:00:05. > :00:09.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans.
:00:09. > :00:15.Tonight's top stories. A �38 million plan to keep the
:00:15. > :00:18.trains going when the temperature drops.
:00:18. > :00:25.Guilty of a �23,000 fraud - the police worker too ill for duty, but
:00:25. > :00:30.all right to work at his wife's florist shop.
:00:30. > :00:32.Do you regret taking the money, the �22,000? You have any intention of
:00:33. > :00:36.paying it back? Also tonight:
:00:36. > :00:38.A fundraising campaign is launched in Gravesend for the baby boy left
:00:38. > :00:41.critically ill after an alleged assault.
:00:41. > :00:46.Playing away - the Guernsey rugby team big on enthusiasm but short of
:00:46. > :00:49.competition, now part of a Sussex league.
:00:49. > :00:59.And light van man - a Kent Christmas enthusiast takes his
:00:59. > :01:11.
:01:11. > :01:13.Good evening. It's a �38 million plan to keep our rail network
:01:13. > :01:16.moving in severe winter weather. Today, the Transport Secretary
:01:16. > :01:19.Justine Greening came to Kent to announce a programme to tackle the
:01:19. > :01:22.problem of the electric third rail - carrying power for the trains -
:01:22. > :01:25.that contributed to chaos on the network last winter.
:01:25. > :01:29.At this time last year, we were experiencing the coldest winter for
:01:29. > :01:33.more than 30 years, with trains grinding to a halt as rails became
:01:33. > :01:37.clogged with snow. Now Network Rail is to expand the areas where the
:01:37. > :01:44.third rail is heated to try to stop it happening again. Sara Smith
:01:44. > :01:48.reports. If there is one group who won't be
:01:48. > :01:53.hoping for a white Christmas, it is those who run the rail services.
:01:53. > :01:57.The complaints are still ringing in their areas from last year. Today,
:01:57. > :02:02.the Transport Minister met the boss of Southeastern Trains to see how
:02:02. > :02:06.�38 billion is being spent in trying to win to prove services.
:02:07. > :02:10.With this investment, we can make sure the rails do not freeze up.
:02:11. > :02:14.�16 million is being spent to heat the third rail. When that gets iced
:02:14. > :02:20.up, it stops conducting electricity to the trains that they are left
:02:20. > :02:23.powerless. 85% have already been done. The 60 million will mean we
:02:23. > :02:29.can get the rest are done by January, so it will hopefully make
:02:29. > :02:34.an improvement -- 16. There will be 150 new sections of heated third
:02:34. > :02:39.rail in Kent and Sussex, two snow and ice treatment trains, with
:02:39. > :02:44.snowploughs, heated de-icer, and 20 passenger trains with the capacity
:02:44. > :02:48.to DRI says they go. Passengers, one of the most trying aspects of
:02:48. > :02:54.life she was the lack of information. We have put in place
:02:54. > :02:57.new arrangements which allows us to make automatic announcement that
:02:57. > :03:01.stations. We have improved the website services and made available
:03:01. > :03:05.a Twitter feed where people can pick up information. The changes
:03:05. > :03:11.may be welcome but there is an acceptance of how far they can go.
:03:11. > :03:18.I am confident that there will be a significant improvement in moderate
:03:18. > :03:22.snow and ice conditions, but I am not confident that if we have 30
:03:22. > :03:26.centimetres worth of snow that we will have anything like a full
:03:26. > :03:30.service operating. That is my realistic assessment. When snow
:03:30. > :03:34.comes, there is very little you can do instantaneously, so I suspect we
:03:34. > :03:39.will end up with delays, but all credit for trying. I don't think
:03:39. > :03:43.how much it matters -- how much you spend on it, if it is huge snow,
:03:43. > :03:48.you're in trouble. We will only know for sure when the snow does
:03:48. > :03:52.come again. A Police Community Support Officer
:03:52. > :03:55.who worked for more than a year at his wife's florist shop in Kent
:03:55. > :03:57.while claiming to be too sick for duty has been given a suspended
:03:57. > :04:01.jail sentence for fraud. Daniel Earls told managers he
:04:01. > :04:03.couldn't work due to stress. But he was actually working in
:04:03. > :04:07.Sittingbourne, while claiming over �23,000 in salary and benefits from
:04:07. > :04:15.the Metropolitan Police. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Colin
:04:15. > :04:18.Campbell reports. Do you regret taking the money?
:04:18. > :04:23.Would you like to say sorry for taking the money?
:04:23. > :04:27.Daniel Earls was getting paid to police the streets. Instead, he
:04:27. > :04:33.falsely claimed he was sick and fraudulently pocketed thousands.
:04:33. > :04:35.Whilst working with his wife that this Sittingbourne florists.
:04:35. > :04:39.Especially in these times of austerity, the Met Police are
:04:39. > :04:43.committed to providing value for money to the public and obviously
:04:43. > :04:46.this has been a complete breach. The 45-year-old worked for an
:04:46. > :04:51.entire year at the flower shop when he should have been working as a
:04:51. > :04:55.Community Support Officer. He told his bosses he was too unwell.
:04:55. > :05:00.Excuses included fatigue, stress and the digestor of disorder.
:05:00. > :05:03.have always worked hard and my husband has always worked hard,
:05:03. > :05:07.especially in today's climate, it is not fair. Times are hard
:05:07. > :05:12.nowadays with all the cuts going on and people acting like that, they
:05:12. > :05:17.have got to hold their hands up and accept the punishment. In total,
:05:17. > :05:21.Daniel Earls defrauded the Metropolitan Police and of in
:05:21. > :05:25.excess of �23,000. He was caught when detectives launched a covert
:05:25. > :05:27.investigation. Posing as undercover buyers, they went into the shop and
:05:27. > :05:31.discovered Daniel Earls working behind the till when he was
:05:31. > :05:36.supposed to be at homesick. The judge took into consideration acts
:05:36. > :05:40.of bravery by the disgraced PCSOs. The court heard that on two
:05:40. > :05:44.separate occasions, he had disarmed criminals, one with a handgun,
:05:44. > :05:50.something he declined to comment on. Could you tell us about your
:05:50. > :05:55.bravery, when you disarmed these men? A man with a magnum 44.
:05:55. > :05:57.In addition to the 12 months suspended sentence, Daniel Earls
:05:57. > :06:05.received 300 hours community service and must repay all the
:06:05. > :06:10.money within three months. Coming up in a moment: a very rare
:06:10. > :06:17.opportunity to buy the cathedral residents, on the open market for
:06:17. > :06:21.People in Gravesend have begun fundraising to support a one-month-
:06:21. > :06:24.old baby boy who remains in a critical condition in hospital.
:06:24. > :06:28.Two people have been arrested on suspicion of assault and released
:06:28. > :06:36.on bail. The community say they want to do all they can to help the
:06:36. > :06:40.baby. Simon Jones reports. As the days go by, the number of
:06:41. > :06:45.toys, candles and cards keeps growing. A community coming
:06:45. > :06:51.together in support of the injured baby. At this local cafe, they have
:06:51. > :06:55.begun fund-raising to offer the boy any local help -- any LP might need.
:06:55. > :07:00.People want to support a baby so people will put their hands of
:07:00. > :07:04.their pocket and put some money in. I think it is a really good idea,
:07:04. > :07:08.and I am honoured to do that, to support the baby in any way we can.
:07:08. > :07:12.It is an antidote to some of the angry scenes at the weekend when a
:07:12. > :07:16.vigil became highly charged, with crowds chanting, demanding justice
:07:17. > :07:24.for the baby. Today, locals say their energies are focused on
:07:24. > :07:33.hoping for his speedy recovery. very upset. Heartbroken. -- and
:07:33. > :07:36.very upset. A little baby. Just terrible. I am trying to hold my
:07:36. > :07:42.tears back because I don't want to look silly, but it makes me want to
:07:42. > :07:45.cry, it really does. I just want to pay my respects and I'm just
:07:45. > :07:51.praying that the little boy fights it and pulls through. Buyers are
:07:51. > :07:55.showing the community care -- by us, we are all showing we can be
:07:55. > :07:59.together as one, where usually, there is so much crime but at the
:07:59. > :08:03.moment everybody is together and that is what I like. People in
:08:03. > :08:08.Gravesend remain very concerned about the baby's condition. The
:08:08. > :08:12.police say that hasn't changed. He remains critical but stable in a
:08:12. > :08:16.London hospital. The man and woman arrested on suspicion of a salt are
:08:16. > :08:21.still on bail, as the police say they continued to investigate it
:08:21. > :08:24.any offences had been committed -- suspicion of assault.
:08:24. > :08:27.East and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Services are to merge their
:08:27. > :08:31.existing control rooms into a single, joint control centre. It
:08:31. > :08:33.follows a successful bid for �3.6 million from the Government.
:08:33. > :08:37.Managers say the move will save money and improve co-ordination
:08:37. > :08:42.with other emergency services. The new centre could begin taking 999
:08:42. > :08:45.calls in 2013. Controversial plans to allow
:08:45. > :08:49.exploration for gas in east Kent coal beds have been approved this
:08:49. > :08:52.afternoon by county councillors. Opponents claim the mining method,
:08:52. > :08:58.known as fracking, caused minor earthquakes in Lancashire and could
:08:58. > :09:03.have the same impact in Kent. A gang of drug dealers behind a
:09:03. > :09:06.nationwide supply network have been jailed for more than 65 years. The
:09:06. > :09:16.group included seven men from Crawley, in West Sussex, and one
:09:16. > :09:18.
:09:18. > :09:19.from Edenbridge, in Kent. They were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court
:09:19. > :09:22.today. Volunteers who drive hundreds of
:09:22. > :09:25.elderly patients to hospitals in the south-east say they can't cope
:09:25. > :09:26.with a surge in demand, which could be potentially life-threatening to
:09:26. > :09:28.patients. It follows the Maidstone and
:09:28. > :09:32.Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust's decision to cancel its own
:09:32. > :09:35.transport service, saving more than �400,000 year. The Community Car
:09:35. > :09:45.Service in Tunbridge Wells says it now desperately need more drivers
:09:45. > :09:48.and funding. Lynda Hardy reports. It is patients like George, who is
:09:48. > :09:53.having chemotherapy, who need the help of the volunteer drivers to
:09:53. > :10:00.get to hospital. This service is a lifeline, because otherwise I would
:10:00. > :10:03.have to pay a lot of money for taxes, and -- for a taxi, or I
:10:03. > :10:08.could catch the bus, but that is not convenient after chemotherapy,
:10:08. > :10:14.because you really cannot travel after chemotherapy on public
:10:14. > :10:18.transport. You are feeling sick, week, tired, it just doesn't happen
:10:19. > :10:23.on the bus. You really cannot do that. But he is just one of
:10:23. > :10:27.hundreds of patients who now need the volunteer drivers, since the
:10:27. > :10:33.local hospital trust stopped its transport service. We are getting
:10:34. > :10:43.rather snowed under. We need more drivers. We needed to cope with
:10:43. > :10:46.them all. They have just taken on six more drivers, but even they
:10:46. > :10:50.won't help to meet rising demand, meaning that potentially here they
:10:50. > :10:54.won't be able to help take some patients to their appointments.
:10:54. > :10:57.we are not there to pick someone up to take them to their hospital
:10:57. > :11:03.appointment, they may decide to opt to go to the appointment. That
:11:03. > :11:07.might not really matter if it is a blood test or an eye test, but if
:11:07. > :11:11.it is chemotherapy or radiotherapy or a test to find out if you have a
:11:11. > :11:15.real medical problem, that could be potentially life-threatening.
:11:15. > :11:19.the solution, this small organisation says, is it needs more
:11:19. > :11:23.funding and all volunteers. Otherwise they won't be able to
:11:23. > :11:25.continue to help take hundred snow Hospital.
:11:25. > :11:30.Lynda Hardy reporting, and she joins us live in Tunbridge Wells,
:11:30. > :11:33.where the volunteer service is based. What has the Maidstone and
:11:33. > :11:37.Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust had to say about this?
:11:37. > :11:40.It says it ended its own voluntary card scheme in October because the
:11:40. > :11:44.cost of running it was diverting hundreds of thousands of Pounds
:11:44. > :11:48.from frontline care. But it says any patients that need help
:11:48. > :11:53.reaching hospital because of born ability or a medical condition may
:11:53. > :11:58.be entitled to use their own ambulance transport scheme -- the
:11:58. > :12:01.vulnerability. And it says it is the king at improving access to the
:12:01. > :12:04.hospital, possibly with local schemes like this, which is much
:12:04. > :12:08.cheaper than using a taxi, sometimes harder price, so much
:12:08. > :12:13.more affordable for the many older people who use it -- sometimes half
:12:13. > :12:16.the price. Our top story tonight:
:12:16. > :12:19.The Transport Secretary Justine Greening has been in Kent
:12:19. > :12:26.announcing how �16 million is being spent on a system to keep the third
:12:26. > :12:29.rail heated in freezing conditions. It is part of the 38 million pound
:12:29. > :12:32.project to keep the railways going when bad weather hits. It's hoped
:12:32. > :12:38.the scheme will keep Kent and Sussex railways going when bad
:12:38. > :12:41.weather hits. Also in tonight's programme:
:12:41. > :12:43.The best bat - England captain Andrew Strauss on why he always
:12:43. > :12:47.picks Sussex willow. And joined me to see why this
:12:47. > :12:54.Christmas enthusiast is taking his light show on the road with his
:12:54. > :12:57.An historic house within the precinct of Rochester Cathedral is
:12:57. > :13:02.up for sale for the first time in 600 years, to help ensure access to
:13:02. > :13:04.the cathedral remains free for visitors. The cathedral attracts
:13:04. > :13:13.around 126,000 people every year, but it has annual maintenance costs
:13:13. > :13:17.of �850,000. It's hoped the sale of College Green, which is part of the
:13:17. > :13:26.Old Bishops Palace, will raise �650,000. Robin Gibson has
:13:26. > :13:31.tonight's Special Report. It is a beautiful house in its own
:13:31. > :13:37.right, lying in the shadow of Rochester Cathedral, it has been a
:13:38. > :13:42.church building since medieval times. Part of the old Archbishop's
:13:42. > :13:50.palace and home to historic names, Sir Thomas More, and of the martyr
:13:50. > :13:55.John Fisher. We bring you to pieces of news. The Pope has made you a
:13:55. > :13:59.cannon. -- two pieces of news. The second is that Parliament has
:13:59. > :14:05.decreed that to maliciously denied the King's supremacy is now a
:14:05. > :14:12.treasonable offence. Punishable by death. He was arrested by Henry VII
:14:12. > :14:17.for treason. He didn't accept him as the Supreme Head of the church,
:14:17. > :14:22.so he lost his head for it and 1535 -- Henry VII. The house and all of
:14:22. > :14:28.its ghosts are being sold for �650,000, so it will be a private
:14:28. > :14:31.home for the first time since the 1,400s. Where else can you find at
:14:31. > :14:36.the centre of the city a walled garden with no passing traffic,
:14:36. > :14:42.very little traffic, you get bored by for it than by car, within a few
:14:42. > :14:46.hundred yards of the High Street -- you get more on foot. The cathedral
:14:46. > :14:50.itself is just a few hundred yards from John Fisher's home and it is
:14:50. > :14:54.recognisable as the place he knew. In a way, he has never gone away.
:14:54. > :15:02.This is him remembered in this altar screen. He left other things
:15:02. > :15:06.too. We still have a number of things. This was published in 1527.
:15:06. > :15:10.This is actually a book from the 16th century? The this was
:15:10. > :15:14.published in 1527 and it is one of the few we still have in our
:15:14. > :15:17.possession. The house has been through many changes in she knew it,
:15:18. > :15:27.but it is hard to imagine anyone living here without feeling the
:15:28. > :15:30.
:15:30. > :15:33.atmosphere of the past -- since he Jan and Evelyn from Gravesend were
:15:33. > :15:35.separated when they were just toddlers in the 1950s and the
:15:35. > :15:39.sisters have spent the last 60 years thinking that they would
:15:39. > :15:43.never see each other again. While Evelyn stayed with her mother
:15:43. > :15:45.in Kent, Jan was adopted by a family in Canada. But now, thanks
:15:45. > :15:52.to the internet and social networking, they have found each
:15:52. > :15:57.other again. Ian Palmer has the heartwarming story.
:15:57. > :16:02.Sisters who haven't met for 50 years. Touching the screen is the
:16:02. > :16:10.closest they can get. They found each other by the social networking
:16:10. > :16:19.side Facebook. I was excited, I cried, I screamed. I panicked! I
:16:19. > :16:26.thought, what do I do now? What do I do? Then I calmed down and I
:16:26. > :16:31.wrote the Mail. I just couldn't believe it at first. I just started
:16:31. > :16:35.screaming and calling to my husband, who was in the other room, and he
:16:35. > :16:43.thought there was something wrong with me, and he came running out.
:16:43. > :16:47.And I said, Jan Has found me! And I just started crying. The story
:16:47. > :16:51.begins with a divorce in the early 1950s. Six-month-old Evelyn stayed
:16:51. > :16:57.with her mother in Gravesend and her two year-old sister and her
:16:57. > :17:02.brother were taken into care. Her brother remained there until he was
:17:02. > :17:09.16 and Jan Was adopted by Canada at the age of eight -- by a family in
:17:09. > :17:13.Canada. My mother wanted me to tell Jan How much she loved her. So now
:17:13. > :17:16.I can do that. Months of conversation found there was much
:17:16. > :17:21.in common between the women, similar interests, the same number
:17:21. > :17:26.of sons and even the same hairstyle. But the similarities don't end
:17:26. > :17:30.there. Both women had very bad accidents in 1992, leaving them
:17:30. > :17:35.with severe back injuries. The sisters will meet each other for
:17:35. > :17:44.the first time in 60 years later this month. Jan is coming to Kent.
:17:45. > :17:48.They lost each other once, they It will be great when they finally
:17:48. > :17:55.catch up with each other. What is Guernsey famous for? Wooly
:17:55. > :17:58.jumpers and fishing, and dairy cows. That is what I would have said.
:17:58. > :18:02.It's not really renowned as a hotbed of rugby. So the local youth
:18:02. > :18:03.squad, the Guernsey Colts, were faced with a problem. They had lots
:18:03. > :18:07.of enthusiasm, but no-one to play against.
:18:07. > :18:10.So what did they do? They joined the Sussex Colts league. Not put
:18:10. > :18:16.off by 150 miles of English Channel between them, they regularly fly in
:18:16. > :18:21.to Gatwick for their fixtures. Charlie Rose reports.
:18:21. > :18:26.The people of Guernsey love their rugby. But with just 62,000 people
:18:26. > :18:31.living on the island, less than the population of Hastings, competition
:18:31. > :18:37.can be fairly limited. There is only one club and unfortunately, we
:18:37. > :18:45.are it. So to get a decent game, they come to Sussex. Getting there
:18:45. > :18:49.and back is the 60 hour day, with the 320 mile round air journey. In
:18:49. > :18:53.the Sussex League, they will be making the trip nine times. A 7am
:18:53. > :18:58.flight from Guernsey to Gatwick and then a train ride down to wherever
:18:59. > :19:03.we are playing, play the rugby, train back to Gatwick and then
:19:03. > :19:07.7:30pm flight to Guernsey, meaning we are all home by 9pm. It is
:19:07. > :19:12.difficult to drag myself out of bed by fire in the morning, but it is
:19:12. > :19:15.something I enjoy so it is worth it in the end -- 5. It is great that
:19:15. > :19:19.south-east rugby is strong enough that they can choose to play in the
:19:19. > :19:24.Sussex League rather than anywhere else, which is really good. They
:19:24. > :19:28.haven't got much opposition where they are. With all of the group's
:19:29. > :19:33.making trips to the UK, it costs the club and the sponsors around
:19:33. > :19:37.�130,000 per season and they are offering a �1,000 incentive for any
:19:37. > :19:40.team to come to the Channel Islands and play them. None of this the 16s
:19:40. > :19:44.had taken us up on the offer but hopefully as we continue to grow
:19:44. > :19:49.relationships, a few of them will come over -- none of the Sussex
:19:49. > :19:55.teams. And we will get to play a home game. If you want to see them
:19:55. > :19:59.in action, their next Sussex League match is against a field on 8
:19:59. > :20:03.January. That is dedication for you. Talking
:20:03. > :20:06.of dedication... See what I did? Andrew Strauss is the most
:20:06. > :20:09.successful England cricket captain of modern times, winning the Ashes
:20:09. > :20:11.home and away, leading his team to a whitewash against India and
:20:11. > :20:15.taking them to number one in the world test rankings.
:20:15. > :20:18.And he's done it with a bat made from willow grown in Sussex, and
:20:18. > :20:21.handmade in the village of Robertsbridge. I caught up with him
:20:21. > :20:23.at the Gray Nicholls factory, as they worked on the bats he'll be
:20:23. > :20:26.using in the upcoming winter series against Pakistan.
:20:26. > :20:29.For 130 years, they've been making cricket bats here. And any number
:20:29. > :20:35.of England players have scored heavily with a Gray Nicholls bat in
:20:35. > :20:38.their hand. Andrew Strauss is no exception. Today, I wanted to ask
:20:38. > :20:47.him about his future as captain, the winter tour and his teammate
:20:47. > :20:50.from Sussex, Matt Prior. Well, to me, he is the best wicketkeeper-
:20:50. > :20:56.Batman and the world by a long way at the moment and he can take the
:20:56. > :20:59.game away from the game -- opposition. He brings a huge amount
:20:59. > :21:04.of the field, he is one of the main architects of the team environment,
:21:04. > :21:07.he helps the youngsters a lot and increasingly he has become a really
:21:07. > :21:11.important cog in the wheel of making sure that the team keeps
:21:11. > :21:16.operating smoothly. In terms of youngsters coming through, are
:21:16. > :21:21.there any in Kent and Sussex that you are keeping half an eye on and
:21:21. > :21:26.thinking, maybe in a few years' time...? I'm sure there are, but I
:21:26. > :21:32.tried to focus on Middlesex beating Kent and Sussex. We don't like them
:21:32. > :21:37.very much. You have been captain for how long now? Three years.
:21:37. > :21:42.are you finding it? It has been said before that after five years,
:21:42. > :21:45.you are kind of burned out. How are you feeling it yourself? I am not
:21:45. > :21:49.burn their cheque. I have had a couple of months off, which has
:21:49. > :21:54.been fantastic -- I am not burned out. I don't know how long I'll
:21:54. > :21:58.keep doing it, but I am loving it still. We have made some incredible
:21:59. > :22:04.games as a side and I'm still motivated to make sure we keep down
:22:04. > :22:11.that path. Ask me again in 18 months or so and we will see if I'm
:22:11. > :22:16.still giving the same answer. this winter, then, Pakistan, it is
:22:16. > :22:20.an away tour but it is a way for both teams, it is a weird situation.
:22:20. > :22:24.Slightly strange playing in Dubai. We haven't played there before.
:22:24. > :22:26.Pakistan have been playing there recently, so they will still have
:22:26. > :22:30.some advantage in the sense that they know the conditions better
:22:31. > :22:35.than us. It should be a good series, Pakistan are in good form and
:22:35. > :22:38.played well against Sri Lanka and it will be a big test for us.
:22:38. > :22:41.a really nice guy and the bats in the background are the ones he is
:22:41. > :22:45.actually going to be using. If there you go.
:22:45. > :22:48.Christmas is coming and it's the time of year to fish about in the
:22:48. > :22:53.loft and dig out the baubles and the tinsel. Unless, of course,
:22:53. > :22:56.you're Stan Truelove from Canterbury. It a bit more
:22:56. > :22:59.complicated for him. Over the last seven years, he's
:22:59. > :23:04.spent �7,000 on Christmas lights at his home, racking up an electricity
:23:04. > :23:10.bill of �365 a month, to raise more than �30,000 for charity.
:23:10. > :23:15.This year, for the first time, he's taking the show on the road. Peter
:23:15. > :23:19.Whittlesea is live in Canterbury now to explain.
:23:19. > :23:24.This time last year, there was nine inches of snow on the ground.
:23:24. > :23:29.Tonight, just be artificial stuff. Because of bad, 1,000 fewer people
:23:29. > :23:32.last year came to see this Christmas display. Stan was really
:23:32. > :23:37.disappointed, because it takes a more than three weeks to put all of
:23:37. > :23:40.these lights up. So the big question is, what you do if you
:23:41. > :23:45.want people to see this light display but they can't come and see
:23:45. > :23:49.it? He decided to take it to them with his mobile band of Christmas
:23:49. > :23:54.cheer. Every night, Stan Truelove's first
:23:54. > :23:59.task is to turn on the Christmas lights. Then the helpers arrived
:23:59. > :24:06.for his mobile display. It is not easy negotiating doorways when you
:24:07. > :24:11.are a 7 ft Mr frosty, but he loves the build-up. The faces of the
:24:11. > :24:16.children were they drive up, not a man -- not believe in the event of
:24:16. > :24:21.lights that standards are back a whole atmosphere around here.
:24:21. > :24:25.you mind the cold? It is not too bad, I normally stand down the road
:24:25. > :24:29.are directing traffic. Now stand his mobile with his illuminated
:24:29. > :24:35.sleigh, he wants to reach as many people as possible and spread his
:24:35. > :24:39.Christmas cheer. I am the Big Father Christmas, I just haven't
:24:39. > :24:46.got the outfit. I think it is lovely. Especially when we have
:24:46. > :24:50.Father Christmas and Vester frosty, and all the help us. -- Mr frosted.
:24:50. > :24:55.He is crazy but crazy good, because he raises a huge amount of money
:24:55. > :25:01.for the hospice. And he loves every minute of it, and can't wait for
:25:01. > :25:05.Christmas to come round each year. If you see light at Christmas
:25:05. > :25:10.carols and all of these people walking past your window, Stan
:25:10. > :25:15.could be driving past -- if you see lights and. He is in the Canterbury
:25:15. > :25:20.area every night for three hours a night and the hopes to raise �3,000.
:25:20. > :25:24.It is impossible to feel humbug when these are around you.
:25:24. > :25:26.Thank you, Peter. It is practically Lapland.
:25:26. > :25:30.On wheels. And if there's a spectacular
:25:30. > :25:37.Christmas display where you live, please let us know. Send an email
:25:37. > :25:43.to the usual address or get in touch via our Facebook site. We are
:25:43. > :25:47.feeling very Christmas in air and the weather is decidedly wintry.
:25:47. > :25:50.It has been a very cold picture, it was cold and bright to start the
:25:50. > :25:54.day, more cloud cover in the afternoon, some outbreaks of light
:25:54. > :25:55.rain this evening and tonight as well, but by tomorrow it will have
:25:55. > :26:00.well, but by tomorrow it will have clear and it will be a chilly
:26:00. > :26:06.picture for us all. Very cold westerly winds will pick up to
:26:06. > :26:11.around 30 mph, so cold and blustery. Today, we had a bright start to the
:26:11. > :26:16.day, strong winds, you can see the isobars, the westerly winds up to
:26:16. > :26:21.25 mph. We had seen cloud cover and light rain because the warm friend
:26:21. > :26:30.is spreading eastwards tonight. Today, a dry picture, westerly
:26:30. > :26:32.winds. Top temperatures of 80 degrees. As we move through tonight,
:26:32. > :26:37.the wind welding and continue to strengthen with a blustery picture,
:26:37. > :26:43.and the unsettled weather means that temperatures will hardly
:26:43. > :26:48.change from the daytime barriers, ranging between five-seven degrees.
:26:48. > :26:51.That rain will slowly clear tomorrow, a mild start to the day
:26:51. > :26:57.but you consider tightly spaced isobars, me in the wind will be
:26:57. > :27:03.noticeably blustery from a westerly direction. -- meaning. Temperatures
:27:03. > :27:07.up to around 48 Fahrenheit, but it will be a lot cooler than the
:27:07. > :27:14.numbers suggest. At the centre back to sunshine, Chris Bain cold and
:27:14. > :27:17.bright, are holding on to be clearer skies -- crisp and cold.
:27:17. > :27:21.Temperatures dropping to four degrees with a widespread ground
:27:21. > :27:26.frost, so we start Thursday with a frosty start but it will be quite a
:27:26. > :27:33.mild picture. Temperatures stay in double figures but a wet and windy
:27:33. > :27:40.day, rain for Russell and the westerly winds again. -- for us all.
:27:40. > :27:44.Low-pressure in charge of things, Thursday is unsettled, Thursday dry
:27:44. > :27:49.and bright but called by Friday. Similar for Saturday, a good deal
:27:49. > :27:53.Similar for Saturday, a good deal of sunshine but staying pretty cold.
:27:53. > :27:59.Let's go back to the top story. The Transport Secretary Justine
:27:59. > :28:03.Greening has visited Kent to give details of a �38 million investment
:28:03. > :28:06.to win to prove the railway network across the south-east. �60 million
:28:07. > :28:11.is being spent on a system to keep the third rail, which delivers
:28:11. > :28:15.power, heated in freezing conditions -- 16.
:28:15. > :28:18.We are joined live from Brighton station. The train companies are
:28:18. > :28:22.pretty confident that these changes are going to make a difference?
:28:22. > :28:25.I think everybody accepts that if there is huge amount of snow, there
:28:25. > :28:29.will be disruption, but this is about keeping those disruptions to
:28:29. > :28:33.an absolute minimum and what the train companies hope is that by
:28:33. > :28:37.heating the rails, especially at stations and signals where they