beginning of the month,
:20:13. > :20:17.but only a few degrees of that. It will be hotter and sunny tomorrow.
:20:17. > :20:23.Plenty more sunshine for the next few days. Tonight, we will see
:20:23. > :20:29.plenty of late sunny spells around. But then some patchy cloud of a
:20:29. > :20:33.night, but mainly clear skies. A little bit of rain to the west, but
:20:33. > :20:38.most places around the south-east will stay dry. It will be a hot and
:20:38. > :20:44.sticky night, with temperatures falling no lower than 17 or 18
:20:44. > :20:50.Celsius. A nice bright and sunny start to tomorrow morning, blue
:20:50. > :20:55.skies and sunshine for much of the day, and temperatures reaching 29
:20:55. > :21:00.Celsius, which is getting into the 80s in Fahrenheit. Even warmer than
:21:00. > :21:07.today. We might catch a shower or two over the Thames estuary, but
:21:07. > :21:12.most places will stay dry. Only very light winds. Wednesday will
:21:12. > :21:18.feel even hotter - highs of 30 degrees, but it will break on
:21:18. > :21:26.Thursday. A front will come across, for outbreaks of heavy rain. I
:21:26. > :21:30.think it will come as a relief after all this hot weather. Do that
:21:30. > :21:35.is just about it for now. Because of today's industrial