17/02/2012 South East Today

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

Tonight's top stories. Ban spitting from Medway's streets,

a lawmaker's bid to fine people for what he says is an anti-social and

A warning we'll all pay more for water in future, as Southern Water

applies for a drought permit to help refill our largest reservoir.

Also in tonight's programme. After the collapse of Seafrance, a new

ferry service launches between Dover and Calais, the DFDS LDLines

Norman Spirit. The magic of the cup, and a huge

payday as Brighton and Crawley prepare to meet Liverpool and Stoke.

And he's the man who helped Jim Henson's imagination become reality,

we meet Sussex puppeteer Steve Good evening. Spitting in the

street in Medway could be made illegal, with fines of up to �80. A

local councillor Chris Irvine says the habit is disgusting and anti-

social and should be banned. Spitting in public was an offence

for many years to combat tuberculosis in the 1940s, when it

was believed that spittle could spread the disease, but the ban was

lifted in the 1990s. Bryony Mackenzie reports.

This is what the council wants. But as well as the letter, the chewing

gum and cigarettes, spitting could now be added to the hit-list.

think it is a disgusting habit. A lot of it happens down here. It is

just washing things down. Keeping on top of it, really. It is

Philip's job to clean it up. One councillor says it is not the

visual impact but the anti-social attitude that spitting the nodes

that needs tackling. It is a vile and disgusting habit. It is

something we need to be looking at discouraging, in the same way that

we discourage people from dropping litter or cigarette butts, or even

dog owners who do not clean up after their pets. We take action

against those sort of anti-social issues, so why not actually look at

discouraging people who spit on the street? It was the spread of

disease that spot -- prompted a spitting than following the First

World War put up in 1990, it was -- before 1990, it was an offence.

Under a new band, council enforcement officers would have the

power to hand out fixed penalty notices, expected to be around �80.

Those refusing to pay could face prosecution and a potential fine of

up to �5,000. Although common on a football pitch, where the ban would

not apply, it is often seen as a sign of disrespect. It is repulsive,

really. Spit on the ground. I did it is it a bit much, because it is

just spitting on the street. -- I think it is a bit much. It is

disgusting to see people spit on the street, but there are certain

people who can't help it, if they've got problems with their

lungs. If you saw somebody doing it, and said, -- she saw someone doing

it and said, that is not right. think it is good. It is

disrespectful. It annoys them, whether they are parking badly, and

they spit at them, my view is, no, it is really awful.

Bryony is in Chatham, how likely is it that spitting will be banned on

the street of Medway? It is down to the public, if you look at Enfield

they had a petition there, 4000 signatures and they turned that

into the local government minister Eric Pickles. He will decide

whether a bylaw will be triggered, that could happen within a month.

People are clear that they think spitting is disgusting, they do not

wanted on their streets. Less clear is how you would enforce the ban if

it were to come in. Who would pay for it, that is the question.

want to know what you think. Should spitting be banned like littering

or graffiti? Or would it be too difficult to police? You can email

us or join in the debate on our Facebook page and we'll read out

some of your comments later in the In future we'll have to pay more

for our water if we're to avoid drought restrictions every year.

That's the view of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which says

houses should only be built where there's a ready supply of water,

and more investment should be put into reservoirs to avert a disaster.

The call for action comes a day after Southern Water applied for a

drought permit, which will enable it to take more water from the

River Medway to fill up Bewl Water reservoir. Our news correspondent

Mark Norman reports. The summer -- does the slogan save

water, paved with a friend, ring any bells? It was the message of

the summer of 1976 as a judge took hold. Water companies controlled

standpipes to control how much we used, grass fires were commonplace.

The latest application for a drought order might not lead to

such extremes, but environmental campaigners say the lack of

rainfall, lack of investment by water companies and potential drain

on our rivers could prove disastrous. Drought orders are

supposed to be for real emergencies, they are supposed to be very

occasionally used for those exceptional circumstances. We can

probably keep the taps running for a while longer. If we are careful

about how we use water. It is rivers like this, the wider

environment where the real pressures will be felt. Southern

Water argues strongly that their 25 year plan was to give the water

supply and considered the impact on the environment. But the Campaign

to Protect Rural England state new relaxed planning laws by the

coalition will increase the demand on our water supplies. With

increasing demands from homes and businesses, they say one solution

is for us, the consumer, to pay more on our bills so the water

companies can pay for that investment. But are we prepared to

pay his bills? I think we have been to -- cutting corners for too long.

It is a harsh reality that we probably will need to see increased

water bills to make sure we can actually carry on continuing to

supply the water that we need. way, it is the wrong question. I am

happy to invest in the infrastructure, but at the moment,

and only wants to pay for the water are used. I think I wouldn't mind

paying more if it was rail up -- readily available, definitely.

Rather than wait until it has all gone wrong, I think that they do

not seem to have invested their money wisely. We have had the

driest 10 months for more than 100 years, and Southern Water say they

need to plan now to try and prevent water restrictions later this

summer. Our reporter Katherine Downes is in

Westminster for us tonight, this is subject which is going straight to

the heart of government as well, isn't it? Yes, some parts of the

country have already experienced many parts of -- times of drought,

and Defra predict that will continue into the summer. They say

it is already an issue of future national importance. On Monday, the

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman will chair a summit

attended by environmental groups, the water groups and the Met Office

to discuss the future and see what's messages -- what can be done

to prevent drought. The message is that everyone needs to use less

water, starting now. In a moment:

The rabbits found mutilated and abandoned as the RSPCA warns they

are struggling to cope with the number of pets being left by

families unable to afford them any more.

Large crowds turned out today to pay their respects to a young

father who was stabbed to death on a street in Hailsham last month.

Darren Croxton was 25, and had a young daughter. A 16-year-old boy

has been charged with his murder. From Hellingly where the funeral

took place, John Young has our report.

The police had warned the public that the crowds might be large, and

they were right. Darren Croxton's family said we were welcome to film

the hearse and riding, they wanted his funeral to be a celebration of

his life. He was a man who played hard and worked hard, the vicar

told the mourners, a good man. loved challenges, any challenge he

was up to it. He loved his family, very loyal to family and friends,

and loved his daughter dearly. must have been a difficult service.

Very difficult, yes. But it was the, the church was packed and there

were lots of it all outside, everyone came to give him a good

send-off which we certainly did. Darren Croxton had been found

stabbed on a part in Hailsham a month ago. He died the following

day. A spate of arrests and radiantly followed leading to some

unrest in the town, crowds gathering outside Hailsham police

station within days. In the dash of the 13 men and use arrested, eight

were eliminated from inquiries. That leaves 116 year-old boy

charged with his murder, and four other young men on police bail.

Earlier this week, police divers searched a nearby lake. Today,

thoughts turned to a young daughter who had lost her father and a

community seeming at times build up an angry.

-- bewildered and angry. A British Airways steward from

Crawley has been charged with making a bomb threat in mid-air.

The scare was caused by a message which was written on a toilet door

on the Tokyo to Heathrow flight, which had 150 people on board. 22-

year-old Matthew Davis was arrested on landing and will appear in court

later this month. Children are being trafficked into

Britain via Eurostar, according to a member of the House of Lords.

Baroness Doocey says children as young as 12 can travel

unaccompanied on a train from France or Belgium simply with a

piece of paper signed by an adult. The UK Border Agency says it's

working to get the loophole closed as quickly as possible.

Parking charges for Brighton and Hove's Traders are being revised

following concerns expressed by the business community. Last month

scores of vans brought the centre of Hove to a standstill in protest

against increases in charges. It had been suggested that annual

permits would go up to �750 but the council has decided that the new

rate will be �600 instead. Three pet rabbits have been found

abandoned in Kent, mutilated, with their ears cut off. The find comes

as the RSPCA warns they are struggling to cope with the numbers

of animals being left by families unable to afford their pets any

more. Last year the organisation rescued far more animals than it

managed to rehome and it says that trend is set to worsen this year.

Lucinda Adam reports. In just a fortnight, these five

rabbits have been found dumped in Thanet and Maidstone. One emaciated

and close to death, another attacked by dogs. And three who

have had their ears deliberately cut off. When we picked them up, we

were quite aghast, quite shocked. I think the recession has played a

part. People are losing their homes which is sad, they do not always

have some way to give their pet into. I think there are many

reasons. I think some people just get tired of them. This new centre

for small animals does not even open until June, but these rabbits

are already being cared for here in makeshift runs because the RSPCA's

rescue centre in May born and its 18 branches in Kent and Sussex are

overflowing. Last year, the RSPCA took in more than 5300 rabbits.

They managed to rehome more than 3800 of them, but that left more

than 1500 with nowhere to go. Around two-thirds are still in

risky branches, while a third were put down for medical reasons. --

rescue branches. Even the most caring pet owners have been feeling

the pinch on their purses. People have been unable to do certain

procedures and tests that they would have perhaps been able to do

in the past. More people are unable to do that. A classic example would

be an animal with rotten teeth, a cat with rotten teeth which is

really causing pain, it need to have them out and they are simply

unable to afford the cost of the procedure. That financial pressure

means this rescue centre can expect a full house from the moment it

opens its doors. It's 6:45pm, this is our top story

tonight. A campaign to have spitting in

public outlawed in Medway has been proposed by a conservative

councillor. Chris Irvine is backing a scheme for on the spot fines of

up to �80 for spitting. If the new by-law for a ban goes ahead it will

be the first in Britain in 22 years. Also in tonight's programme,

creating Jim Henson's animal magic, we meet Sussex puppeteer Steve

Allen. It is a weekend of two hearts, it

rained for Saturday, a call the picture behind it for Sunday. --

two halves. And are called the A new ferry service launched in

Dover today, sailing on the route to Calais. There was a little help

from model and presenter Kelly Brook. Operators DFDS and LD Lines

have joined together to run the route, which until recently was

served by SeaFrance. More than 1,800 jobs were lost when SeaFrance

collapsed earlier this year, some 200 of them in the UK. Now the

operators of the new route say 300 jobs will be created when their

second ship enters service. Launched under a celebratory spray

of sea water, and the more traditional champagne in the hands

of model Kelly Brook, DFDS and LD Lines's new ferry carries hopes of

new jobs and more competition on the Channel. But can the companies

avoid the problems that sank SeaFrance? We have seen a massive

availability of capacity being created by the exit of SeaFrance,

and putting in this vessel by no means take up all that slack. We

are part of the biggest ferry operation in it and York --

northern Europe. This very business has been running for 130 years, and

now we have formed a collaboration with LD Lines, that furthers --

offers us further strength on the French side. It might be one of the

busiest ferry routes on the four world, but it is also one of the

most competitive. The past of years saw the retirement of the

hovercraft and its operator. Speed ferries saw it only ferry impounded

in Calais in 2008, and the last of the railway owned companies,

SeaFrance, went under in January. The Dover-Calais route, although

extremely busy, cannot always be very profitable. The reason being,

you have got too much competition and a downturn in trade. The fixed

costs it takes to run the ships and the other competition from the

Eurotunnel means margins gets squeezed a lot. The companies have

said that when their second ship launches on the rich, 300 jobs will

have been created. There is doubt as to how many will be in the UK.

We have at the moment one extra ship, there will be at second want

coming over in the next few weeks. We are talking at about 20 to 30

jobs. So will the launch of theHerald a renaissance in cross-

Channel business, or just another chapter in its ever-changing

A huge financial windfall is coming to two Sussex football clubs this

weekend, as the world's most famous cup competition takes centre stage.

Both Brighton and Hove Albion and Crawley Town take on Premier League

opposition in the 5th round of the FA Cup, and our sports reporter

Neil Bell is live at the Broadfield Stadium. Neil, both clubs are set

to get an injection of hundreds of thousands of pounds from two mouth-

watering ties. It is a massively exciting weekend.

Imagine if you will, nine months ago, Stoke City ran out at Wembley

to take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final in front of 100,000.

On Sunday, they will come out for a very different but challenging

experience. The FA Cup has been here at the Broadfield Stadium

today, and it has lost none of its allure or fascination for football

fans. It is an historic sporting trophy,

but for clubs like Brighton and Crawley, it also represents a

chance to cash in. The lucky horseshoe brigade will need no

reminding that Britain's only trip to the final 30 years ago saw them

eliminate Liverpool on the way, it is the stuff dreams are made of.

is going to be a great experience. It is going to be, for a few

players, unique, because they don't know if they will be able to play

at Anfield again. It is a chance for them to go on to something

special. While a Cup run is exciting for both fans and players,

the business boost for the clubs cannot be underestimated. They will

each receive �212,000, as the games are live on TV. They get 45% of the

gate receipts, which, at a sell-out Anfield, could be worth half a

million pounds. And if they were to win, there is a further �180,000 in

prize money. Liverpool legend and pundit Mark Rorison still has a

soft spot for Britain. He began his career at Sussex. Brighton are

looking good, they started extremely well but tailed off a

little bit. Playing good football under Gus Poyet, he has done a good

job. It is a difficult tie for them, because Liverpool's form recently

has picked up. This time last year, thousands of Crawley fans were on

their way to Old Trafford, and enjoying every minute. Manager

Steve Evans is well aware this weekend represents another on

almost opportunity. The money coming in will be very useful, we

could put in a new 3000 seat stand on the far side, which is due to be

starting in the next few weeks. That is things that the board

wanted but within the infrastructure. If the money East

comes in, it will stay within the club and be spent to develop the

club in the future. Just two years ago, we were non-League, going into

extinction, not just administration, going out of business. This board

has got us to lead to, we could go further. Even the most optimistic

supporter probably think that the Cup final is a long shot, but

despite the odds, a further progress is not out of the question.

Stoke City boss Tony Guinness will be sitting here, Steve Evans

Crawley but Ashtead Evans, corded us, over there. There could be some

friction. Crawley beatings they could be the biggest Cup upset for

20 years, but many people would not see it as surprise. Stoke have lost

their last six, and Crawley have only lost a couple here recently.

League One leaders Charlton will be looking to extend their eight point

lead when they travel to Tranmere tomorrow afternoon. The Addicks are

on a six game unbeaten run in the league but have concerns over in-

form captain Johnnie Jackson, who is struggling to make the trip to

Merseyside. And after slumping to their fifth consecutive defeat on

Monday, Gillingham will hope to put a stop to their poor run away at

Port Vale. The Gills are losing touch with the League Two play-off

places and go into Saturday's game five points off seventh.

Best of luck to all of our side, particularly those in the Cup. It

is an adventure, and it can always spring a surprise. I bet there will

be one or two people not slipping back well in their beds on Saturday

night! -- and not sleeping that well!

There are major problems on the main railway line between London

and Brighton, Network Rail say and their work -- a section of Rail has

been damaged. And passengers have been stranded on a train, power has

been cut. All services have either been cancelled or diverted. Network

Rail says the repairs will take several hours. We will have more

later on. A Kent puppeteer and model maker

who has helped to develop some of TV and film's most famous

characters is holding an exhibition of his work. Steve Allen from

Petham has enjoyed a long career and worked with big names such as

Jim Henson and David Bowie on the film Labyrinth. Alex Beard has more.

It was his love of The Muppets as an 11 year-old child that led Steve

Allen into his but the cheering Korea. His child to dream realised

when he landed a job with Jim Henson. -- into his putter Tear

I have lost count how many times I haven't made versions of Kermit the

Frog. It just got beyond a joke! well as a lot of Kermit the Frogs,

Steve has made burgeoned as for Wallace and Gromit and even star

wars. He create pretty times for puppets in films such as Labyrinth

of. One of them leads to the castle in the centre, and the other one

leads to certain death! My job, if you can call it that, pick up --

was to go in, and produce prototypes of goblins and Wild

Things. They would take these prototypes and they would be shown

to Jim Henson and the rest of the thing -- team, then they would be

passed on to the animatronics team and the people who would make the

ones in the film. Steve is now working on puppets of

his own design. Everything has to be made from scratch but kept light

weight so the property -- so it can be held four hours. He has eyes

made out of prison, and there is a mechanism to make various parts of

his face move, which is a secret. Max, the guitar playing dog, will

feature in the exhibition this weekend in Petham.

Plans to make spitting on the street of Medway an offence with

fines of up to �80, we asked for your opinions. A lot of you agree.

The word coming up and -- again and again is disgusting. Jody says, it

should be banned, a disgusting habit that mostly only young men do.

He would not spit on the floor at home, so why on the street? This

one says, despicable, a filthy habit, it should be unlawful

anywhere in the UK. This one, Jo Saunders and, from Allington, is

one of the few who goes against the grain. Eight -- he says, I am a

keen footballer. I often find myself needing to spit. How would

it police? A few people are saying, footballers are setting a bad

example and players that spit he It has been a cloudy, mostly dry

and mild picture today, it stays that way through tonight. It will

be all change to the weekend. Initially drier on Saturday,

increasingly wet and windy for us all. That rain clears and leaves

behind it a much colder picked up the Sunday. -- picture for Sunday.

And a widespread frost. The bulk of the unsettled weather is well to

the north of us today, temperatures again in double figures, highs of

10 degrees. Despite the cloud, not feeling too bad. As we go through

tonight, very little changes. Plenty of cloud around, the odd

scattered shower. Temperatures not really dropping much below six or

seven degrees, eight degrees along the coast, that is usually daytime

temperatures. A very mild, cloudy start, but it does not last. An

active cold front is sinking southwards, south-westerly winds

picking up. Initially tried but increasingly unsettled. By

lunchtime, heavy pulses of ring for us all, wet and windy. Blustery

winds, stronger than 25 miles an hour. Similar temperatures to today

put up above average, but with the unsettled weather, feeling a little

bit cooler than the numbers suggest. The rain it clears through the

first part of Saturday night, leaving behind a much cooler story.

Clearer skies, the winds from an north-westerly direction. Once

again, a frosty start on Sunday. Lots and lots of winter sunshine on

Sunday. Temperatures below average again. With high pressure in

control, Monday sees lots of cloud but staying dry, this area of high

pressure pulls away to the east and once again by Tuesday, some rain

moving in from the West. The temperatures will recover by

Tuesday again, we have highs of The headlines, Rupert Murdoch has

confirmed plans for a new newspaper, saying the sun on Sunday will be

launching very soon. Spitting on the street in Medway

could be banned with fines of �80 if a new bylaw is past.

And a warning we will be paying more for water in future as

Southern Water applies for a drought permits to help refill our

largest reservoir. And just before we go, quick

congratulations to Colin Campbell who won the Journalist of the Year

title at the Royal Television Society, Southern Centre awards

last night. Our colleague Matt Goddard won the award for Best