:00:11. > :00:13.Good evening. A Kent hospital accused of
:00:13. > :00:18.discriminating against blue badge holders with its parking charges
:00:18. > :00:21.has agreed to look again at prices. Medway Maritime Hospital was being
:00:21. > :00:31.sued by a patient who said the costs go against equality laws.
:00:31. > :00:31.
:00:31. > :00:35.Fiona Irving has more. An attack on Disability Rights,
:00:35. > :00:41.that his house to soar Medway Maritime Hospital's decision to
:00:41. > :00:44.charge disabled visitors to park. She was suing the hospital under
:00:44. > :00:48.the equality act and now they have reached an out-of-court this
:00:48. > :00:52.element -- settlement. Visitors will now be able to park for longer
:00:52. > :00:56.for the same price. I see it as a win for Disability Rights and a win
:00:56. > :01:01.for others as well, carers of disabled people and people with
:01:01. > :01:07.elderly relatives and mums with buggies that take time to get in
:01:07. > :01:10.and out so it makes it a lot easier. It is perhaps only a minor victory.
:01:10. > :01:16.Disabled visitors still have to pay to park here. Anyone parking for
:01:16. > :01:21.more than two hours have to pay the same. It is only visitors that wind
:01:21. > :01:25.-- Park for less than two hours that win out. There will be a
:01:25. > :01:31.discount scheme for frequent visitors. For many the changes do
:01:31. > :01:36.not go far enough. The frequent visitor at discount is all right
:01:36. > :01:39.but to charge disabled people is morally wrong. Morally wrong.
:01:39. > :01:43.sure this hospital makes enough money with all of the people that
:01:43. > :01:47.do have to pay to allow a few disabled people to get in for free.
:01:47. > :01:51.Disabled people should then have to pay at all. They have had it for
:01:51. > :01:56.years where they have and I had to pay anything. They are allowed to
:01:56. > :02:00.park on double yellow lines and that so why can they not part here?
:02:00. > :02:05.The trust say the party policy is not discriminatory but it strives
:02:05. > :02:08.to ensure its practices of the highest standard.
:02:08. > :02:11.Rail services between Brighton and London have returned to normal
:02:11. > :02:14.following a trackside fire last week. Passengers were trapped on
:02:14. > :02:20.dark trains by Preston Park station in Brighton for more than two hours
:02:20. > :02:22.following the fire caused by power faults.
:02:22. > :02:26.And a reminder that Southeastern and Southern are operating a
:02:26. > :02:29.reduced Christmas Eve service tonight.
:02:29. > :02:30.It means the last departures on services from London to the Sussex
:02:30. > :02:32.coast, Maidstone, Dartford and coast, Maidstone, Dartford and
:02:32. > :02:34.coast, Maidstone, Dartford and Whitstable will be around 8pm and
:02:34. > :02:37.Whitstable will be around 8pm and Whitstable will be around 8pm and
:02:37. > :02:40.in some cases closer to 7pm. Festive swimmers in Brighton are
:02:40. > :02:43.being warned not to take part in the annual event tomorrow as the
:02:43. > :02:47.council says the conditions will be too dangerous. As a result of the
:02:47. > :02:50.forecast, the beach will be closed at the site of the annual event.
:02:50. > :02:53.The seafront team will be in attendance but warn there'll be no
:02:53. > :02:57.lifeguards present. Last year a man was rescued in similar conditions
:02:57. > :03:00.and in 2007, 12 people were rescued, again in stormy conditions.
:03:00. > :03:03.Football and the South East's league teams face their most
:03:03. > :03:09.intensive couple of weeks of the season, with as many as four games
:03:09. > :03:13.in eleven days. And for most teams that starts on Boxing Day. But for
:03:13. > :03:16.the first time in many years Brighton fans will have to wait a
:03:16. > :03:25.little longer to get their festive football fix, with no match before
:03:25. > :03:28.meeting Watford at home, and Ipswich away. So many games in a
:03:28. > :03:34.short period of time. Sometimes it looks like it is more important
:03:34. > :03:36.than the rest. For me it is no different. The first game of the
:03:36. > :03:39.season all the last game of the season.
:03:39. > :03:42.In the Boxing Day fixtures, Charlton play Ipswich at the Valley
:03:42. > :03:49.while in League One Crawley travel to Portsmouth. And in League Two
:03:49. > :03:52.Gillingham host Barnet. Now, with Christmas almost upon us,
:03:52. > :03:58.I'm sure you've had a number of goodwill messages. But in our
:03:58. > :04:02.opinion there's always room for a few more.
:04:02. > :04:05.I am Alun Davies and I would like to wish everyone in the South East
:04:05. > :04:11.a very Happy Christmas and those of you outside the South East, I am
:04:11. > :04:18.not interested. A merry Christmas to all of you from Robbie Savage.
:04:18. > :04:21.Merry Christmas to the viewers of South East Today. Merry Christmas!
:04:21. > :04:26.A family who've made the Eastbourne pantomime an annual tradition have
:04:26. > :04:28.gone one step further this year by starring as newly weds on the stage.
:04:28. > :04:31.Victoria and Stephen Rogers were married at the town hall this
:04:31. > :04:36.morning and then, with full wedding party, went to the performance of
:04:36. > :04:43.Sleeping Beauty. And at the end of the show the new Mr and Mrs Rogers
:04:43. > :04:46.were guests of honour for the curtain call.
:04:46. > :04:49.Oh no they weren't! Oh yes they were!
:04:49. > :04:53.were! Let us get the weather now.
:04:53. > :04:58.Hello. It may have only been light rain today but the yellow warning
:04:58. > :05:02.is still in place until midnight. It is falling on saturated ground
:05:02. > :05:06.so there is a risk of localised flooding. If you have any concerns
:05:06. > :05:09.look at the Environment Agency website. Christmas Day will be a
:05:09. > :05:14.day of sunshine and heavy showers. Showers will start in the early
:05:15. > :05:18.hours of this morning, quite heavy along the coastline. They could be
:05:18. > :05:22.thundery. They will continue until around lunchtime. It will be clear
:05:22. > :05:27.for a little while and we may even have sunny spells to look forward
:05:27. > :05:33.to. It will be quite a breezy day tomorrow. Much the same as today.
:05:33. > :05:39.Quite mild temperatures. Not quite as mild as we have had recently so
:05:39. > :05:42.it may feel cooler. In the evening the showers will return. It is
:05:42. > :05:46.looking quite unsettled over the next few days. The breeze will stay
:05:46. > :05:49.with us until the end of the week. Temperatures are gradually taking a
:05:49. > :05:52.dip down as we ate it towards the end of the week. Hopefully your