:00:03. > :00:06.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans, and I'm Rob Smith.
:00:06. > :00:08.Tonight's top stories: A motorway U-turn being welcomed by
:00:08. > :00:13.drivers - planned rises on the Dartford crossing tolls have been
:00:13. > :00:15.put on ice. We'll bring you the details on the story live from
:00:15. > :00:18.dartford. Unions accuse the government of
:00:18. > :00:28."blind panic" as civil service volunteers are asked to staff
:00:28. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:38.border controls during strike action. To suggest that people are
:00:38. > :00:41.such senior civil servants or with two days training is a nonsense.
:00:41. > :00:44.Also in tonight's programme: An extra million pounds a year -
:00:44. > :00:47.Kent's social services say they are struggling to cope with the number
:00:47. > :00:49.of homeless teenagers needing care. A handmade history of Sussex - the
:00:49. > :00:51.Sixties scrapbooks of the WI detailing the shocked reaction to
:00:51. > :00:55.mini-skirts and other momentous changes.
:00:55. > :01:05.And he's not even old enough to drive a car, but behind the wheel
:01:05. > :01:10.
:01:10. > :01:13.of a powerboat, 11-year-old Ben Good evening. Plans to increase
:01:13. > :01:17.toll charges at the Dartford Crossing next month have been
:01:17. > :01:21.dropped. The government has also scrapped another planned rise in
:01:21. > :01:23.April, but it has left the door open for rises in the future.
:01:23. > :01:28.Ministers decided on the U-turn after carrying out public
:01:28. > :01:32.consultation into the plans. Let's cross live to Ian Palmer in
:01:33. > :01:42.Dartford. There was strong opposition to the proposed
:01:42. > :01:46.increases, wasn't there, Ian? there were. They are very pleased
:01:46. > :01:51.that they have been reversed, but other people are seething with
:01:51. > :01:59.anger that there at any toll charges at all. In the past, you
:01:59. > :02:04.will know why. In November 2008, the toll charge was �1.50, end in
:02:04. > :02:14.November of this yet it was proposed that would be increased by
:02:14. > :02:15.
:02:15. > :02:21.�1, and a further charge increase in April,. 2012 those charges have
:02:21. > :02:26.been scrapped, of course, and it will remain at their present levels
:02:27. > :02:35.until 2013 at least. At last, some good news for
:02:35. > :02:40.motorists and the South East. increases will way over inflation.
:02:40. > :02:45.What we need to ensure is that any future increases are in line with
:02:45. > :02:49.current inflation levels. That has got to be good for everyone. If
:02:49. > :02:56.people are going over there every day to worker, and coming back,
:02:56. > :03:06.that is an extra �1 a day. That is a lot of money. I think it is a
:03:06. > :03:11.good idea. I use the tunnel very often. However, some drivers are
:03:11. > :03:21.furious toll charges have not been scrapped altogether. They have gone
:03:21. > :03:22.
:03:22. > :03:28.back on their word again. When it was paid, they said they would be
:03:28. > :03:33.no toll. So you never believe what they say. Governments in the past
:03:33. > :03:43.have ignored consultations. I will look very carefully vetted, and I
:03:43. > :03:45.
:03:45. > :03:50.have deferred them now. -- carefully at it. The MP for
:03:50. > :03:54.Dartford says it is vital traffic in the area it is kept moving.
:03:54. > :04:00.we need is to get rid of the congestion. I welcomed the fact
:04:00. > :04:05.that that will happen in 2013 by removing the toll barriers
:04:05. > :04:12.themselves. I would like to see the toll removed in its entirety. We
:04:12. > :04:18.need to get rid of the toll books, and using technology instead.
:04:18. > :04:21.therein lies the problem: Roads are becoming more congested. New
:04:22. > :04:29.alternatives and solutions need to be found. But who will pay for
:04:29. > :04:34.them? Take a look behind me is the reason why the government says it
:04:34. > :04:39.needs to continue charging to cross the River Thames. It is because of
:04:39. > :04:45.the congestion, which is costing business money. The Government
:04:45. > :04:50.needs to invest in barrier less toll technology, and possibly the
:04:50. > :04:59.building of another bridge. It has to charge that money, and has to
:04:59. > :05:02.keep car uses paint. -- pay in. Ministers have been accused by
:05:02. > :05:06.unions of blind panic that could put our border security at risk for
:05:06. > :05:08.plans to line up civil servants to act as border staff during next
:05:08. > :05:11.week's public sector strike action. The Government fears there could be
:05:11. > :05:16.major disruption for travellers at our ports and airports, so
:05:17. > :05:20.volunteers are being asked to step Border agency staff are at the
:05:20. > :05:27.front line when it comes to detecting drugs, illegal immigrant
:05:27. > :05:31.and even bombs, but the staff who police our borders are expected to
:05:31. > :05:35.strike next Wednesday in protest at government pension changes. The
:05:35. > :05:40.government says civil servant volunteers will stand in, but union
:05:40. > :05:44.say they won't have the proper training. I think it is an insult
:05:44. > :05:49.to our professional members, many of whom have 30 years of experience,
:05:49. > :05:58.to suggest that somebody could do a two day course and replicate the
:05:58. > :06:07.work they carry out. But not all residents share the concerns.
:06:07. > :06:13.professionals seem to do a bad job of it anyway, so I can't see if
:06:13. > :06:20.they make a threat. They would do a better job, I think, because I
:06:20. > :06:24.don't they make him do a worse job. Shut or the airport down, and that
:06:24. > :06:28.is it for the day. The strike action will put the government in
:06:28. > :06:34.conflict with the border agency. Earlier this month, more than 10
:06:34. > :06:39.million people entered the UK in August without being fully checked.
:06:39. > :06:45.The head of the operator, Brodie Clark, was forced to resign, but
:06:45. > :06:52.fought back, telling MPs he was no road offers a. On Tuesday, Damian
:06:52. > :06:58.Green told the same committee that they had not been told to relax the
:06:59. > :07:07.cheques. -- broke officer. Heathrow and Gatwick are two of our big
:07:07. > :07:12.airports. Much of the affect of the strike will be felt in the South
:07:12. > :07:16.East, that is why we have taken the measures. Be Prime Minister says
:07:16. > :07:21.the government would do what it can to make sure that airports remain
:07:21. > :07:24.open. But the one thing they don't seem to be prepared to do is put
:07:24. > :07:28.more money on the table. Our reporter Katherine Downes is
:07:28. > :07:38.live in Dover. Katherine, what kind of impact can people expect to see
:07:38. > :07:40.
:07:40. > :07:45.in Dover? The unions claim that 97% of staff are unionised. In fact,
:07:45. > :07:48.the border agency have admitted that passengers should be prepared
:07:48. > :07:53.for extra long waiting times at checkpoints if the strike goes
:07:53. > :07:57.ahead, and that is looking unlikely since the war of words between the
:07:57. > :08:02.government and the unions has stepped up a notch. David Cameron
:08:02. > :08:06.has accused strikers of causing disruption. The unions have hit
:08:06. > :08:10.back saying the government is desperate, and instead of
:08:10. > :08:15.scratching around looking for volunteers to man the borders, they
:08:16. > :08:19.should be coming back to the table towed renegotiate. But that is
:08:19. > :08:22.looking unlikely. In a moment: Removing the Staffie
:08:22. > :08:32.stigma - animal charities call for the reputation of the Bull Terriers
:08:32. > :08:33.
:08:33. > :08:36.An extra �1 million is needed to cope with the number of homeless
:08:36. > :08:41.teenagers needing care in Kent, according to the county's social
:08:41. > :08:44.services. Some 16 and 17-year-olds are currently being placed in Bed &
:08:44. > :08:54.Breakfasts, despite a ruling by Law Lords that they should have
:08:54. > :08:54.
:08:54. > :09:01.supported accommodation. 16-year-old Chelsea, who wants to
:09:01. > :09:08.remain anonymous, said that she was asked to leave home. I felt like I
:09:08. > :09:14.had nothing. I went into a massive stage of drinking and drugs because
:09:14. > :09:19.of it. I couldn't cope with the thought I had in my head of why I
:09:19. > :09:23.got rejected. I used drink and drugs to cover that up. She has
:09:23. > :09:28.found a place in supported accommodation. But others are still
:09:28. > :09:32.being placed on their own in bed and breakfasts, despite a court
:09:32. > :09:41.ruling saying councils have to provide support and accommodation.
:09:42. > :09:51.So on times, it is unavoidable will -- sometimes, a for a teenager to
:09:51. > :09:58.be placed in a bed-and-breakfast. Kent County Councils says teenagers
:09:58. > :10:05.come to them each yet needing accommodation. -- come to them
:10:05. > :10:10.needing. The bill is �1 million a year. Increasing numbers of
:10:10. > :10:14.youngsters seeking accommodation and support is creeping up, but we
:10:15. > :10:23.also have the ban ability of these young people. We have got people
:10:23. > :10:28.with mental health problems. -- at the vulnerability. All of that adds
:10:28. > :10:32.to the problem. Kent County Council says its goal is to reduce the
:10:32. > :10:37.number of teenagers turning up on the doorstep needing accommodation
:10:37. > :10:44.by investing more in preventative services, trying to stop the
:10:44. > :10:49.problem before it gets to that stage. You feel like worthless. You
:10:49. > :10:54.are sitting there on a street corner or bench, and seeing
:10:55. > :11:00.everyone go past and knowing they have homes to go to. The government
:11:00. > :11:03.says it is up to councils how they spend their money.
:11:03. > :11:06.Two teenagers have been found guilty of recklessly starting a
:11:06. > :11:10.fire that caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at a retail
:11:10. > :11:14.park in Eastbourne last Christmas. More than 80 firefighters were
:11:15. > :11:18.needed to put out the flames. The 17 and 18-year-old, who can't be
:11:18. > :11:20.named for legal reasons, will be sentenced next month.
:11:20. > :11:26.A 72-year-old woman is in a critical condition following a
:11:26. > :11:29.crash involving four vehicles on the A27 near Eastbourne yesterday.
:11:29. > :11:33.Seven people were injured in the incident. Sussex Police are
:11:33. > :11:35.appealing for witnesses. People who fail to pay library
:11:35. > :11:40.fines in Kent will soon find themselves being chased by a
:11:40. > :11:46.private American debt collecting company. Kent County Council, which
:11:46. > :11:49.issued over 700,000 fines last year, is still owed more than �100,000.
:11:49. > :11:55.Our social affairs correspondent, Yvette Austin, is live in Tunbridge
:11:55. > :12:03.Wells. So why has Kent County Council decided to go abroad for
:12:03. > :12:06.help? �100,000, a lot of money in these tough times, and the library
:12:06. > :12:12.is one their books back, so they have enlisted the help of an
:12:12. > :12:17.American company which specialises in this type of work. It will send
:12:17. > :12:23.out letters under the company heading, unique international
:12:23. > :12:31.recovery is. What are people here think? I wouldn't mind if it is
:12:31. > :12:36.doing a good job. It wouldn't bother me. It should be sorted out
:12:36. > :12:43.by somebody in Britain, really. If there is a problem here, I don't
:12:43. > :12:46.see why the Americans should get involved. Provided it is done in a
:12:46. > :12:55.reputable way, I don't think it matters whether they are American
:12:55. > :12:57.or Burmese or whatever. Has there been other reaction? A spokesman
:12:57. > :13:04.for the Citizen's Advice Bureaux said he was flabbergasted at the
:13:04. > :13:09.news. They are concerned people's credit references will be affected.
:13:10. > :13:13.And a spokesperson for the union says it should be local people
:13:13. > :13:15.employed for this work. They have been stigmatised as
:13:15. > :13:18.dangerous dogs, often portrayed as the first choice of drug dealers
:13:18. > :13:22.and thugs. But today, animal charities and MPs have called for
:13:22. > :13:25.the reputation of Staffordshire Bull Terriers to be restored. At
:13:25. > :13:28.the Kent branch of the Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, experts say the
:13:28. > :13:33.breed makes up one in five of all their abandoned dogs - that's up
:13:33. > :13:36.from one in 10 five years ago. And while it takes them 53 days to
:13:36. > :13:46.rehouse a dog on average, one abandoned Staffie was in their care
:13:46. > :13:50.
:13:50. > :13:54.for 18 months before they could However affectionate he is, many
:13:54. > :14:00.people will walk past this dog. He is a young, healthy dog, but there
:14:00. > :14:05.is no getting past his breed. He is a Staffordshire bull terrier, and
:14:05. > :14:12.that comes with baggage. I think it is because of the look. They are
:14:12. > :14:15.associated with other dogs around. Their true nature of the dock, they
:14:15. > :14:21.are a happy, from the dock. As long as you didn't care and attention
:14:21. > :14:29.when they are young, they will be a lovely family pet. Staffordshire
:14:29. > :14:35.terriers have a bad press. When pit-bulls were outlawed, many
:14:35. > :14:39.people who wanted a canine knuckle- dusters Mouton to Steffi's. --
:14:39. > :14:45.moved on to Staffordshire bull terriers. There was that the debate
:14:45. > :14:53.on the dangerous Dogs Act today. There has been a stigmatisation of
:14:53. > :14:59.an entire breed, which makes up a huge number of the abandoned dogs a
:14:59. > :15:06.Battersea Dogs Home. By are hard to re-homed. These people do not need
:15:06. > :15:13.any persuasion. They have this dog from a dog's home in August. He is
:15:13. > :15:18.a loving dog, and he has had lots of fun with our grandson. He has
:15:18. > :15:24.fitted writing. They just want to please all the time. You could
:15:24. > :15:34.train him to be nasty, but what would you do that? Today, Battersea
:15:34. > :15:37.
:15:37. > :15:47.Dogs Home launched a campaign to remove the stigma. Those who
:15:47. > :15:49.stigmatise are putting the blame at This is our top story tonight.
:15:49. > :15:52.Plans to increase toll charges at the Dartford Crossing next month
:15:52. > :15:55.have been dropped. The government says they have also scrapped
:15:55. > :16:01.another planned rise in April - but have left the door open for rises
:16:01. > :16:04.in the future. Also in tonight's programme: Piecing together a
:16:04. > :16:07.history of Sussex. An exhibition of scrapbooks from the WI - marking
:16:07. > :16:10.the death of Churchill and the arrival of the miniskirt! And in
:16:10. > :16:13.the driver's seat at the tender age of 11, the Kent boy who's already a
:16:13. > :16:16.powerboat champion. And I will be letting you know why we will not
:16:16. > :16:26.get a frost tonight, but we might one get -- might get one tomorrow
:16:26. > :16:35.
:16:35. > :16:37.night. You can conduct us. -- It's one of Kent's most important
:16:38. > :16:40.Victorian landmarks. But the Grade II-listed Beaney Institute in
:16:40. > :16:42.Canterbury has been closed for three years, while master craftsmen
:16:42. > :16:45.carry out painstaking restoration work inside. The �13 million
:16:45. > :16:55.project is nearing completion - and Peter Whittlesea's been given a
:16:55. > :17:02.
:17:02. > :17:09.tour of the building for tonight's War-torn Canterbury was the setting
:17:09. > :17:14.for a Canterbury Tale. A I do not blame me for not known way you are.
:17:14. > :17:19.The revered Copper Institute was inspired by the Beanie Institute in
:17:19. > :17:25.the City, where a current restoration project has been
:17:25. > :17:31.delayed by a beetle. It cost around �500,000 more. There was a 10 month
:17:31. > :17:35.delay. We had to a pawn up -- apply to the Heritage Lottery, he gave us
:17:35. > :17:38.�500,000 towards the cost of the restoration. We have received more
:17:38. > :17:45.in France, which is fantastic. Although it was something we did
:17:45. > :17:51.not want to find, the results are fantastic. The building is named
:17:51. > :17:56.after someone who gave �10,000 to the city of his birth in 1897. He
:17:56. > :18:01.was a philanthropist who but Creek -- bequeath the money on condition
:18:01. > :18:05.that the money was spent in the main hall. The result is a
:18:05. > :18:09.hotchpotch of styles which has made the restoration challenging. This
:18:09. > :18:13.is a mixture of various architectural start --
:18:13. > :18:20.architectural styles, and some of it is reminiscent of the medieval
:18:20. > :18:30.period, and it also has the arts and crafts as well. They are made
:18:30. > :18:36.up of small pieces of white marble and pink sandstone chips. All of
:18:36. > :18:40.the marbles have been prepared piece by piece. It has been left in
:18:40. > :18:46.its natural colour. It's it's easy to distinguish between the old and
:18:46. > :18:56.new work. The art gallery and library will return in March next
:18:56. > :19:02.
:19:02. > :19:06.They're a valuable record of Sussex life in the 20th century, offering
:19:06. > :19:10.an insight into the way we reacted to momentous events - like the
:19:10. > :19:13.death of Winston Churchill and the emergence of the mini-skirt! Now a
:19:13. > :19:16.collection of scrapbooks compiled by members of the East Sussex
:19:16. > :19:19.Women's Institute nearly 50 years ago have been donated to the County
:19:19. > :19:29.Records office in Lewes. Natalie Graham has been taking a look at a
:19:29. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:37.Rural life in Sussex in the 1960s was pretty primitive by today's
:19:37. > :19:45.standards, but not untouched by the changes taking place in the wider
:19:45. > :19:50.world. 0 -- no one more -- knew more about the changing in life
:19:50. > :19:54.than the Women's Institute. As this scrap Cheers -- scrapbook shows,
:19:54. > :20:01.many houses did not have mains water, and a main bathroom was
:20:01. > :20:11.considered a luxury. Action -- fashions were changing too. The
:20:11. > :20:16.
:20:16. > :20:24.photograph on the extreme lower These are two representatives of
:20:24. > :20:33.both sexes. They are a wonderful resource. They cover such a wide
:20:33. > :20:38.range of items. They are snapshots in time. The same year at the
:20:38. > :20:47.scrapbooks were made, this film and in Pilbrow was filmed -- this farm
:20:47. > :20:53.was filmed to demonstrate farming changes. BWI recorded bay lies on
:20:53. > :21:01.the brink of change, dominated by the natural world. A farmer's wife
:21:01. > :21:07.contributed to the book. For you breathed, lived, ate, slept farming.
:21:07. > :21:15.It was the main thing. You were closer to nature than, I think.
:21:15. > :21:22.1960 FA, the Derby why had 750,000 members across the country. -- 1965.
:21:22. > :21:27.It was a place where country women of all sorts got together, the one
:21:27. > :21:33.place where women could meet from across social boundaries.
:21:33. > :21:39.scrapbooks were made for a national competition to mark the debut why's
:21:39. > :21:49.golden jubilee. Now many have given them to East Sussex County
:21:49. > :21:52.Council's archives, so they can be Independent research has revealed
:21:52. > :21:54.that The Open golf championship contributed �77 million towards the
:21:54. > :22:00.Kent economy. 180,000 people flocked to Royal St George's during
:22:00. > :22:02.July's tournament in Sandwich. The Bahamas Olympic Team will train in
:22:02. > :22:05.Crawley ahead of the 2012 Games. Swimmers, athletes, boxers and
:22:05. > :22:08.tennis players will use the K2 leisure centre and Crawley boxing
:22:08. > :22:18.club gym as their training base. It brings the number of confirmed
:22:18. > :22:22.
:22:22. > :22:25.South East Olympic and Paralympic A grandmother from Eastbourne, who
:22:25. > :22:28.took up weightlifting just to keep fit, has won a silver medal at the
:22:28. > :22:30.World Championships. Angela McNamara - who is also a prize-
:22:30. > :22:34.winning body builder - broke the European and world records during
:22:34. > :22:42.the competition in Latvia, but she was beaten into second place by a
:22:42. > :22:45.rival from Russia. He came in and sat on the sofa with us. They were
:22:45. > :22:50.sat on the sofa with us. They were Sujit! Let's get a recap of the
:22:50. > :22:56.weather. Others reported hearing about how the south-east was the
:22:56. > :23:02.warmest place in the whole UK, but I rang beat South West weatherman,
:23:02. > :23:08.and they -- they beat us by 0.2 degrees! It should be 14 degrees
:23:08. > :23:12.today -- he should be ten degrees. It was 14 degrees. Compare this
:23:12. > :23:17.time last year. It was the start of the big freeze. Temperatures only
:23:17. > :23:22.got up to five degrees, and they just carried on dropping. Within
:23:22. > :23:25.one week, we have quite a lot of snow, we seem to last all winter.
:23:25. > :23:31.Nothing but mildness overnight tonight. An increasing amount of
:23:32. > :23:37.cloud, with increasing wins, which means temperatures of nine or 10.
:23:37. > :23:42.That will not drop, which means we are totally frost free. We do have
:23:42. > :23:52.the weather coming towards the end of the night. It is going to start
:23:52. > :23:59.
:23:59. > :24:06.Temperatures getting up to 13 around the coast. The winds will be
:24:06. > :24:12.breezy, and the cold front -- cold front will deliver some crisp air.
:24:12. > :24:17.We could see it being fairly chilly. Some sheltered spots may see a bit
:24:17. > :24:22.of frost. But we will get the sunshine back on Saturday. Attempt
:24:22. > :24:26.is a ponce -- up to 13 degrees. As for Sunday, a little bit of a damp
:24:26. > :24:33.start, but by the afternoon, the sunshine is back again. Plenty of
:24:34. > :24:40.sunshine, but a little bit of brain at the end of tonight! We were
:24:40. > :24:44.hoping to bring you the story of Ben from Harwich and. He has been
:24:44. > :24:48.driving powerboats since he was eight years old. But we have had
:24:48. > :24:58.some problems getting that package back to Tunbridge Wells. Instead,
:24:58. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:18.we are going to offer you the Edward Borough recorded the rhythm
:25:18. > :25:27.of life in the jazz age. He recorded music. He stayed in
:25:27. > :25:35.Holland in the early 1930s. He laughed recording the night life.
:25:35. > :25:38.The man and his art always had an edge. His mother gave him money to
:25:38. > :25:45.edge. His mother gave him money to treat his spleen. Instead, he got a
:25:46. > :25:52.tattoo. It was 1928. He would go off, and at one point, he came back
:25:52. > :25:57.several weeks later, and he was in America. Edward borrowed worked
:25:57. > :26:01.exclusively in watercolour, but his works were never wishy-washy. He
:26:01. > :26:05.achieved strong colours by using spit to mix some of the paint.
:26:05. > :26:10.Throughout his life, he suffered from poor health. He could hardly
:26:10. > :26:20.hold a brush because of arthritis. He wanted his pictures to do the
:26:20. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:25.talking. He hated discussing his art. Why don't you show the
:26:25. > :26:35.picture? I don't know what all this puts Maddie has to do about it. I
:26:35. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:44.Home was always Sussex. You live near Rye, and painted the Sussex
:26:44. > :26:49.coast he had known since childhood. In the last decade of life, he said
:26:49. > :26:54.he saw the British landscape scarred by development. Use the
:26:54. > :26:58.motorways, pylons, electricity, things like that, crossing
:26:59. > :27:05.beautiful landscapes. You could, in a way, we'd the current
:27:05. > :27:15.environmental concerns about the landscape in the work. I think the
:27:15. > :27:20.
:27:20. > :27:30.countryside has completely changed, Edward could sprint -- smoke like a
:27:30. > :27:33.