13/09/2011 South East Today

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

And I'm Natalie Graham. Tonight's top stories: calls for a Sussex

bank worker to be jailed after she hacked into the account of a sexual

assault victim. For maximum fine is �5,000. But really isn't good

enough for when the people accessing a confidential

information. -- that really isn't good enough.

Stabbed by someone he knew, the 71- year-old man found dead in his home.

Simon Jones reports live from the scene in Gravesend.

Also in tonight's programme: the third rail stays, no government

money will be made available for overhead power cables in the South

East, despite last winters chaos. A passport back in time, this

footage rediscovered in a church clear-out.

He is in the 100 Club, the record- breaking runner who has completed a

century of marathons in less than two years.

Good evening. A bank worker who hacked into the financial records

of a sexual assault victim should have been jailed for her truly

shocking actions, according to the senior official in charge of

protecting our privacy. Former Barclays cashier Sarah

Langridge has been fined �800 for repeatedly looking up the woman's

details while her husband was on trial for a violent sexual assault

in Haywards Heath. The customer was the woman he had attacked. Juliette

Parkin reports. Free from court, the wife of a sex

attacker and a woman who, while working as a bank cashier,

illegally access to her husband's victims' personal Banksy tells. Her

punishment has led to calls -- for calls for much tougher sentences.

We would have liked a higher fine but the court raises all the

circumstances. In future, we are keen that the possibility of a jail

sentence is available. It was while she was employed here, at Barclay's

Bank in Haywards Heath, that Sarah Langridge viewed the victim's

personal bank details on eight separate dates over eight months,

including the period of her husband's trial. She claimed she

was trying to build a picture of the woman who had accused him.

Simon Langridge was jailed for the attack which happened two years ago

and has since been released. Neighbours in his quiet close did

not want to speak on camera today but told us they were shocked to

hear that Sarah has been before the courts in relation to her husband's

victim. They spoke of a pleasant young couple, who were planning to

start a family. The family have since moved away. Their victim said

the sexual attack left her traumatised, frightened and

depressed. I never leave my house that night, she added, and am

scared of the dark. A harrowing experience, punishable by prison

but the debate rumbles on over sentencing for violation of privacy.

For some time, the information commissioner has said they ought to

be the possibility of a prison sentence for breaches of the Data

Protection Act. Interfering with people's confidential data can be

serious. Parliament was prepared to allow for a two-year sentence but

that was put on hold in 2008 after pressure from the press. The Home

Secretary could introduce a prison sentence for an offence like this

are very easily. Barclay's Bank told us the security of customer

data is their highest priority and confirmed that Sarah Langridge no

longer works there. Tonight, some are questioning her right to

freedom. Friends of a pensioner who's been

stabbed to death at his home in Kent say the loss of a quiet,

gentle man has left them devastated. The 71-year-old, who's been named

locally as Terry Wotton, was murdered last night in Gravesend

and our reporter Simon Jones is live at the scene. What more do we

know about this, Simon? Police and paramedics were called

here at about 11pm yesterday night but could not save the pensioner.

All day today, at his home, we seemed officers coming and going,

looking to try to find out exactly what happened. Tonight, a 47 year-

old man is in police custody on suspicion of murder.

Hunting for clues to the stabbing of a pensioner in his own home. To

the disbelief of those -- those who knew Terry Whatton. A quiet, gentle,

working person. It is devastating. I'm choked. I'm surprised. If I

just don't know. -- I just do not know. It has caught the by

surprised. Officers believe he did know his attacker. They've been

carrying out house-to-house inquiries, breaking the news to

many of his neighbours. We have seen them coming and going, walking

the dog. It is shocking. Absolutely shocking. On your doorstep. You do

not hear a thing. That is the worst bit, not hearing anything and then

finding out. Out of my bedroom window, you can see his house. It

is quite close to come. -- to home. A post-mortem was taking place this

afternoon. Detectives from the Serious crime director at still

have in custody a 47 year-old man. He will be questioned on suspicion

of murder. I think the house-to-house

inquiries, as well as looking for information, are also designed to

reassure local people. Police are stressing they are not looking for

anyone else and asking that if anyone heard or saw anything

suspicious between 10pm and 11pm last night, to contact them.

Our wine makers predict that the disappointing summer could leave a

sweet taste after all. MPs on the influential Transport

Commons committee have recommended scrapping the third rail and

replacing it with overhead cables. To night, ministers have ruled that

out, saying it would be prohibitively expensive.

-- tonight. This happens every year. As soon as

we get some snow, it comes to a complete halt. Waiting for about an

hour and a half and still nothing. No announcements since I've been

here about what is happening so it is not great. I would like to be

angry but I'm past caring now. was another winter and the south-

east so rail network ground to a halt. The cause of much of the

problems was icing on the third rail, the line that powers the

trains. A group of MPs looking for solutions recommended the third

rail be replaced by a better system but today, the government refused

to back such a project. It is a very important issue but it is a

long-term one. It would be quite expensive so we will have to give

careful consideration before we can give any commitment. Last year's

weather disruption cost the UK economy �1.6 billion. 2500 miles of

railway in the south-east is electrified via the third rail

system. The cost of replacing it is unknown but it is estimated to be

in for the billions of pounds. Whilst we had significant

disruption last winter, and there was a cost associated with that,

the actual cost of what is effectively re-engineering and in

some cases replacing bridges and making changes to tunnels is

significant. Cheaper solutions are being considered. Network Rail has

been installing heaters on some sections of the federal and will

extend that further across the network by this winter. One

passenger group believes this will divert money away from higher

priorities. Passengers are going to be paying more over the next three

to five years for their tickets and their commuter. What is important

is that passengers see tangible benefits, more punctual trains.

Passengers want a seat on a train and so longer trains is what

passengers once now. Whatever the solution to the problem, experts

believe -- I agree, it will never completely eliminate disruption

caused by extreme weather. Rebecca Barry joins us live from

Tonbridge station. I dare say commuters will be disappointed to

hear this. What is being done the to make the network or robust?

more robust. Network Rail say they are installing special heating

stems which powers the trains to stop it freezing over like it did

last winter. They say that could reduce the number of delays by 80 %.

They are also building two new snow treatment trains to help clear the

tracks and finally, south-east and insist they have now improved their

website so passengers are kept better informed this time, so there

is not a repeat of the frustration felt by many here last winter.

Detectives have been given more time to question a Maidstone man

arrested on suspicion of murder, following the deaths of a 20-year-

old mother and her baby in a house fire in Chatham. Melissa Crook and

her 15-month-old son Noah died in the fire on Saturday. Her father

and brother remain in hospital with serious injuries. Four people have

been arrested in connection with the deaths.

Four men have been released on bail following a ram raid at a Kent

village newsagents. Two vehicles were used to break in to the shop

in Bearsted near Maidstone, and a cash machine was stolen. A 19-year-

old from Maidstone and three others in their 20s from Longfield and

Sevenoaks were arrested on Friday. The Olympics Minister will who lose

his seat if a shake-up of electoral boundaries are approved. The

political map of the county would be redrawn to make all

constituencies the same size. Hugh Robertson would be a high-profile

casualty with his father Shum and Mid Kent constituency abolished

altogether. -- father Shum. Clearly that is disappointing for me

personally. My seat is a part of Kent, I was brought up in

Canterbury. I've lived there all my life. On a personal level, it is

disappointing. Set against that, this is a policy I support. There

are big changes planned for Sussex as well. Of Becks hills borders

will change. In... An entirely new constituency would be created. The

Liberal Democrat Transport Minister and Lewes MP Norman Baker could

face a fight to hold onto his seat, under plans to create a new

constituency called Lewes and Brighton East. Today there was a

mixed reaction. This constituency is quite compact, quite good. It

has got a county town and rural areas. It is a good combination. It

is in liberal, progressive area. provides a quality in terms of

voter numbers and so it is a sensible idea. Lewis and East

Brighton are fundamentally different. -- Lewes. I feel this

might be idiocy. Let's cross live to our political editor. This would

be the biggest shake up of our electoral boundaries in a

generation. What's the thinking behind it?

It is to make constituency size much more even. They would have

around 76,500 constituency each. At the moment, places like Brighton

has a much greater Gordon Lishman than the neighbouring areas. They

will now merge parts to form a new constituency. The other reason is

to save some money. Basically around �12 million a year would be

saved by reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600. These are only

consultations of the mother. The Boundary Commission wants to know

what you think. They will put out a formal report in 2013. It shows

they will be a lot more jostling between MPs coming up to the next

election. You can find out how the changes

will apply where you live by logging on to our website or by

This is our top story tonight: Ace senior official in charge of

protecting our privacy so say the Sussex bank worker should have been

jailed for hacking into the financial records of a sexual

assault victim. -- a senior official.

Also in tonight's programme: for a run of the century, however Kent

where designer has gone from couch potato to record-breaker. We will

be speaking live to Travis Wilcox who has run 100 marathons in two

years. She is a complete nitwit, a Sussex

artist who has created an entire supermarket from wool.

A window on Hastings and Eastbourne around 1950 has been opened

following the discovery of some rare film footage in the bottom of

a dusty cupboard. It came to light during a clearout at a church in

Hastings. It's been restored by a film collector who plans to show it

publicly at film nights. Robin Five years before these pictures,

the Sussex coast had been one mass of barbed-wire and blackout screens.

But World War II was now over and although food rations in force, in

this film, everyone was having a laugh. It is 70 years old, amazing.

It was in an old cardboard box and hadn't been looked after much.

is Eastbourne's seafront, bursting to the seams with post-war day-

trippers and holidaymakers. And this is Alexandra Park in Hastings.

The footage has been cleaned and edited by film historian Bari

little child. Crystal-clear pictures and steady shot. -- Barry

Littlechild. There are lots of close-ups of people. It is a shame

the wrong no log books telling me the history of the film. This is

the sort of camera it would have been filmed on, powered by

clockwork. Inside, you can see the film. We were in here and sorting

out some of the old stuff... film was discovered in a cupboard

at St Mark's Church in Hastings. the bottom, we found a number of

old films and it projects a. man who was... I knew him quite

well. Did you ever see him taking films? I never did. I would imagine

he would be pleased we were taking notice. He would be amazed. A step

Winegrowers in the South East say this year's wet summer could

produce a vintage that's short on quantity but high on quality.

It may have been lousy for barbecues but experts at one Sussex

vineyard say the rain has produced grapes with a rich and complex

flavour. Chrissie Reidy has the latest in our Food Chain series.

For the past two years, this Wynyard has enjoyed a bumper crops.

This summer, some of the vines have not matured into the plump grapes

winemakers are used to. The grids are suffering from a condition

where the fruit doesn't set up as quickly. -- the grapes. In June, it

was fantastically semi-, but at the beginning of June all the rain came.

-- it was sunny. This would be the usual signed -- size of the grapes.

This year, they will be more concentrated and will produce a

much richer and complex flavour. For the vineyards, it is a case of

quality versus quantity. If you wanted to have as nice grapes... If

you want to produce as good wine as you can. Some wine experts feel

they will have their work cut out protecting the vines. If the grapes

swell too much and burst, that is a real threat. Today, it is warm and

raining which is the worst conditions. It is inviting rock.

Despite this, the vineyards remains confident. There will be less wine

from England over the next year. Philby scarcity but they will be

better. The yield may not be so bountiful but that wine maker

insists their flavours will make up for it. -- this winemaker. Football

now, and Charlton will be hoping to continue their excellent start to

the season at home to Preston in the second round of the Carling Cup.

The Addicks are undefeated in eight league and cup games but their

opponents at the Valley are also going well, having won their last

four matches. Charlton's Danny Green and Leon Cort are both

standing by to play. In League Two, the former leaders

Crawley Town have the opportunity to put Saturday's embarassing 6-0

defeat behind them, when they take on Swindon Town. The game's

unlikely to be dull, as two of the football league's most passionate

managers, Steve Evans and Paulo Di Canio, face each other for the

first time. And Gillingham, who dropped our of

the top six for the first time this season on Saturday, travel to

Southend looking for their first league win in four games. Striker

Danny Kedwell, who limped off against Accrington should be fit

but manager Andy Hessenthaler looks likely to make a couple of changes

due to injury. A man from Kent has unofficially

been crowned the world's most prolific marathon runner. Traviss

Willcox, from Shepherdswell near Dover, ran his first marathon in

October 2009. It took him six hours and 11 minutes. Less than two years

later he completed his 100th race. Yes! That's 100 marathons in 688

days, beating the previous record by 161 days.

In a moment we'll be speaking to Britain's latest world record

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 64 seconds

holder. But first let's see the man It was the logistics of getting

between them that was so tough, wasn't it? A very much. The problem

wasn't doing the running, it was getting between many over the

course of a weekend. The point of this is that you don't individual

events. The 100 Marathon club has a set of rules as to what defines a

marathon. These are official events, rather than just running around the

park yourself and calling it a marathon. Get your medals out. He

has brought in some of their medals he has won. What have you brought

in? Look at the size of that! is one of the silliest one, from

Jackson in Mississippi. They put this around your neck when you

finish. It is rather heavy. This is the first when you did. This is

from Thunder Road. And this is my 100 for a medal. We've also been

getting through lots of clothes. am very grateful to my girlfriend,

Rachel Smith. She has a unswervingly... She has run 25

marathons with me. She has done endless washing. I have entire

drawers full of clothes and they get... Am glad you didn't bring

those in. Are you glad to have finished now?

No, I've got two more this weekend and five more next week. I had a

feeling he was going to say that. Good luck. The weekly trudge around

the supermarket is not usually the most inspiring experience. But for

designer Kate Jenkins, everything from fishfingers, to a bag of flour,

can spark the imagination. The Brighton-based artist has

knitted a whole shop's worth of ingredients for her latest

exhibition in London. As Sara Smith Andy Warhol may have painted cans

of soup, Kate Jenkins has knitted purse. Along with sausages, tinned

fish and chips, each piece is hand- stitched to make a mouth-watering

display. She originally started her will and works of art with

attention to her fashion business. I didn't have any advertising

budgets so I thought I would use my hands and do something that with

interest people who would not normally be into knitwear or

fashion. The art took over. Now she spends more time on crafts and her

work is being exhibited in his London gallery. What I love about

her work is the fact that you can see the hard work in them. Fur is

months and months of her making these pieces. -- Ferrar months and

months. They make you laugh and there is a sense of fun. The humour

for Kate is as important as the handicraft. It is beautiful and has

a little twist. It is not just about a piece of crocheted food, it

has an extra thing. There is usually a visual joke. Kate is not

the only one to make my team into an art form. These residents

knitted their own village. Someone stitched a whole life size living

room. One company give the royal wedding this one the makeover.

Animation is something Cade says she would like to do with her

I cannot give you a knitted weather forecast but I can offer you some

better weather. There were some blustery showers around but mostly

it has been dry. Those showers are fading away. Tonight stays dry and

tomorrow it will be a lovely, settled day. Plenty of sunshine for

assault. Staying dry and those winds are finally easing off as

well. Today, the south westerly winds were up to 25 mph. Guests

were stronger than that. This band of showers moving across the south-

east through this afternoon, Clearing as we move into the

ceiling. The best of any brightness, today getting up to 19 degrees.

That is a 66 in Fahrenheit. Plenty of late-evening sunshine. We are

holding on to the clear skies overnight. Temperatures will

reflect that, getting down to around 10 degrees. Tomorrow, we got

higher pressure building from the south-west. It is going to be dry

with plenty of sunshine. Very little changes as we move through

the day. It will be settled, warm and bright. More clout bobbing up

through the afternoon but that will not affect the brightness too much.

Those wins will finally he's off. - - those winds will finally he's off.

Without those blustery showers, it will be feeling warmer. As we move

into tomorrow night, it stays dry, still holding on to those clearer

skies. The temperatures are pretty cold compared with what we've been