:00:03. > :00:13.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Natalie Graham.
:00:13. > :00:13.
:00:13. > :00:18.Tonight's top stories. Hit a hit list of victims, a court
:00:18. > :00:21.hears how Hastings man plan to kill others. A baby at last, after nine
:00:21. > :00:25.miscarriages. The mother who says her heartache could have been
:00:25. > :00:28.avoided with a simple test on the NHS. We've been speaking to the new
:00:28. > :00:32.parents at their home in Sussex. Also in tonight's programme: The
:00:32. > :00:34.real bionic man, given the chance to walk again, after 19 years in a
:00:34. > :00:38.wheelchair. I can't stop smiling at everyone.
:00:38. > :00:41.It is excellent to be up. A superb piece of kit. A second chance for
:00:41. > :00:43.the short-haired bumble bee, declared extinct here more than a
:00:43. > :00:46.decade ago, now being reintroduced at Dungeness.
:00:46. > :00:56.And, they've made an exceedingly good little craft. A replica of
:00:56. > :01:08.
:01:08. > :01:12.Rudyard Kipling's favourite paddle Good evening.
:01:12. > :01:16.The jury at the trial of a Hastings man, accused of murdering a man
:01:16. > :01:19.he'd met for sex, has heard from two people it's alleged he was
:01:19. > :01:21.planning to kill, because he thought they were paedophiles.
:01:21. > :01:25.Christopher Hunnisett is accused of murdering Peter Bick, 57, in
:01:25. > :01:28.January last year. The prosecution say he'd made a hit list of others
:01:28. > :01:30.he was going to target. Our home affairs correspondent Colin
:01:30. > :01:33.Campbell reports from Lewes Crown Court.
:01:33. > :01:37.It described in court as a gay man who led a business sewers that love
:01:37. > :01:40.Star, Peter Bick was repeatedly beaten then strangled to death
:01:40. > :01:48.inside his Bexhill flat by Christopher Hunnisett 16 months ago.
:01:48. > :01:53.Today, have written evidence from two men was ridden -- was read out
:01:53. > :01:57.in court. Both went on tour website and thought they were communicating
:01:57. > :02:01.with an 18-year-old woman from Bexhill called Candy Girl. It was
:02:01. > :02:05.in fact Christopher Hunnisett. The prosecution claimed the 18-year-old
:02:05. > :02:11.had created a hit list of people who wanted to kill, who he thought
:02:11. > :02:21.by paedophiles. In an e-mail from the defendant on seven jaggery,
:02:21. > :02:35.
:02:35. > :02:45.The prosecution has already told the jury at Lewes Crown Court that
:02:45. > :02:55.the meeting did not go ahead and, the can't say that probably saved
:02:55. > :03:00.
:03:00. > :03:10.his life. The second man also cancelled.
:03:10. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:20.Christopher Honey said denies murder. -- Hunniseett.
:03:20. > :03:23.A Kent man, paralysed in a motorbike accident 19 years ago, is
:03:23. > :03:26.standing and walking again for the first time, thanks to pioneering
:03:26. > :03:30.technology known as a "bionic suit". Andrew Glenie, from Sissinghurst,
:03:30. > :03:32.is one of only three people in the UK trialling the new system. The
:03:32. > :03:36.battery-powered framework acts as an exo-skeleton, detecting impulses
:03:36. > :03:38.in his muscles, to allow him to move without a wheelchair for the
:03:38. > :03:44.first time since 1993. Lynda Hardy reports.
:03:44. > :03:50.With the help of this, Andrew sows being able to stand and walk again
:03:50. > :03:55.makes him feel excited about the future. I just can't stop smiling
:03:55. > :04:01.at everyone, it is excellent to be up. A superb piece of kit, it works
:04:01. > :04:07.really well. It makes you stand up straight. I
:04:07. > :04:15.am sitting down all the time, hunched over, aching all the time.
:04:15. > :04:20.It is nice to be up. The father Rod two has been
:04:20. > :04:25.paralysed and has had to use a wheelchair since 1993, after
:04:25. > :04:29.suffering a spinal cord injury, following a motorbike accident
:04:29. > :04:35.racing side cars. Developed in America, this new technology suit
:04:35. > :04:40.is being child in the UK, and he is one of three people being chosen to
:04:40. > :04:46.use it as part of his rehabilitation. Once fitted around
:04:46. > :04:53.the patient, the bionic equipment uses battery-powered motors. It has
:04:53. > :04:58.a series of joint which match the joints of the body. And sensors
:04:58. > :05:02.detect impulses from the body about how the user wants to move.
:05:02. > :05:08.Information is passed through to move equipment, and the person
:05:09. > :05:14.wearing it. You can put someone into this suit and to training, it
:05:14. > :05:20.is exciting for those people to be doing that, and there are
:05:20. > :05:25.physiological and psychological benefits for the patient. The suit
:05:25. > :05:28.currently costs �100,000 and, at the moment, it is only being used
:05:29. > :05:37.as part of physiotherapy. Developers are working on producing
:05:37. > :05:42.one that, in future, can be used at home.
:05:42. > :05:52.Coming up, a clampdown at foreign students at language schools could
:05:52. > :05:57.
:05:57. > :06:01.cost the economy more than �200 million. The family of a Kent
:06:01. > :06:04.businessman, who's been allowed out of a US jail on bail for the first
:06:04. > :06:06.time since February, say he's looking weary and frail, but
:06:06. > :06:09.they're grateful that he's finally been released.
:06:09. > :06:12.Speaking for the first time since his extradition to Texas to face
:06:12. > :06:15.arms dealing charges, Christopher Tappin said he was extremely
:06:15. > :06:18.relieved to be out of prison. Ellie Price has the details.
:06:18. > :06:25.Free for now. US prosecutors had said Christopher Tappin was a
:06:25. > :06:31.flight risk. But last night he was released in New Mexico. It was
:06:31. > :06:37.tolerable. I am thankful to the judge for granting the bail. I look
:06:37. > :06:44.forward to proving my case in court in the near future. Today, his son
:06:44. > :06:50.said his family were relieved to see him out of jail but they had to
:06:50. > :06:55.pay $50,000. I felt as if he looked a little bit frail. He looked tired,
:06:55. > :06:59.weary. The important thing is, having spent eight weeks in a
:06:59. > :07:03.federal prison thousands of miles from home, Extradition Act so far
:07:03. > :07:08.has already been a huge punishment for him and he hasn't been proven
:07:08. > :07:14.guilty of anything. Christopher Tappin is accused of selling
:07:14. > :07:18.batteries for use in Iranian missiles. The alleged offences took
:07:18. > :07:27.place in 2006. Christopher Tappin was arrested in 2010 and battled
:07:27. > :07:32.against etch Titian but his appeal was rejected. Today, friends said
:07:32. > :07:41.they were relieved he was out of jail. It was good to see him today,
:07:41. > :07:45.looking relaxed. He has been under a huge amount of stress for years.
:07:46. > :07:50.It was good to see him with a smile on his face. As part of his bail
:07:50. > :08:00.conditions, Christopher Tappin must stay in Texas. His family say they
:08:00. > :08:04.
:08:04. > :08:08.will fly out as soon as they can. Commuters are facing more problems
:08:08. > :08:10.on the railway tonight, with two sections of line closed in Kent and
:08:10. > :08:14.Sussex. The route between Robertsbridge and Hastings is
:08:14. > :08:17.closed again, after a tree fell on the line, just hours after it
:08:17. > :08:20.reopened. It follows a derailment in the area yesterday. Services are
:08:20. > :08:22.also suspended between Chelsfield and Orpington, because of a death
:08:22. > :08:25.on the track. An expert witness has told a court
:08:25. > :08:28.that footage of the Crawley and Horsham Hunt looked like
:08:28. > :08:31.traditional fox hunting. Four members of the hunt are
:08:31. > :08:34.accused of taking part in illegal fox hunting last year. In a police
:08:34. > :08:38.interview, one of them described hunt monitors as "self appointed
:08:38. > :08:41.vigilantes". Work on the new Bexhill to Hastings
:08:41. > :08:44.link road could start this summer. East Sussex County Council has
:08:44. > :08:47.given the go-ahead for an archaeological survey of the area,
:08:47. > :08:51.and the re-homing of wildlife to begin early. Councillors hope the
:08:51. > :08:58.new road, which was approved last month, will help to regenerate both
:08:58. > :09:02.towns. Language schools are warning that
:09:02. > :09:05.the south east's economy could lose �267 million a year, because of a
:09:05. > :09:08.government crackdown on student visas. They say new rules making it
:09:08. > :09:11.more expensive for students outside the EU to obtain visas, as well as
:09:11. > :09:16.requiring a higher standard of English to qualify, have already
:09:16. > :09:25.led to a significant drop in student numbers. Alex Beard is live
:09:25. > :09:29.in Brighton. Why has the government taken this action on student visas?
:09:30. > :09:34.And five there are two Maghreb reasons, the first is to clamp down
:09:34. > :09:38.on these or abuse. When the students come over with the
:09:38. > :09:44.intention of working or overstaying. And they want to drive down
:09:44. > :09:54.immigration statistics. Countries like US or Australia don't include
:09:54. > :10:01.
:10:01. > :10:04.international students in their statistics. But the UK does.
:10:04. > :10:07.This woman is studying economics and hopes to continue studying at
:10:07. > :10:09.university. Changes to long-term student visas are making it harder
:10:09. > :10:13.for international students to follow in these footsteps. Because
:10:13. > :10:18.they come from student requirements, they do not have the opportunity to
:10:18. > :10:21.come to the UK to study. If I was unable to come to the UK, I'd have
:10:21. > :10:24.tried the USA. The government crackdown on student visas has led
:10:24. > :10:27.to a reduction in applications. But, according to research, that could
:10:27. > :10:29.impact on the British economy. According to figures from English
:10:29. > :10:33.UK, foreign language students generate �122 million for the
:10:33. > :10:42.economy of Brighton and Hove each year. Across Sussex, the figure is
:10:42. > :10:46.�74.6 million. It contributes across Kent �67.2 million. It is
:10:46. > :10:50.not just academic institutions, it is the living costs. They have to
:10:50. > :11:00.live and eat, and they spend money on all of the things that young
:11:00. > :11:02.
:11:02. > :11:05.students spend money on. But not all languages Gauls are reputable,
:11:05. > :11:11.and one BBC investigation discovered this bogus language
:11:11. > :11:20.school in Brighton. Situations like these are what the government wants
:11:20. > :11:25.to clamp down on. If we let people come, without restrictions, we
:11:25. > :11:29.wouldn't hit our targets. Which is why we're bringing in restrictions.
:11:29. > :11:36.Language schools say the visa reforms are turning away good
:11:36. > :11:39.business at a time of recession. According to statistics, 97% of all
:11:39. > :11:46.international students in the UK return home to find employment. The
:11:46. > :11:49.worry is that few are will be coming in the first place.
:11:50. > :11:54.Our top story. The jury at the trial of a Hastings
:11:54. > :11:57.man accused of murdering a man he had met for sex, has heard from two
:11:57. > :12:04.people it is alleged he was also planning to kill because he
:12:04. > :12:11.believed they were paedophiles. He is accused of murdering Peter Bick
:12:11. > :12:16.index fell last year. Also tonight, at a novel idea,
:12:16. > :12:26.recreating Rudyard Kipling's favourite paddle boat.
:12:26. > :12:33.
:12:33. > :12:36.Today is a day or blustery showers. Expect a flurry of leaflets through
:12:36. > :12:40.your letterbox, and warn your babies to expect to be kissed.
:12:40. > :12:43.Candidates are pushing for our votes in the local elections a week
:12:43. > :12:46.today. This is the current picture in the south east, with the
:12:46. > :12:50.Conservatives controlling all but five of our local councils. Turnout
:12:50. > :12:53.last year was just over 44%. But is that because many voters just don't
:12:53. > :12:57.understand what their local council provides? It can vary from place to
:12:57. > :12:59.place. But they all provide a range of services, such as collecting
:12:59. > :13:07.your bins, looking after parks and recreation areas and running
:13:07. > :13:10.council car parks. Although local elections should be
:13:10. > :13:13.seen by all of us as local elections, because it really does
:13:13. > :13:17.matter, everything you need as other front door is controlled by
:13:17. > :13:20.the council, you need that to be good. In the end, inevitably, we
:13:20. > :13:24.all see these election results as a barometer of what's going on in
:13:24. > :13:27.national politics. So they matter nationally and locally.
:13:27. > :13:32.Five councils will be holding elections next week here in the
:13:32. > :13:38.south east. In Labour-run Hastings, half the seats are up for grabs. In
:13:38. > :13:42.Conservative-run Tunbridge Wells, it's a third of the seats. Which is
:13:42. > :13:45.also the case in Maidstone, in Tandridge and also in Crawley We've
:13:45. > :13:49.asked three voters for a personal view of what matters most as they
:13:49. > :13:53.prepare to go to the polls. I have multiple sclerosis. I'd like
:13:53. > :13:58.them to do more locally for the disabled. I go to a therapy centre
:13:58. > :14:03.every single week. I have been going for 15 years. We get no
:14:03. > :14:13.funding. It's disappointing. We have to do an awful lot of fund
:14:13. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:25.raising ourselves. But we're going I know services are being cut back
:14:25. > :14:31.her to they can't all be cut back. I would like to see the money spent
:14:31. > :14:40.in a different way. More sport for the youth. More places for us to go
:14:40. > :14:43.because I know a few of them, people my age, sit outside. Just
:14:44. > :14:48.somewhere we can hang out, talk to each other and stuff like that. I
:14:48. > :14:58.have applied for countless amounts of jobs and nobody has come back to
:14:58. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:09.me. Years ago we were 90% paying building is in need of dire repair.
:15:09. > :15:13.What we need is a leg up. We need some grants to be able to do the
:15:13. > :15:20.place up, we need some grants to be able to repair the place and to
:15:20. > :15:26.make it look nicer. To just help run the building. It is somewhere
:15:26. > :15:35.where local people can meet. It is an important place. I don't expect
:15:35. > :15:37.it to be 90% granted again. I would like it to be assisted.
:15:37. > :15:41.That was Peter Shoesmith in Hastings and our political editor
:15:41. > :15:43.Louise Stewart is live there for us. Louise, as we have heard, these
:15:43. > :15:46.elections are important both locally and nationally. What will
:15:46. > :15:52.the parties be hoping to achieve? Here in Hastings this is a key
:15:52. > :15:55.target for Labour. It is only two Labour-led councils and the South
:15:55. > :15:59.the so they will want to increase their majority. Another target for
:15:59. > :16:02.them is Crawley. They have to so they are paying their
:16:02. > :16:10.representation to show they are on track for victory in the next
:16:10. > :16:14.election. I don't expect many councils to change hands. As for
:16:14. > :16:18.the Lib-Dems, they had a torrid time at the last local elections.
:16:18. > :16:22.They will be hoping to minimise their losses. Perhaps rather
:16:22. > :16:27.embarrassingly for them, they have not fielded a candidate in Crawley
:16:27. > :16:32.because they say they did not get their forms in at times. Looking at
:16:32. > :16:36.the smaller parties, they will be hoping to make a gaze at the
:16:36. > :16:40.expense of the larger parties, building in on that dissatisfaction
:16:40. > :16:42.at a national level. If you like to find out more you
:16:42. > :16:44.can read our political editor's blog and there is lots more
:16:44. > :16:47.information and our websites - bbc.co.uk/kent, sussex or
:16:47. > :16:55.surrey.$$NEWLINE They are crucial to pollinating crops and flowers
:16:55. > :16:57.Past 60 years Britain's bumblebee population has dropped alarmingly.
:16:57. > :17:05.Some have disappeared altogether such as the short-haired bumblebee
:17:05. > :17:11.last spotted near Dungeness in 1988. It was officially declared extinct
:17:11. > :17:14.in the UK in 2000. An attempt to import a colony from New Zealand
:17:14. > :17:17.has failed, as reported in 2009, when the bees did not survive
:17:17. > :17:27.hibernation and died in quarantine. Experts are preparing to try again,
:17:27. > :17:30.this time bringing in bumblebees from Sweden.
:17:30. > :17:34.Hunting for bumble bees on wild flowers at Dungeness. What that
:17:34. > :17:38.bees don't realise is that they are gathering food in the form of
:17:38. > :17:43.pollen which will be vital for the survival of some new extremely rare
:17:43. > :17:49.arrivals. What we're going to do is pick off our pollen loads with his
:17:49. > :17:54.cocktail stick. We will put it into our pollen tube. The experts need
:17:55. > :17:59.to fill the pot to be able to feed up to 100 Queen short-haired bumble
:17:59. > :18:03.bees later they are going to collect in Sweden. The pollen will
:18:03. > :18:07.be just enough for two weeks' quarantine when they get here.
:18:07. > :18:11.need to collect it off a similar species to the one we are
:18:11. > :18:19.reintroducing because they collect the same Pollen type. When the bees
:18:19. > :18:22.collect it, they will put it in their hide -- hind legs. The short-
:18:22. > :18:26.haired bumblebee is proving a tricky species to reintroduce and
:18:26. > :18:30.attempts to bring them over from New Zealand in 2010 was
:18:30. > :18:35.unsuccessful. It has allowed more time to prepare the nature reserve
:18:35. > :18:39.for their rival. The cows are fundamental in getting the grasses
:18:39. > :18:42.into their condition the bees like. The heat out of the grass and it
:18:43. > :18:48.opens the grass so what lesser things like clovers and other wild
:18:48. > :18:55.flowers to come through so bees at dependent on them. Loss of our wild
:18:55. > :19:03.flower meadows is some up -- one of the main reason why we are losing
:19:04. > :19:08.lobbies. They can pollinate a great variety of our wild flowers. It is
:19:08. > :19:13.really important to highlight the plight of our bumblebees. A plan is
:19:13. > :19:20.for the imported these to be released in a month's time. --
:19:20. > :19:25.imported bees. Street parties will be taking place
:19:25. > :19:30.in June to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. For one woman, the street
:19:30. > :19:36.party will bring back some happy childhood memories. She treasures a
:19:36. > :19:43.family photo from our party and Ramsgate in 1953. This is her story.
:19:43. > :19:47.My photo was taken on the 1st June 1953 for an hour street party. It
:19:47. > :19:53.was in Alexandra Road in Ramsgate. I am standing in front of our house
:19:53. > :19:58.right at the front with my mum and my sister. Underneath the flags and
:19:58. > :20:08.a shield, I remember sitting there with my plate and my spoon ready to
:20:08. > :20:09.
:20:09. > :20:13.eat the jelly! I also remember having to have read curlers in my
:20:13. > :20:19.head the night before so I looked stunning! This was the first time
:20:19. > :20:24.they had ever been a huge party in our street. We had never had
:20:24. > :20:27.anything like that before. I remember my mum had a Union Jack as
:20:27. > :20:33.Pinney four, she was one of the ladies on the committee that a
:20:33. > :20:39.range of the party. The whole street was absolutely covered in
:20:39. > :20:45.criss-cross stunting flags and most of the houses had flax or other
:20:45. > :20:50.bunting in the windows. My photo a special, it is nice to have a photo
:20:50. > :20:57.of the three girls together. It was at the time of the Coronation. It
:20:57. > :21:01.is very special to me. They had a great day. But as her jubilee photo
:21:01. > :21:05.story. We are celebrating the Queen's diamond jubilee by creating
:21:05. > :21:10.a huge photo mosaic of her Majesty. It will be displayed in Eastbourne
:21:10. > :21:16.and will be made of pictures of you. Here are some viewers who have sent
:21:17. > :21:24.theirs in the Star we sent hours end. We think it is great to have
:21:24. > :21:28.are picked in the mosaic. It is there to go and see whenever.
:21:28. > :21:36.have not been very well lately and it will really cheer me up to see
:21:36. > :21:40.it. I sent in a photograph of my civil partner and myself. We want
:21:40. > :21:47.to be a little part of history. This mosaic will be here long after
:21:47. > :21:57.we had gone. Him take out your favourite photo and send it in.
:21:57. > :22:01.
:22:01. > :22:05.will have to log on to one of our Italy's easy. The Brighton and Hove
:22:05. > :22:15.Albion boss say their decision to allow the annex stadium proves the
:22:15. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:22.club is building for the future. 8,000 seats will be added.
:22:22. > :22:26.You sell all your season ticket so then you have the waiting list and
:22:26. > :22:36.they knew a great gains in great supporter and people waiting to
:22:36. > :22:40.
:22:40. > :22:49.come. I am delighted that the decision went our way. There's been
:22:49. > :22:54.quite a lot of sunshine around. It has been a day of sunshine a
:22:54. > :22:57.blustery showers. In parts of West Sussex and we saw three-quarters of
:22:57. > :23:01.the rain falling just one day but normally we would be expecting for
:23:02. > :23:06.all of April. Blustery showers today but they have been easing
:23:06. > :23:10.through the afternoon and through tonight, is a beast they mostly dry
:23:11. > :23:17.with scattered showers through the afternoon. It will be staying
:23:17. > :23:22.breezy but those wins noticeably easing off from today. We have a
:23:22. > :23:32.deep area of low pressure. We have had these blustery showers,
:23:32. > :23:36.
:23:36. > :23:43.increasingly bright in the Gusts are stronger and sent him as
:23:43. > :23:50.ballot. Temperatures not feeling too bad. Heysel 14 degrees. Those
:23:50. > :23:54.showers continued to fade away as we go through tonight. Cloud
:23:54. > :24:02.feeding and by dawn. It is going to be very mild for this time of year.
:24:02. > :24:06.Temperatures not dropping below double figures. A cloudy and a mile
:24:06. > :24:12.start to the day tomorrow. It will be mostly dry picture through the
:24:13. > :24:20.morning. We will start to see the scattered showers. As you can see,
:24:20. > :24:23.the wind is easing off. From a south-westerly direction, 15-20 mph.
:24:23. > :24:28.Decent spells of sunshine and where we will see the showers, they will
:24:28. > :24:34.be lighter and shorter than we have seen today. Highs of 13 or 14
:24:34. > :24:40.degrees Celsius. Those lighter winds makes it feel like a pleasant
:24:40. > :24:43.day. As we go through tomorrow night, and mostly dry picture and
:24:43. > :24:47.we will see some sunshine on the south coast by the morning.
:24:47. > :24:53.Temperatures a little bit cooler than they have been of late.
:24:53. > :24:57.Relatively mild. As we had to was the weekend, will be staying in
:24:57. > :25:02.this unsettled theme. Initially for Saturday we start out try but we
:25:02. > :25:08.have another area of low pressure moving up. This band of rain
:25:08. > :25:12.spreading north West would. It will be heavy at time with temperatures
:25:12. > :25:15.in the mid-teens but it will feel noticeably cooler than that. As we
:25:15. > :25:21.had to was Sunday, we have gale- force winds are coming from an
:25:22. > :25:28.easterly direction. Heavy rain again at times, drying-up it is
:25:28. > :25:35.staffed bys in the afternoon. As a head into Tuesday, lots of rain.
:25:35. > :25:38.Some places state dry for tomorrow. Some light and scattered showers
:25:38. > :25:43.increasingly unsettled as we head into the weekend. Very wet and
:25:43. > :25:53.windy as we head into the new week. For Monday and Tuesday, more rain
:25:53. > :25:53.
:25:53. > :25:58.We have had some technical problems to my supplies tune in at 10:25pm
:25:58. > :26:03.for the story of the Sussex mother who had a healthy baby daughter
:26:03. > :26:08.after nine miscarriages. We will bring you stories of Rudyard
:26:08. > :26:12.Kipling's boat. If Rupert Murdoch has blamed a
:26:12. > :26:16.cover-up of the News of the World for his failure to take early
:26:16. > :26:19.action over the phone hacking scandal. The jury at the trial of
:26:19. > :26:23.the Hastings man accused of murdering a man he had met for sex
:26:23. > :26:26.has heard from two others. It is alleged he was applying to kill
:26:26. > :26:31.them because he believed that they were paedophiles.