:00:05. > :00:08.Welcome to South East Today. Tonight's top stories.
:00:09. > :00:12.Murdered in Poland. Friends of a Kent University student mourn the
:00:12. > :00:16.loss of "an exceptional talent". We'll be reporting live from Kate
:00:16. > :00:19.Zaks' village in Staplecross. A dangerous distraction, or a vital
:00:19. > :00:25.part of the economic recovery? Why Thanet's crackdown on roadside ads
:00:25. > :00:33.is angering local businesses. Also, Medway is hit hard as South
:00:33. > :00:38.East councils cut funds to charities in a bid to reduce costs.
:00:38. > :00:41.The couples choosing to tie the knot in the only licensed treehouse.
:00:41. > :00:51.And the South East sizzles as temperatures soar higher than those
:00:51. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :01:02.of Malaga and LA. I came down to try to get a suntan so that when I
:01:02. > :01:05.
:01:06. > :01:09.get married I look a little bit Good evening. Friends of a 21-year-
:01:09. > :01:13.old student from East Sussex who has been murdered in Poland say
:01:13. > :01:16.they are shocked at the loss of a "lovely young girl". The body of
:01:16. > :01:20.Kate Zaks, from Staplecross, was found by a railway embankment in
:01:20. > :01:28.Krakow at the weekend. Her tutors at the University of Kent say she
:01:28. > :01:33.was "an exceptionally talented student".
:01:33. > :01:39.She had a passion for art and has been working in an art gallery in
:01:39. > :01:44.Poland. With English parents, she was no stranger to the country --
:01:44. > :01:49.Polish parents. But she was found by a railway embankment.
:01:49. > :01:55.TRANSLATION: It looks like she was hit with something hard on the head.
:01:55. > :01:58.We do not know the cause but I think they have Leeds.
:01:58. > :02:03.Police were questioning a 30-year- old man from Krakow in connection
:02:03. > :02:05.with her death but he has been released without charge. In the
:02:05. > :02:12.village where she grew up, residents could not believe the
:02:12. > :02:17.news. I am deeply shocked, as I am sure everybody will be. It is
:02:17. > :02:25.tragic. She was lovely. She had everything going for her. She was
:02:25. > :02:27.clever. She was studying history in university. It is a shock.
:02:27. > :02:33.parents run the Post Office in Staplecross. They have lived and
:02:33. > :02:43.worked here for over ten years. Their only child was known locally
:02:43. > :02:45.
:02:45. > :02:49.All we can say is that our prayers are with them. We know that cannot
:02:49. > :02:54.bring her back, but there will be tremendous support from the
:02:54. > :03:00.community. She was described as a lovely, intelligent girl who loved
:03:00. > :03:06.the countryside. They were always out in the field, exercising the
:03:06. > :03:13.horses. They walked a mile and a half to the stables twice a day to
:03:13. > :03:18.look after their animals. She was a very keen horsewoman. She went to
:03:18. > :03:22.school near Hastings, where she was described as happy and a promising
:03:22. > :03:27.horse rider. She studied history and philosophy of art at university
:03:27. > :03:31.of Kent where she was in her second year. Staff said she was
:03:31. > :03:34.exceptionally talented and well- exceptionally talented and well-
:03:34. > :03:41.liked, with a gift for journalism liked, with a gift for journalism
:03:41. > :03:48.and writing. Her parents flew to Poland on Sunday. They are now
:03:48. > :03:55.faced with the task of finding out what happened to their daughter.
:03:55. > :04:01.Our reporter joins us. What more do we know how she came to die a?
:04:01. > :04:06.Very few details have emerged about what happened. We understand she
:04:06. > :04:11.died from severe head injuries after being hit several times with
:04:11. > :04:16.a hard object. It is believed she told relatives that she was due to
:04:16. > :04:22.be meeting somebody on Friday night, but failed to return home. Her body
:04:22. > :04:32.was found on Saturday. The focus will be on her last known movements.
:04:32. > :04:33.
:04:33. > :04:36.One of her last postings on her website was "I love my life."
:04:36. > :04:39.A Kent council has started removing illegal roadside advertising signs
:04:39. > :04:42.as part of a crackdown against adverts that have been put up
:04:42. > :04:46.without permission. Thanet District Council claims the signs are a
:04:46. > :04:56.dangerous distraction for passing motorists. Businesses say the
:04:56. > :04:57.
:04:57. > :05:01.council should help them advertise, not make it more difficult.
:05:01. > :05:07.Clearing away unauthorised billboards and cracking down on
:05:07. > :05:12.parked cars used to advertise businesses. Thanet District Council
:05:12. > :05:17.say the advertisements are a distraction to motorists. There are
:05:17. > :05:21.too many vehicles around Thanet advertising local businesses. Now
:05:21. > :05:25.is the time to take action and to warn the owners they need to go
:05:26. > :05:30.through a process to advertise their business. What does the law
:05:31. > :05:38.say? It is a criminal offence to display an advertisement in
:05:38. > :05:42.contravention of the Highways Act. The council cannot remove illegal
:05:42. > :05:48.advertising without notice. Under the anti-social behaviour act of
:05:48. > :05:52.2003, they can issue a fixed penalty notice of �75 to anybody
:05:53. > :05:57.caught posting illegal advertisements. One farmer who was
:05:57. > :06:05.told to remove billboards says he is providing a service to
:06:05. > :06:10.businesses. He said the landscape is dominated by the hoardings of
:06:10. > :06:17.multinationals. Traffic goes around slowly in this area. I do not think
:06:17. > :06:23.we are a threat to accidents. When I look at the travel lodge, there
:06:23. > :06:31.is an enormous sign over there. We are trying to help local businesses.
:06:31. > :06:38.What to residents think? These vehicles are stationary. They have
:06:38. > :06:46.been there for weeks. I am torn between tearing it away and keeping
:06:46. > :06:50.the place spick and span. I have nothing against them being up.
:06:50. > :06:55.Thanet District Council said if they ask permission, they will be
:06:55. > :07:02.considered on an individual basis. From now on, unauthorised
:07:02. > :07:04.advertisements will be removed. Published at the age of ten, the
:07:04. > :07:12.prodigious young author who has turned her hobby into a successful
:07:12. > :07:16.novel. Detectives in Kent are appealing
:07:16. > :07:19.for help to find a man whose wife was murdered at their home in
:07:19. > :07:29.Rochester. Officers want to speak to Agris Titans, originally from
:07:29. > :07:33.Latvia, in connection with the death of his wife Edite.
:07:33. > :07:40.Police described him as their only suspect. They have taken the
:07:40. > :07:46.unusual step of issuing photographs of him to try to track him down for
:07:46. > :07:51.questioning about the death. This has the hallmarks of a break down
:07:51. > :08:00.in their relationship that led to what happened. Until we can speak
:08:00. > :08:06.to all the people in the house when it appears to have occurred, that
:08:06. > :08:11.will take us forward to find out what it was about. Their home in
:08:12. > :08:16.Rochester it is a murder scene. The couple moved England three months
:08:16. > :08:21.ago to be close to the family of Edite, already in the Medway towns.
:08:21. > :08:25.They had a charred and worked as fruit Packers. Neighbours said they
:08:25. > :08:30.saw the couple come and go. The first they were aware of what has
:08:30. > :08:38.happened was when they saw the police. When I turned up the police
:08:38. > :08:45.were here all day. The coroner turned up to take the body. What
:08:45. > :08:51.you make of it, have been here? is pretty shocking. Not the type of
:08:51. > :08:55.thing you expect to happen. It is not very nice. I want to move
:08:55. > :09:02.already. I have only been here a couple of months and do not want to
:09:02. > :09:06.be here any longer. The police have this afternoon carried out a post
:09:06. > :09:12.mortem on the body of Edite. They do not believe any weapon was used
:09:12. > :09:21.to kill her. Tonight, police are asking for anyone who sees the man
:09:21. > :09:24.to contact them. Simon, the police are convinced
:09:24. > :09:27.that the suspect is in the Medway area.
:09:27. > :09:33.They say that because he has only lived in the country for three
:09:33. > :09:38.months, they do not believe he has contacts elsewhere. Police are
:09:38. > :09:41.likely to circulate his picture at ports and airports to ensure he
:09:42. > :09:46.does not leave the country. They do not believe he is a danger to
:09:46. > :09:51.anyone else. They are concerned he might try to harm himself. The
:09:51. > :09:57.victim's mother lives here and is said to be distraught. She is
:09:57. > :10:02.helping police trying to piece together what happened.
:10:02. > :10:05.A Kent teenager has drowned in the River Thames after an accident in a
:10:05. > :10:13.canoe race. Will Carus was discovered yesterday by police
:10:13. > :10:22.divers. He had been taking part in a race in Richmond. My wife saw the
:10:22. > :10:27.young fella tip out. By the time I came out, but can do was down about
:10:27. > :10:33.100 metres. It was upside down. Another canoeist turned it over,
:10:33. > :10:36.but nobody was in it. Two men have been arrested on
:10:36. > :10:38.suspicion of attempted murder after a shooting in Dartford. The 51-
:10:38. > :10:42.year-old victim is in a stable condition at the Darent Valley
:10:42. > :10:44.Hospital, after he was shot in the head and abdomen last night. Police
:10:44. > :10:48.are questioning a 42-year-old and a 24-year-old, who were arrested this
:10:49. > :10:52.morning in Tunbridge Wells. The family of a Kent teenager who
:10:52. > :10:54.died after falling from the mast of a tall ship, have launched legal
:10:54. > :10:57.action against the sea cadets. Fourteen year old Jonathan Martin
:10:57. > :10:59.from Shadoxhurst died during celebrations to mark 150 years of
:10:59. > :11:09.the cadets. His parents are fighting for compensation, and
:11:09. > :11:10.
:11:10. > :11:16.calling for improved safety. Many writers spend years to get
:11:16. > :11:19.their first put into print, but one Kent author has had her book
:11:19. > :11:24.published at ten years old. Scarlett Taylor, who is an avid
:11:24. > :11:32.horse rider, has turned her hobby into a novel. Her book is selling
:11:32. > :11:35.well and her publishers have already ordered a new print run.
:11:35. > :11:40.Our first competition in four months. Ten-year-old Scarlett
:11:40. > :11:50.Taylor is mad about pain is. It is no surprise she is reading a story
:11:50. > :11:53.
:11:53. > :11:57.about them. What is unusual is that she wrote the book herself.
:11:57. > :12:03.started horse riding last year. I like writing stories and
:12:03. > :12:07.descriptions. I decided to write about ponies. She caught the bug
:12:07. > :12:12.for horse riding at the Squirrels Riding School in Bluebell Hill. She
:12:12. > :12:16.has taken inspiration from this real-life setting. She has put it
:12:16. > :12:21.into a book. We recognise a couple of ponies in there. I am not sure
:12:21. > :12:28.if they are based on our ponies but it is nice to read them. We are
:12:28. > :12:33.selling them in a shop, as well. copies of Punki Ponies have been
:12:33. > :12:36.sold on Amazon just a few weeks after the title was released. It is
:12:36. > :12:42.about what happens when troublemakers are sent to a riding
:12:42. > :12:48.school to learn discipline. And we have never taken at any one so
:12:48. > :12:54.young, ever. Everybody in the office read it. It was so unusual.
:12:54. > :13:00.She writes with such vigour. Kids loved it and we decided to take it
:13:00. > :13:04.on. She has a busy summer ahead, combining her passions of riding
:13:04. > :13:11.and writing. Her second book is in the pipeline and she will be taking
:13:11. > :13:19.part in riding competitions. Willie by her a horse as a reward? I am
:13:19. > :13:23.not sure about that -- will you. With this story available as an
:13:23. > :13:33.electronic book next week, she is hoping for downloads to hell by her
:13:33. > :13:33.
:13:33. > :13:37.own pony. -- help. The top story. Friends of a
:13:37. > :13:44.University of Kent student murdered in Poland are deeply shocked by the
:13:44. > :13:49.loss of a lovely young girl. Kate Zaks was found in Krakow at the
:13:49. > :13:54.weekend. Going to great heights, the couples
:13:54. > :14:00.getting married in the only licensed wedding tree house.
:14:00. > :14:10.And it has been another warm day today. Tomorrow looks similar, but
:14:10. > :14:10.
:14:10. > :14:15.things will change on Thursday. Join me later.
:14:15. > :14:18.Ace Study into the impact of council funding cut some local
:14:19. > :14:25.charities suggests that Medway is one of the hardest-hit areas in the
:14:25. > :14:29.South East. It comes after a survey by the group False Economy, which
:14:29. > :14:34.received responses to its Freedom of Information requests. Medway
:14:34. > :14:40.council is making substantial cuts in funding to 18 charities. The
:14:40. > :14:50.biggest loser is an organisation that helps blind and disabled
:14:50. > :14:51.
:14:51. > :14:56.people, who are losing �295,000. Net is using almost �18,000 at 6%
:14:56. > :15:02.of their budget. -- Medway Cyrenians. Homeless figures are
:15:02. > :15:06.rising in every area. If we are having cuts, it will make it more
:15:06. > :15:12.challenging for us to rise to the occasion if we have less to work
:15:12. > :15:19.with. The picture is not even across the South East. Six councils
:15:19. > :15:23.are not making any cuts to charity funding. Ashford is cutting and
:15:23. > :15:29.nine charities will be affected. In Hastings, four charities will be
:15:29. > :15:33.affected. The Citizens Advice Bureau has been hit hard, losing
:15:33. > :15:39.funding from six local authorities in Kent and Sussex. We have 2
:15:40. > :15:44.million people walk through our doors each year. Those people, if
:15:44. > :15:47.we are not there, will not have anywhere to go and their problems
:15:47. > :15:53.will get worse which will lead to greater problems for councils,
:15:53. > :15:57.particularly. Our political editor his life for us. The council is
:15:57. > :16:04.bucking the trend and managing to increase funding there.
:16:04. > :16:11.Yes, Tunbridge Wells has increased its funding by �22,000. It might
:16:11. > :16:16.not seem a huge amount. But this is a background against cuts in other
:16:16. > :16:21.areas. I asked Medway why they are making cuts. They said it was
:16:21. > :16:27.because of a 12.9% reduction in government funding that has left to
:16:27. > :16:31.them with a �23.5 million funding gap. They said they continue to
:16:31. > :16:35.provide services such as calling, highways and social care. The
:16:36. > :16:41.government said the long-term future for charities is more
:16:42. > :16:46.positive because of their plans for the big society. But if risk --
:16:46. > :16:52.charities are squeezed now, they might not enjoyed the benefits of
:16:52. > :16:56.being part of the big society. Nationally, False Economy claims
:16:56. > :17:00.2000 charities have had their funding cut. The South East is not
:17:00. > :17:10.as badly hit as other parts of the country. If you want to find out
:17:10. > :17:14.
:17:14. > :17:19.more, you can log on to the blog of our political editor.
:17:20. > :17:23.It is summer, which means it is wedding season. The South East has
:17:23. > :17:28.main venues, but for prospective couples looking for something
:17:28. > :17:34.different, an unusual venue in Kent might be the ticket. There is with
:17:34. > :17:37.the fear of heights need not apply for the site in Selling in
:17:38. > :17:44.Faversham, which is believed to be the only tree house in England
:17:44. > :17:52.licensed for marriages. It is the kind of setting that, as
:17:52. > :17:56.a child, you might one day imagine you might marry him. The
:17:56. > :18:01.picturesque countryside and several feet off the ground in a tree house.
:18:01. > :18:05.The only problem might be getting up there in a bridal dress. Guests
:18:05. > :18:13.watch from below because you can only get eight people up there at a
:18:13. > :18:23.time. Before Anna and Andy, this unusual venue has attracted couples
:18:23. > :18:26.
:18:26. > :18:36.from as far afield as France and Canada. I give you this ring as a
:18:36. > :18:36.
:18:36. > :18:43.symbol of my love. I wanted to get married outside. And properly
:18:43. > :18:51.outside. As soon as we saw it, that was it. As soon as we heard of it,
:18:51. > :18:56.we loved the idea. It is unique. was lovely. It is a lovely setting.
:18:56. > :19:00.A fantastic day, wonderful. Originally, we built the tree house
:19:00. > :19:05.for my granddaughter, but everybody loved it so much, we thought it
:19:05. > :19:09.would be marvellous to share it. We had one bride to from the age of
:19:09. > :19:19.five told her family she would be married in a woodland glade, and
:19:19. > :19:19.
:19:19. > :19:25.they laughed at her. Here, it is true that love is in the air.
:19:25. > :19:31.And they had good weather. He started collecting when he was a
:19:31. > :19:37.schoolboy. 72 years later, Brian Griffin has hundreds of thousands
:19:37. > :19:42.of matchboxes and labels in his home in Hastings. He was elated
:19:42. > :19:48.when he found a label on the ground on his way to school.
:19:48. > :19:53.It began in Hastings 61 years ago. Brian Griffin was walking home from
:19:53. > :19:57.school when he noticed something on the street. I saw a couple of
:19:57. > :20:04.matchboxes in the gutter. I picked them up and thought there must be
:20:04. > :20:10.some others. They just accumulated. I found more and more. Gradually, I
:20:10. > :20:15.got 50, 100. I thought I will keep it going. He has amassed a huge
:20:15. > :20:24.collection, despite never smoking in his life. You have never used
:20:24. > :20:33.the matches? No. Only to light a bonfire years ago! My favourite is
:20:33. > :20:40.the old English one. I find the old English boxers are so colourful,
:20:40. > :20:47.with so much presentation to them, they are really nice. Brian started
:20:47. > :20:52.collecting in 1950. He has 300,000 matchboxes, which are worth up to
:20:53. > :20:58.�4,000. That is an estimate from fellow enthusiast, because unlike
:20:58. > :21:05.stamps, matchboxes have no exact value. Today, the modern box does
:21:05. > :21:12.nothing for me. Something like Morrison's. Tesco supermarket, they
:21:12. > :21:17.are just plain and not interesting. Brian has mislaid his boldest box
:21:17. > :21:21.that dates back to 1890 and was made by the inventor of matchboxes.
:21:21. > :21:29.Brian says it is somewhere in the house, safely packed away in
:21:29. > :21:34.another box. He is a bit of a fire hazard! He
:21:34. > :21:39.knows what he likes and he has stuck to it. We have important news.
:21:39. > :21:46.Crawley Town has the cheapest cup of tea in all of English football,
:21:46. > :21:52.according to a BBC survey. A cup there will cost you 50p. The most
:21:52. > :21:58.expensive in the country is �2.20. The survey reveals that the
:21:58. > :22:04.cheapest match day is at Brighton and Hove's Amex Stadium. South East
:22:04. > :22:08.Today brings you all the most important facts! We thought 2011
:22:08. > :22:15.might turn out to be the year when spring and summer swapped places.
:22:15. > :22:19.But finally, the weather gods have remind -- remembered it is summer.
:22:19. > :22:29.If you are not going abroad, you have made a good choice, because we
:22:29. > :23:00.
:23:00. > :23:05.are enjoying the finest weather It is a long awaited limbs of
:23:05. > :23:12.summer. Across the South East, the mercury has finally risen and we
:23:12. > :23:19.are lapping it up. Yesterday, Gravesend hit 29.1 degrees. It beat
:23:19. > :23:29.Los Angeles at 22 and Malaga at 24 degrees. What a contrast to the
:23:29. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:36.rain and wind two weeks ago at the Open in sandwich. Those who are
:23:36. > :23:41.staying home for their holidays are not put off by a few clouds, it
:23:41. > :23:46.feels barmy, still, and they are giving it a thumbs-up. We have had
:23:46. > :23:52.a lovely day. We got fish and chips. My daughter brought strawberries
:23:52. > :24:01.and cream. I have been coming down since the 1950s. Has it changed?
:24:01. > :24:11.Not much.For a swim? Yes. How warm was it? It was cold and a little
:24:11. > :24:18.bit warm. I was scared. You never grow out of that one.
:24:18. > :24:26.grow out of that one. It has been lovely. Will it last?
:24:26. > :24:31.No, not really. It has been a very warm day. It has been mostly dry
:24:31. > :24:39.for everyone, just rain in parts of Kent. Tomorrow is a similar story.
:24:39. > :24:49.Make the most of it. It will be all change on Thursday. Temperatures
:24:49. > :24:51.
:24:51. > :24:56.have been in their twenties. We have had light and variable wind.
:24:56. > :25:04.Some cloud around, as well, but it has not affected the brightness too
:25:04. > :25:09.much. Despite the cloud cover, it has been mostly dry. Some rain
:25:09. > :25:15.along the Kent coast, but that is likely to die away in the early
:25:15. > :25:25.part of this evening. Under the clear skies, mist and fog patches
:25:25. > :25:27.
:25:27. > :25:32.forming. Temperatures in double figures for every one. It is an
:25:32. > :25:37.uncomfortable feeling and night. Into tomorrow morning, any mist and
:25:37. > :25:44.fog will lift. The hazy sunshine, and more brightness around
:25:44. > :25:51.lunchtime. It is likely to be a drier picture than today. Any
:25:51. > :25:56.showers are likely to be to the north of ours. Light and variable
:25:56. > :26:06.wind and very little change into tomorrow night. It will be mucky
:26:06. > :26:08.
:26:08. > :26:14.and close. We will see more cloud - - it will be humid and close. As we
:26:14. > :26:21.move into Thursday, look at this weather. We have unsettled weather
:26:21. > :26:29.spreading eastwards. Heavy rain for everyone. Temperatures about ten
:26:29. > :26:33.degrees lower. A high temperature will be around 18 degrees. Tomorrow
:26:33. > :26:43.will be similar to today. But look at the temperature change by
:26:43. > :26:49.Thursday. Settled on Friday. I'd to do not mind it raining on
:26:49. > :26:54.Thursday, but I'd do not want it raining on Friday. That is because
:26:54. > :26:58.this Friday is the start of four special programmes.
:26:58. > :27:01.When the sun is shining and summer is in full swing, there is nothing
:27:01. > :27:06.better than getting out of the Office for a trip to the seaside
:27:06. > :27:11.and that is what we have planned every Friday in August.
:27:11. > :27:17.We are entering the festival spirit by taking South East a day out on
:27:17. > :27:22.the road to join you in the biggest celebrations. We will be live on
:27:22. > :27:27.each Friday and we would like as many of you as possible to come a