:00:03. > :00:06.Welcome to South East Today. I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Polly Evans.
:00:06. > :00:16.Tonight's top stories: The Sussex grandfather who's set to
:00:16. > :00:17.
:00:17. > :00:27.become the oldest person in the UK to have a sex change on the NHS.
:00:27. > :00:27.
:00:27. > :00:33.4th if I have a feeling that I was rank being a man and that my true
:00:33. > :00:35.self- is as a woman. Signs that our crucial ground water
:00:35. > :00:38.supplies are recovering after the April deluge.
:00:38. > :00:40.Also in tonight's programme: 160 more police officers are to be
:00:40. > :00:50.issued with Tasers in Sussex. A very special delivery for the
:00:50. > :00:53.Kent mum who gave birth to a 13- and-a-half pound baby boy. And we
:00:53. > :01:03.hear from the renowned Nairobi Chamber Chorus as they rehearsed in
:01:03. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :01:10.Kent for a one-off Royal Good evening. A 78-year-old
:01:10. > :01:13.grandfather from Sussex is set to become the oldest person in the UK
:01:13. > :01:17.to undergo a sex change operation on the NHS. Born as James Rose,
:01:17. > :01:20.Ruth Rose has been living as a woman for the last six years. By
:01:20. > :01:23.the time the procedure is performed next year, she will be 80. However,
:01:23. > :01:33.some patient groups have criticised the operation on someone of that
:01:33. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:47.age, saying the money could be Ruth Drenthe about being a woman
:01:47. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :01:52.from the age of nine. It wasn't until her fifties that she started
:01:52. > :01:59.dressing as a woman and then six years ago she said goodbye to James
:01:59. > :02:09.for ever. I felt I was wrong been a man and my true self as the
:02:09. > :02:13.feminine side of me. Last month, the NHS preliminary agreed she
:02:13. > :02:19.could have a gender reassignment. By the time she has the operation
:02:19. > :02:24.she will be 80. So people are saying it should not be paid for on
:02:24. > :02:30.the NHS, it is a lot of money. have an empathy for that feeling,
:02:30. > :02:36.but there are people who over eat against that Dr's advice. There are
:02:36. > :02:40.people who have as much and cannot give up smoking. There are many
:02:40. > :02:47.other aberrations against the NHS, which I might consider worse as
:02:47. > :02:50.mine. But with the NHS strapped for cash, some would argue that when
:02:50. > :02:56.balancing the improvement in quality of life, with the money it
:02:56. > :03:06.would cost, it is not worth paying for the surgery. In a statement,
:03:06. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:21.Gender identity disorder is recognised as a medical condition.
:03:22. > :03:26.Money has been set aside for people with this condition. In Ruth's case
:03:26. > :03:30.it has come rather late in her life. But she says the operation will
:03:30. > :03:38.still be worthwhile. We are not freaks, we are just people and we
:03:38. > :03:42.are doing something that for us, is necessary. It is not a fetish. We
:03:43. > :03:48.are hoping to live normal lives as normal people and be accepted as
:03:48. > :03:51.such. She hopes to have the operation at the Charing Cross
:03:51. > :03:54.hospital in October next year. Well, that was our reporter Fiona
:03:54. > :03:57.Irving, who is in Brighton outside the offices of the primary care
:03:57. > :04:04.trust which is paying for the surgery. Fiona, how long has gender
:04:04. > :04:10.reassignment been available on the NHS? It has been available since
:04:10. > :04:13.the 1960s, but it is only since a ground-breaking trial in 1999 that
:04:13. > :04:23.each Primary Care Trust has to consider each case on its
:04:23. > :04:24.
:04:24. > :04:34.individual merits. It can cost �14,000 for the operation, there is
:04:34. > :04:40.a robust procedure of diagnosis before the operation is carried out
:04:40. > :04:43.and they say they cannot discriminate on the basis of age.
:04:43. > :04:46.As the Environment Minister has warned that the threat of
:04:46. > :04:49.standpipes in the streets is still very real if we have another dry
:04:49. > :04:51.winter, there are signs that water from one of the wettest Aprils on
:04:51. > :04:54.record is starting to top up our underground supplies.
:04:54. > :04:57.The drought was officially declared in December last year. In March,
:04:57. > :05:00.Southern Water was allowed to start taking water from the Medway in an
:05:00. > :05:02.effort to top up the reservoir at Bewl water.
:05:02. > :05:04.And now the levels in our underground aquifers are still at
:05:04. > :05:11.exceptionally low levels, but as our Environment Correspondent
:05:11. > :05:15.Yvette Austin reports, they have now started to rise. One of the
:05:15. > :05:22.wettest April's on record. The downpours of the past few weeks the
:05:22. > :05:27.stark contrast to the past two years of dry weather. Our
:05:28. > :05:37.reservoirs were left at record low levels. But today it emerges there
:05:37. > :05:42.are some areas that are recovering. You can see a sudden increase in
:05:42. > :05:52.groundwater levels to where it would be normal for this time of
:05:52. > :05:54.
:05:54. > :05:58.year. But if you look here, we are still in to be exceptionally -- in
:05:58. > :06:05.the exceptionally low at area. Reservoirs are starting to look
:06:05. > :06:10.healthy as well. Back in February, this was a boy should have been
:06:10. > :06:15.virtually four. Now it stands at 60 %. Southern Water had been allowed
:06:15. > :06:21.to pump from the River Medway to get it there. Meanwhile, this river
:06:21. > :06:31.was flowing under the bridge at the rate of 125 litres a second. By
:06:31. > :06:32.
:06:32. > :06:37.this Monday, that had increased to 1680. But this relief from the drum
:06:37. > :06:42.may be temporary. A month ago the water levels were lower and it is
:06:42. > :06:46.much higher now because of all of the heavy rain, but there is not
:06:46. > :06:54.enough water to replenish the ground water levels that will help
:06:54. > :06:58.to feed the river. The Environment Agency says we need two more months
:06:58. > :07:04.like a poor to get us out of the danger zone and the water companies
:07:04. > :07:07.say we need a wet autumn and winter. They are not ruling out standpipes
:07:07. > :07:11.next year, neither is the Environment Secretary. It is
:07:11. > :07:15.difficult to tell whether we will have the wet winter we need, but
:07:15. > :07:20.where as it is unlikely we will have standpipes this year, if we
:07:20. > :07:26.have another dried winter, that becomes more likely. But for now,
:07:26. > :07:29.it is enough to warn that we are in a drought and must be careful with
:07:29. > :07:33.a water. And you can see how the South East
:07:33. > :07:41.is coping with the drought and how it plans to cope with future dry
:07:41. > :07:46.winters on Drought 2012: An Inside Out Special. Coming upon a
:07:46. > :07:51.programme - how a win now and wildlife photographer is passing on
:07:51. > :07:53.his knowledge to the next generation.
:07:53. > :07:56.They courted controversy when police started using them ten years
:07:56. > :08:00.ago, but now the Sussex force is training more officers to use Taser
:08:00. > :08:02.stun guns. Their use is also being extended beyond specialist firearms
:08:02. > :08:12.officers so neighbourhood response teams can use them if someone
:08:12. > :08:27.
:08:27. > :08:35.It administers 60,000 volts of electricity. It is about improving
:08:35. > :08:45.our service to the public and responding more efficiently to
:08:45. > :08:49.
:08:49. > :08:56.incidents of violence. We feel that Taser offers us that. From October
:08:56. > :09:03.0160 response team officers baulk use their guns. Concerns have been
:09:03. > :09:07.raised. It is an alternative to a gun, but I don't want us to have an
:09:07. > :09:11.increasingly armed police force. My big concern it will affect the
:09:11. > :09:17.relationship between the police and the public, and for the worse.
:09:17. > :09:22.Sussex Police say all officers will receive training and be selected
:09:22. > :09:26.officers only represent 6% of the workforce. But what do the people
:09:26. > :09:31.of Sussex then? For violent criminals, yes. But they use them
:09:31. > :09:39.for people who are not violent. Probably a good thing. They do a
:09:39. > :09:42.dangerous job. I would rather they did not. I'd rather they used
:09:42. > :09:49.persuasive conversation because they always have done in the past.
:09:49. > :09:55.How many Tasers are issued and how many officers will use them is a
:09:55. > :09:59.debate that will continue for some time. Alex is in Hastings at the
:09:59. > :10:08.moment. How frequently are they use?
:10:08. > :10:17.Last year, up officers were authorised to use them on 205
:10:17. > :10:24.occasions. They had previously refused to increase the number of
:10:24. > :10:28.offices using them, but they have decided to do it now because of the
:10:28. > :10:30.increase in violent crime. A former Kent Council leader has
:10:30. > :10:33.been charged with fraud. Sandy Ezekiel, the former leader of
:10:33. > :10:36.Thanet District Council, is accused with another man of fraud and and
:10:36. > :10:39.misconduct in a public office. It's alleged one of the men improperly
:10:39. > :10:40.used privileged council information in relation to the purchase of two
:10:40. > :10:43.properties. The husband of an Ashford
:10:43. > :10:46.hairdresser stabbed to death in her salon, has been remanded in custody.
:10:46. > :10:49.33-year-old Natalie Esack died on Monday. 38-year-old Ivan Esack, who
:10:49. > :10:54.is a former officer for Kent Police, was charged last night with her
:10:54. > :11:01.murder. A 22-year-old man has been arrested
:11:01. > :11:04.on suspicion of being involved in a fatal stabbing at Brighton flat. A
:11:04. > :11:07.21-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been
:11:07. > :11:10.released on police bail. Police were called to the flat in Norfolk
:11:10. > :11:15.Square on Sunday evening where 40- year-old Jeffrey Burrows was found
:11:15. > :11:18.with fatal wounds. Police don't believe it was a random attack.
:11:18. > :11:22.A Hastings man accused of murder has told a court he was prepared to
:11:23. > :11:26.kill again. Christopher Hunnisett accepts killing 57-year-old Peter
:11:26. > :11:29.Bick in Bexhill because he believed he was a paedophile. The 28-year
:11:29. > :11:34.old told a jury at Lewes Crown Court today that everything he did
:11:34. > :11:44.was to stop sex offenders hurting people. The prosecution say there
:11:44. > :11:47.is no evidence that Peter Bick was a paedophile. Christopher Hunnisett
:11:47. > :11:52.admits seeking medical help after having thought of wanting to kill
:11:52. > :12:02.or her people. He claims no-one seemed concerned. It happened
:12:02. > :12:06.
:12:06. > :12:12.whilst he was serving a life sentence for the murder of a priest.
:12:12. > :12:16.Christopher Hunnisett admits bludgeoning Peter Bick. He tried to
:12:16. > :12:26.interrogate him, believing he was a paedophile. He also claimed that
:12:26. > :12:35.the 157 year-old had -- the 57- year-old had agreed to have sex
:12:35. > :12:43.with a 15-year-old boy. The prosecution say it Peter Bick never
:12:43. > :12:51.sent the replied text message. In court the prosecution said that
:12:51. > :12:58.Christopher had sent the text to lay a false trail. Christopher
:12:58. > :13:02.Hunnisett accepts manslaughter due to diminish responsibilities. The
:13:02. > :13:08.prosecution said there is no evidence that Peter Bick was a
:13:08. > :13:12.paedophile. Our top story tonight - patient
:13:12. > :13:18.groups have criticised the NHS for agreeing to perform a sex change
:13:18. > :13:24.operation on a 78-year-old grandfather. James Rose, who is now
:13:24. > :13:29.known as Ruth, would be the oldest person in the UK to have gender
:13:30. > :13:37.reassignment on the NHS. Also a special delivery for the Ken mother
:13:37. > :13:42.who gave birth to a 13 and a half pound baby boy. And after the
:13:42. > :13:45.wettest April on record, will it be staying dry for May? Join me later
:13:45. > :13:48.to find out. Everyone from postcard
:13:48. > :13:50.manufacturers to brewers are gearing up to make money from the
:13:50. > :13:53.Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations this summer. Despite
:13:53. > :13:56.the fact that the additional Bank Holiday last summer for the Royal
:13:56. > :13:58.Wedding apparently damaged the UK economy, experts say growth fell by
:13:58. > :14:04.0.5% because of the event, businesses across the South East
:14:04. > :14:14.expect to do well from the celebrations this summer. Our
:14:14. > :14:15.
:14:15. > :14:21.Business Correspondent Mark Norman Grabbing a business opportunity is
:14:21. > :14:28.second nature at this factory. They produce postcards and souvenirs.
:14:28. > :14:33.The Jubilee is the latest in a very busy 12 months. The royal wedding
:14:33. > :14:43.last year represented 15 % of our business. This year, the Diamond
:14:43. > :14:44.
:14:44. > :14:51.Jubilee is different, but I am looking at about 10 %.
:14:51. > :14:55.Traditionally, beers have been bring to celebrate were occasions.
:14:55. > :15:05.We wanted to celebrate an important event. It has only happened three
:15:05. > :15:09.times in European history. There is an economic argument behind it
:15:09. > :15:15.because this year has gone from a standing start to have been in the
:15:15. > :15:21.top six but we sail. However, last year's were wedding lead to a drop
:15:22. > :15:31.in output. This investment has been undertaken and would not have been
:15:32. > :15:33.
:15:33. > :15:41.done otherwise if it wasn't for the Jubilee. It is only one day, but it
:15:41. > :15:51.is a stimulus in itself and will outweigh the fact that people have
:15:51. > :15:54.
:15:54. > :16:00.not be working. We the improvement in business for cast and a Bank
:16:00. > :16:04.Holiday, it cannot be bad. -- with the.
:16:04. > :16:06.He's spent much of his life chasing some of the world's most impressive
:16:06. > :16:09.and ferocious animals. Now a top wildlife photographer from Kent has
:16:09. > :16:12.decided to share his his passion and experience of big cats with
:16:12. > :16:22.children. Steve Bloom's Big Cats Journal is designed to to inspire
:16:22. > :16:26.the next generation. Charlie Rose has been to meet him.
:16:26. > :16:33.On the trail of the big cats. These menacing creatures stir the
:16:34. > :16:37.passions of what lies photographers -- of wildlife photographer Steve
:16:37. > :16:44.Bloom and there is little he will not do to get the perfect shot.
:16:44. > :16:48.have to react quickly. Your reflexes have to be fast. An animal
:16:48. > :16:57.can be placid and then there will be a sudden movement and you have
:16:57. > :17:01.to be so quick to capture it. You cannot afford to sleep on the job.
:17:01. > :17:07.The it is all part of his latest book for children - Big Cats
:17:07. > :17:12.Journal, where he gives readers a peek into how to get the best from
:17:12. > :17:19.wild animals. You need to treat them with respect. You cannot go in
:17:19. > :17:24.there and be bolshy and dominant. You have to give them the space.
:17:24. > :17:34.You have to use some body language which is submissive in the sense
:17:34. > :17:34.
:17:34. > :17:44.that you must let the animals know you are not a threat. That has held
:17:44. > :17:54.Steve Bloom to capture some amazing pictures. Can you tell me how you
:17:54. > :18:01.
:18:01. > :18:11.have taken these phenomenal pictures? Well, leopards are really
:18:11. > :18:15.
:18:16. > :18:22.hard to photograph because they do not want you to see them. Steve
:18:22. > :18:25.Bloom's next project will be at the other end of the scale when he goes
:18:25. > :18:30.into the Arctic. GB's women enjoyed a victorious
:18:30. > :18:32.start to the Olympic hockey test event this afternoon. The team,
:18:32. > :18:35.including Ashleigh Ball from Brighton and Canterbury player
:18:35. > :18:38.Natalie Seymour, beat Korea 1-0, thanks to an excellent strike from
:18:38. > :18:48.Alex Danson. It's the first time a competitive match has been played
:18:48. > :18:57.
:18:57. > :19:00.on the new blue and pink pitch. She was two weeks overdue and was
:19:00. > :19:02.expecting a large baby, but nothing could have prepared Abby Burt from
:19:02. > :19:06.Minster for the reality that her second child ended up weighing
:19:06. > :19:08.twice as much as her first. Baby Jack is just a week old, but is
:19:08. > :19:11.already wearing clothes large enough for a three-month-old baby.
:19:11. > :19:17.Peter Whittlesea went to meet him. When it comes to bonny babies, and
:19:17. > :19:22.Jack takes some beating. His birth weight was a whopping �13, five and
:19:22. > :19:28.a half ounces. It is no wonder his mother was advised that a Caesarean.
:19:28. > :19:33.The Labour would not progress naturally, so I think it was a good
:19:33. > :19:39.thing really, that we did not get to an emergency situation. It was
:19:39. > :19:45.advised to just have the Caesarean. And how is he now? He is great. He
:19:45. > :19:51.is our little bundle, or a would big bundle. He has just increased
:19:51. > :19:58.from four ounces every ft 25, which has a lot for a newborn baby. Jack
:19:58. > :20:08.was born on St George's Day. He measures nearly 23 inches. In Baby
:20:08. > :20:09.
:20:09. > :20:16.terms, he is Super sized. normal-sized baby, nine months old.
:20:16. > :20:22.This is what Jack has been in. We have been given a lot of close from
:20:22. > :20:27.a friends, but we cannot use them. We also have to use bigger nappies.
:20:27. > :20:37.Jack may be big, but he is way off the biggest. The heavies baby was
:20:37. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:57.born in Canada in 1879, weighing �23. -- weighing �23 macro. -- 23
:20:57. > :21:00.They've come all the way from Kenya and are on their way to Windsor
:21:00. > :21:03.Castle, but tonight the marvellous Nairobi Chamber Chorus are in
:21:03. > :21:06.Tunbridge Wells. The singers are drawn from all sorts of backgrounds
:21:06. > :21:08.and tribal roots, but they come together to make a wonderful sound.
:21:08. > :21:11.Tomorrow, they will be engaging with hundreds of children in a
:21:11. > :21:14.workshop ahead of a one-off concert at Salomons, near Southborough. As
:21:14. > :21:16.Robin Gibson reports, for some, it's the first time they've been
:21:16. > :21:20.outside Kenya. Strangers in a strange country. Heathrow was left
:21:20. > :21:30.with a warmth memorable blow at the arrival of the night -- Nairobi
:21:30. > :21:33.
:21:33. > :21:43.Chamber Chorus this morning. First reaction? It is too cold. Even the
:21:43. > :21:52.
:21:52. > :21:58.warm-up is a bit of an experience, Is there a special feeling in this
:21:58. > :22:08.Corus? I believe there is. We put our best for forward each and every
:22:08. > :22:09.
:22:09. > :22:14.time. -- best foot forward. Next week, they will be performing for
:22:14. > :22:17.the Queen at Windsor Castle, but the conductor's father-in-law asked
:22:17. > :22:24.the chorus to stop off in Tunbridge Wells to work with 500
:22:24. > :22:28.schoolchildren ahead of a concert tomorrow night. I just wanted him
:22:28. > :22:34.to share what I knew his choir could do with some of the children
:22:34. > :22:39.over here. There should be 14 it schools which will deliver 500
:22:39. > :22:45.children and I am sure they will enjoy it singing with the Nairobi
:22:45. > :22:50.Chamber Chorus. They are from all over the country, but they live in
:22:50. > :22:54.Nairobi. Three-quarters of them I University students. They represent
:22:54. > :22:58.about 15 different tribes of Kenya. It is a sound that crosses and
:22:58. > :23:07.unite many different cultures. Strangers they may be, but they
:23:08. > :23:14.will leave here having made many friends. Robin, they have got a
:23:14. > :23:20.fantastic sound, haven't they? certainly have and there are no
:23:21. > :23:26.electronic gizmos. What you see is what you get. It is the voice of
:23:26. > :23:36.Kenya's got talent. But don't listen to me. Here is the Nairobi
:23:36. > :23:58.
:23:58. > :24:03.The Queen is in for a treat. Yes, and we are celebrating the diamond
:24:03. > :24:13.jubilee by creating a mosaic. It will be on display in Bournemouth.
:24:13. > :24:14.
:24:14. > :24:21.It will be made a from pictures of you lot. We think it is great to
:24:21. > :24:25.have a word picture in the mosaic. But for posterity. I submitted a
:24:25. > :24:31.photograph of me and my cat Lilley because I have not been well lately
:24:31. > :24:35.and it will cheer me up. I sent in a photograph of my civil partner
:24:36. > :24:40.and myself because we are strong royalists and we wanted to be a
:24:41. > :24:45.part of history. This mosaic will be here long after we have gone.
:24:45. > :24:55.you want to be part of history, dig out a photograph of two and send it
:24:55. > :24:58.
:24:58. > :25:02.to us. -- a photograph or two. And if you do not have a computer at
:25:02. > :25:07.home, you can take it to the library where they can scan it and
:25:07. > :25:16.send it to us. Do check with your library beforehand to make sure
:25:16. > :25:21.they are part of the scheme. And now for the weather. We have
:25:21. > :25:26.got the rainfall totals in for a pot and it was very wet indeed. It
:25:26. > :25:36.was the wettest April on record for the UK. In the south-east, it has
:25:36. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:44.been the wettest since 2,000. The percentage rain fall represents 250
:25:44. > :25:48.% of the normal rent we expect to say. We have got a Met Office
:25:48. > :25:54.weather warning about heavy and persistent rain tonight. That would
:25:54. > :25:59.clear tomorrow. A great start to the day. It will be feeling cooler.
:25:59. > :26:06.The winds will take the edge of the temperatures. Today, a dry picture
:26:06. > :26:16.with gentle northerly winds. But an increasingly -- but increasingly
:26:16. > :26:18.
:26:18. > :26:24.unsettled. It will be wet, but it will stay pretty mild. Light
:26:24. > :26:29.northerly winds will stay with us. Temperatures, eight or nine degrees.
:26:29. > :26:35.It grows start to the day. It will brighten a little along the south
:26:35. > :26:42.coast. Quite a cold field to the day. The winds staying with us.
:26:42. > :26:52.Temperatures by the afternoon just about making double figures. Mostly
:26:52. > :26:58.dry Prix tomorrow night. We might see some clearer skies. -- mostly
:26:58. > :27:02.dry it through tomorrow night. Quite an murky start to the day on
:27:03. > :27:10.Friday. Mostly dry, but we will see showers in the afternoon. That is
:27:10. > :27:15.ahead of more rain on Saturday. It will be pretty miserable as we will
:27:15. > :27:20.be holding on to the northerly winds. Mostly dry for Sunday, but