10/04/2012 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today with Rob Smith and Polly Evans.

Tonight's top stories: $$NEWINE Four men are found guilty of the

manslaughter of Sussex businessman Julian Gardner. We're live at Lewes

Crown Court with the details. I'm innocent, I've been wrongly

accused. I haven't had any sleep Conned out of her life savings: the

Kent woman who was tricked into giving �74,000 to a man she met via

a dating website. I was absolutely devastated, devastated. I've got to

sell the house. Also in tonight's programme, the

200 university students banned by P&O after a lewd and drunken

Her memory still matters why a suffragette for Hastings is still

some abetted by politicians in Australia. -- celebrated. And the

Battle of Britain legend remembered Good evening. A gang of four

professional burglars have been found guilty of crushing a

businessman to death after he interrupted them as they ransacked

property at his Sussex farm. Julian Gardner was found dead by his

business partner at his farm near Robertsbridge in October 2010.

Today four men were found guilty of manslaughter, burglary and

conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Ellie Price is at Lewes

Crown Court for us. These convictions after one of the

biggest cases the police force there have undertaken. Yes, this

has gone on for nine weeks at Lewes Crown Court. There were gasps from

the public gallery when the verdicts were handed down to four

of the defendant. One man, Christopher Leek, failed to reach a

verdict on. And another man Oliver Payne was cleared of manslaughter.

They were found guilty of conspiracy to burgle with the other

six defendants though. I am innocent, I have been wrongly

accused. So Terrence Bristow leaving court along with Marcus

Bristow, Lee Delay and Paul Dunn. He was found guilty of killing

Julian Gardner at his farm near Robertsbridge in 20th October 10.

Jurors were told that Julian Gardner stood no chance of survival

when he was crushed between two macro two 4x4s. He picked up one of

his shot guns to protect his property on the night he was shot.

A decision which cost him his life, say the jury. I would appeal to

anybody who knows anything about this incident, who saw anything

suspicious in the area to please contact the police. As soon as

possible. The jury were told there was no chance of survival from his

multiple injuries. His business partner found in the next day. The

jury at Lewes Crown Court deliberated for just under 22 hours

and two other men were also found guilty of conspiracy to burgle Bush

Barn Farm and pervert the course of justice.

Sentencing is expected to take place tomorrow morning at 10:30am.

We are also expected to hear a statement from the family of Julian

Gardner who will have more reaction on that and we will follow that.

17 months after Julian Gardner was killed, the gang behind his death

have been convicted. Fiona Irving reports on how, after 17 arrests

and thousands of hours of police work, a case was built against

those that left a man for dead and On 11th October 2010, Sussex Police

take over a crime scene. It is the start of one of the bourse's

biggest ever investigations. Thousands of hours of police work -

- the force's biggest ever investigation. Finding those

responsible for killing Julian Gardner. He lived at Bush Barn Farm

most of his life. He ran a business that became a target for an

organised gang. Anyone that runs a business that is quite remote...

You worry about things like this. People breaking in, it can happen.

When I found out about Julian, it is always upsetting when you find a

friend is lost. It is a shock as well. He knew Julian through work.

He repairs fought hard ins -- bald widens. A little while ago I had a

four-wheel-drive vehicle that was not my area of expertise and I

found Julian for advice and he said he wanted him to go over. He looked

right over the car, it took something like one hour and gave my

friend the necessary advice and when he went to give him the money,

Julian said no, it is fine. Julian blow to the noise of burglars and

friends say this was not the first time he had been burgled. He picked

up a shotgun and the decision may have cost him his life. What the

hell do you think you're doing here? Get out of the way, old man.

This is my Land Rover. You can see what went through his mind. It is

easy to say "don't go out" but I will say call the police, the first

thing you do is call the police. At the end of the day, you can replace

property. In the case that we have heard about, obviously it ended

tragically. Julian Gardner never fire began. He was crushed either

between a Jeep Cherokee and one of his vehicles or between a vehicle

and a water tank. Lying on the ground, the killers fled. Breaking

down the gates of the farm, some in a jeep and others in a Land Rover

belonging to Mr Gardner. It was here in these woods that Julian

Gardner's Land Rover was dumped and set on fire. Much of the

prosecution case centred on mobile phone analysis which shows in the

hours following Julian Gardner's death, all seven dependants were in

a limited area around Bush Barn Farm, Sandhurst where the jeep was

dumped and here in these woods. The phone calls started at 18 minutes

past midnight on 11th October. For the next four hours, the seven

defendants exchanged around 60 calls with each other. On an

average night, they would never speak on the phone. But on that

night, they were in constant contact. It made up a vital part of

the evidence that today helped convict the gang responsible for

taking away a brother, Sam and friend to so many in the community.

-- brother, son. I was completely shocked. Such an easy-going chap he

would not upset anybody. He did not deserve to be killed. Most people

and or who have got a Land Rover, he has helped them out, most of

them. He is definitely a respected man. He will be missed. Yes, of

course. Wayne Henning, a friend of Julian

Gardner, ending that report. In a moment, Crawley's eyes are on

the prize. Steve Coppell is appointed Director of Football as

the club pushes for League One and A woman tricked out of her life

savings by a man she met through an online dating site says she is now

being forced to sell her home. David Cook, a comedian from

Gravesend, took around �74,000 from Sue Hall after telling her a series

of stories about how his children were in trouble. He was jailed for

two years after being caught writing her a fraudulent cheque.

Sue Hall went on line looking for companionship and instead she lost

her money and her trust in others. She had agreed to meet up with

David Cook after he told her he knew her father. Her father, Les,

had also been on the comedy circuit. But over 10 months, David Cook

persuaded her to hand over thousands of pounds. She thought

she was helping his family. He promised to pay her back. But it

was all a trick. I was absolutely devastated. Devastated. I have got

And the way you feel about yourself? I feel such an idiot for

having done it. But that is just me, I really would help people but it

has certainly changed my life. Even helping anyone else, I have to

think about it. It was a fraudulent cheque that David Cook word for her

that eventually landed him in court. He was given a two year prison

sentence. A composition hearing found he had no money left so she

has to sell her home. Her attempt to find a partner online having

cost her dearly. It was a public place, like meeting them in the

middle of Piccadilly. You don't know anything about them, but the

majority of people using internet dating sites are absolutely great

He was very pleasant and he used to say some funny joke. People love to

laugh and that is the best medicine but all he has made me do is cry.

And money and the trust gone, her only hope is that others hearing

Police are appealing for information following a double

stabbing in Dover at the weekend. They were called to a house in

Farncombe Way in Whitfield on Sunday evening after a concerned

family member contacted them. They discovered a 27-year-old woman and

man in a critical condition with stab wounds. A 27-year-old man has

been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Staff at the Medway Maritime Hospital have won a national award

for their work in dealing with and preventing bedsores. It comes just

eight months after Medway was named as the second worst area in the

country for patients acquiring them. Two specialist nurses have been

given an award from the British Journal of Nursing.

University officials in Manchester have launched an investigation

after students were accused of going on a drunken rampage on a

ferry sailing out of Dover. P&O said some of the 200 students on

board started fighting, damaged the ship and exposed themselves to

other passengers. The company barred them from the return journey.

Simon Jones is in Dover. How did it spiral out of control? There were

four coaches of students from two different universities in

Manchester are. P&O said many had been drinking heavily before they

got on board the ferry and when it set sail, a fight broke out between

rival students with bottles and glasses being broken. Paper set on

fire, some students began exposing themselves to other passengers. The

company says this was completely unacceptable. There were 1,500

people on the ship, very busy saving. People going on an Easter

break, holidays and things like that. But crews lost control of the

situation and other passengers, they were given safe havens in the

secure loans. Has there been any response from the universities

involved's Manchester Metropolitan University describe the behaviour

as appalling. The University of Manchester says it will work with

P&O to try to find out who was responsible. The students were

going over to Spain for a sporting games. They were not allowed back

on the ferry and had to come back by another means on Good Friday.

P&O say they want to get to the bottom of this. Thank you.

Our top story tonight. A gang of four burglars found guilty of

crushing a Sussex businessman to death after he interrupted them

when they ransacked property at his Sussex farm. Julian Gardner was

killed as he tried to protect his property near 20th October 10

Also in tonight's programme, when Tom met the Queen - we continue our

series of My Jubilee Photos. And why Sussex suffragette Muriel

Matters is still remembered by politicians across Australia.

The Spitfire is the ultimate symbol of the Battle of Britain. The

aircraft flown by those that Churchill dubbed "The Few". 70

years on, and there are only a handful left that can still fly.

During the war, three squadrons of Spitfires were based at RAF Biggin

Hill. 16 planes to a squadron, a total of 48 planes. None of those

aircraft are still in existence today. However, their importance

has never been forgotten and after a �3 million restoration project at

Biggin Hill, which has taken eight years to complete, a fully

airworthy Spitfire has taken to the skies over Kent again. Charlie Rose

It has a rotating thing here which puts it on to save. Or rotate to

fire. Every lever and dial and button. Rebuilding the spit fire

has been a painstaking process but for Peter Monk, it is a labour of

love. It was very much bent and broken. But there was a lot of the

aircraft there which we used as much as we possibly could. That

allowed us to use the identity which is the RAF serial number.

This is a very special aircraft, just one of three Marquand

Spitfires to have been restored to the point where it is a worthy

again. In his pristine state, it is hard to imagine it lying in a North

Yorkshire river bed having been Biggin Hill, serial number 97.

home could be more appropriate for it than Biggin Hill. It housed

Spitfire squadrons. It was one of the major stations defending London

from the German air force that were coming in daily and bombing the

airfield and latterly bombing London. You often scrambled five

times per day. One American business and scrambled to get his

hands on this important piece of British military history.

And he hasn't seen it yet was -- yet? No, he has seen pictures of it

as it progressed and he was very happy with it. He is very much

looking forward to coming later on in the year and flying the

aeroplane. The Marquand spit player returning to the skies 70 years on

from its finest hour. -- the Mark 1 The Queen has, of course, met an

awful lot of people in her lifetime but comparatively few have had the

chance to actually had the chance to have a proper conversation with

her over dinner. But Tom Mason is one of those few who have, in 1984,

when he was Mayor of Rochester, and the Queen was on an official visit

to the Medway Towns. For the latest in our "My Jubilee Photo" series,

This photograph was taken at lunch with Her Majesty the Queen at the

Corn Exchange in Rochester on 31st October, 1984. That was a fantastic

occasion. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think I would

sit between the Queen of England having lunch and Prince Philip on

the other side. She was commemorating a plaque in Rochester

High Street. It was crowded with people five deep on both sides. She

was relaxed and enjoying her lunch and was fantastic. She made me feel

quite relaxed. She was charming. Easy to speak to, very easy to

speak to. I felt very relaxed because she made me feel relaxed.

She asked me what I did and I said that I was running my own

hairdressing salon. I said I about the grass roots. She said, "that is

very nice, you will meet lots of people." I noticed her hands were

remarkably small and petite. She was absolutely charming. My lunch

with the Queen was obviously the highlight of my life, really. A

very memorable occasion and an We are creating an amazing work of

art to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and we want you to join in.

All you have to do is send us some photos, and we'll do the rest. They

don't have to be works of art themselves. Here are some of the

Here is Shaffiq Din with his family and some of the penguins at London

Zoo. And these are all enjoying themselves at the Somerset Day

Centre in Brighton. This was sent in by Don Kennard, one of the twins

in front, along with his brother, Warden, walking on Eastbourne Pier

in 1947 with their mum and dad, George and Doris, and older brother

John. And John Anton, professional juggler, in showbiz for 50 years in

June - along with his glamorous They will all be part of our photo-

mosaic of the Queen. When it's finished, the competed work will be

hung in the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne. Just go to the website

and follow the instructions to send us your shot. Do not send it to our

Onto the Easter weekend's sporting action, and it's been a remarkable

few days for fans of Crawley Town. It's now just 24 hours since the

shock news that manager Steve Evans had left the club. Now supporters

are digesting the news that former England and Manchester United star

Steve Coppell has become the club's Life is never dull for Crawley Town

supporters. The departure Steve Evans may have disappointed many

fans over the arrival of Steve Coppell, won a football's most

articulate ambassadors would have surprised many in Sussex but also

in the game itself. He was an outstanding player for Manchester

United and England before turning to management which included a

brief but impressive spell at Brighton. But he walked out of his

last job after just two games so why Crawley Town? He is part of the

story and we want him to be part of the next chapter. One closes and

another opens. He wanted to be part of that. He was impressed with what

we have done so far and wanted to be part of things to come. Steve

Coppell is used to play at Wembley and Old Trafford and this is very

different. Not surprisingly, supporters can hardly believe their

luck. Big name, puts us right up there with the big boys. We are

very happy with it. He can bring a lot of what he has learned in big

clubs and environment to our small team here so I think it is good

news. For the rest of the season, Steve Coppell will work alongside

Craig Brewster in charge of yesterday's game at Barnet which

began badly but ended very well thanks to second-half goals from

John Dempster with a flying header, Scott Davis with a slap it

fortuitous long-range shot and that made Steve Evans' apart --

departure even more curious. wish him all the best because he

has had a fantastic five years at the club and that is why the club

are where it is to do it. With just five games to go and promotion

beckoning, the end of the season, like the last one, could hardly be

-- Cheltenham could be heading up for promotion. Gillian failed to

capitalise and it leaves Gillian four points adrift of the top seven.

-- Gillingham. Brighton and Hove Albion could move

back into the Championship places tonight but it won't be easy. The

Albion have managed just one victory in their last five games

and come up against a Reading side in excellent form just three points

off the top of the table. The weather ruined the opening

rounds of the new British Superbikes Championship season at

Brands Hatch where only one race was possible and that was dominated

by a variety of incidents which included a spill for the South

East's reigning champion, Tommy Hill. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt

her. -- he wasn't hurt. An Australian politician has flown

to Hastings to discover more about a leading suffragette who lived in

the town. Muriel Matters, who came from Australia, once chained

herself to a grille in the House of Commons as part of the campaign for

votes for women. Now Frances Bedford, a member of the South

Australian Parliament, wants to meet people who knew Miss Matters.

Bjorn in Australia and died in Hastings, Muriel Matters was a

beacon of the suffragette movement. She could vote in her native

country and she wanted other women to have her same rights. A statue

has been erected in Adelaide and an Australian MP is offering a replica

that could be situated here. We had one and the place where she was

born so we think it would be lovely to have a memorial statue to her in

the place that she loved and lived in until her death. Muriel Matters

first saw Hastings in 1907 when she took part in a caravan tour within

the Women's Freedom League. She was the Labour candidate for Hastings

in the general election of 1924 and spent the last 20 years of her life

in the area. She died in St Leonards 1969. Arguably she will be

best remembered for chaining herself to railings in the House of

Commons before giving the House a speech. Following her momentous

debut in the Commons, Muriel commissioned an airship to

distribute suffragette literature and some years later, he explained

how it went in her own words. to say, we were blown off our

course and missed the house of Parliament and landed in the top

branches of a trade. Everything the suffragettes did have not worked up

to that point, and Muriel's big night closed it down. The offal of

a statue has only just been made. But this woman is determined to

make it happen -- the author of a statue.

Ian is live in Hastings now. How likely is it that the statue will

happen? The only recent it won't miss if the council say no. There

is no reason to think it will but certainly the real statue, the

original one, will be made and erected in Australia. The money for

that is guaranteed. The replica is a gift, it will not cost the people

of Hastings a penny and really my real matters has come to the fore

because the Australian centenary of It looks lovely and sunny there but

will it be like that for the rest I know we really need the rain but

there is an irony that it was grotty over the weekend but today

it changed. Heavy showers are due in the next few hours but after

that it will be clearing up with most temperatures rarely dropping.

As you can see, quite a few showers around in the early part of the

evening but once they have cleared, clear skies overnight and those

temperatures down to around three degrees at the lowest. It really is

looking rather chilly. Throughout tomorrow, the showers will come

back through the day but first off, just a cloudier picture and by

later on those showers could become heavier and even thundery in places.

In between any outbursts, we could see plenty of sunshine.

Temperatures getting up to around 11 degrees at the highest and it

should be less windy tomorrow during the day. By tomorrow night,

not quite as cold a picture. Those temperatures down to around five

degrees and it will be a little bit cloudier. There should not be any

frost which is a possibility tonight but, firstly, it will once

again beat the April showers making a comeback. Throughout most of the

UK, in fact, that is the picture. For us, the temperatures are not

quite as low. Up to around 13 degrees and certainly less wintry

for some northern part. But the next two days will really be a lot

of showers with the odd sign the interval. You can see here the

temperatures overnight dropping quite low -- the odd sunny interval.

Today it has been the best of this week's weather. The showers