07/08/2013 South East Today

Bryony MacKenzie. And I'm Rob Smith. Tonight's top stories. Six different

plans for a Thames Estuary airport, but no massive expansion at Lydd or

Manston - we talk to the Chairman of the Airports Commission.

Thousands of cancer patients and expectant mums have to wait for

vital scans because of a new computer system. Somebody has to

take responsibility for what is going on with all of these patients.

Also in tonight's programme... Sussex and England cricketer Monty

Panesar is fined by police for urinating over a nightclub bouncer.

We're live at the club where it happened.

Gone and possibly forgotten - the funeral directors left with hundreds

of unclaimed ashes appeal for them to be collected.

Rebuilding a dream - how steam railway fans are putting an historic

railway line back on route maps. Good evening.

Six different plans to build a massive hub airport in the Thames

Estuary have been submitted to the man charged with looking at airport

capacity in the UK. Speaking to this programme tonight, Sir Howard Davies

revealed that he thought it highly unlikely Lydd or Manston will play a

significant part in any expansion plan, however he did think they

would have a role to play. Sir Howard says some of the proposals

he'll be looking at are "imaginative and thoughtful," while others are "a

bit far fetched". Ellie Price has more.

His final decision could shape UK aviation, as well as the landscape

of the south-east. If Sir Howard Davies decides the UK has an airport

capacity problem, the solution will not be from small airports like

Manston or Lydd. It is highly unlikely either of those would be a

candidate for the major hub airport of the sort we have been discussing.

One does need to look at the role these smaller airports can play in

the total picture. But frankly, I do not think we are going to seek four

runways at Lydd. Arriving for the commission's consideration are a

number of proposals in the south-east. Gatwick's plans for a

second runway that they say could more than double the number of

passengers they can handle. Boris Johnson's two proposals for a North

Kent hub airport near the Thames Estuary. And Manston's suggestion

that it could act as a reliever airport from London. They are among

25 proposals and come up against those for an expansion of Heathrow

and Stansted. Although we don't have any principal objections to a new

airport, private investors do stand ready to invest in all of the

south-east's existing airports and what they need is certainty about

the future and the government's position. But others say there is no

need for any more capacity in this airport area, hub or otherwise.

There is no evidence of the growth of the economy in the south-east

suffering for the last few decades. One of the things is an overheated

south-east, and a sluggish north, and I would like to see far more

attention paid to evening out the economy. The Commission will release

a short list of preferred options later this year. The final

recommendations will not come until 2015, after the next general

election. Well earlier I spoke to Sir Howard

Davies and asked him whether the answer to airport capacity was a hub

airport off the North Kent coast. I think that the argument about a

hub may be a little overstated. I do not think anybody is denying that

you need an airport which can provide connections and transfer

traffic, and which pulls together then routes and puts the passengers

together onto a thick route. Nobody is going to deny that you need that

capacity. The issue is, how much do you need and will the future growth

of aviation be in those old networks that the national airlines have

traditionally provided, or will it be in the low-cost carriers, who

focus on point-to-point? Your decision-making will continue to be

highly scrutinised. Boris Johnson has said that an airport on the Isle

of Grain would serve a trivial population in comparison to

Heathrow. Are the concerns all equally weighted? We have set out

what we call sifting criteria. consulted on them and showed how we

were planning to take a balanced approach to looking at things that

were buildable, the practicalities of it, issues like safety, the

health of the local population, the climate change dimension. We

consulted on the criteria that we are going to use. I won't hide from

the fact that at the end, you're going to have to reach a balance.

Moving on to Gatwick, another airport that features highly in our

part of the south-east, they want to expand, could that be a viable

solution? I think it would be unlikely to be instead of a hub, in

that I think you would certainly still need one airport which made

connections between flights in the way that Heathrow now does. The

issue is, where is the growth in the future going to come? Is it going to

be in that kind of network airline operation? Or is it going to be in

point-to-point traffic of the kind that Gatwick and Stansted specialise

in at the moment? That was Sir Howard Davies, the

Commissioner for the new Airports Commission.

Our business correspondent Mark Norman is in Chatham in Medway.

Mark, that part of the world could be significantly impacted by airport

expansion in the South East. Some frank assessments there from Sir

Howard Davies? The Department for Transport tell us that there are

currently 118 million passenger movements every year, and they said

that number will go up 2032 204 million and by 2050, 200 94 million.

-- 294 million. Do we need a brand-new hub airport? Would it be

on the River Thames? There are six different proposals on his plate as

King whether or not we should build this Thames Estuary airport. Should

it be a second runway at Gatwick? That would create 30 million

passenger movements. What he said today he was ruling out Manston as a

hub airport. They never asked for that. They talked about being a

believer airport, taking on low-cost carriers and more freight. While we

may never see super jumbos at Manston, we might have an idea of

what Sir Howard Davies is thinking about.

East Kent Hospitals Trust has tonight apologised after it emerged

cancer patients and expectant mothers are having to wait up to six

weeks for vital scans and x-rays because of problems with a new

computer system. A dedicated call centre set up to deal with the

problem has already received 2000 calls of complaint this week alone.

The chief executive of the trust says he's trying to find a solution

with the company which provides the technology. Peter Whittlesea

reports. Leslie says her GP referred her for

an urgent lung scan. Three weeks and numerous calls to the hospital

later, she had not even be given an appointment. She was so worried

about her health, she went private. It showed a significant problem.

GP got the results of that scan at eight o'clock the following morning.

She phoned me and she has now given me a referral to a chest specialist.

The delays started after hospitals introduced a new system for x-ray

and scan results at the beginning of July. Two weeks later we reported

the story of a man who was among patients waiting up to a month for

x-ray results. A hotline was set up to do with the backlog and receives

2000 calls in the first week. The hospital trust said the outsourced

system is not working properly. have contractual arrangements which

I cannot discuss, but to the extent that they have let us down, we will

look for a wee dress and make sure the taxpayer is not paying the cost

of the contingency measures. -- redress. The company which installed

the computer system says it is working closely with the hospitals

to resolve the situation. One MP says that accompany has got to get

its act together. The staff are doing their utmost, but they are

becoming overwhelmed. There is no doubt about that. The staff can only

do what they can do in 24 hours in a day. This is down to the company,

the Company responsible has to get this right. As far as I can see,

they appear to be in breach of contract. Leslie fears other urgent

referrals like hers might have slipped through the net. These

computer delays can be affecting patient health.

Peter Whittlesea is at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital now. What more

have patients there had to say this evening? Patients are saying the

situation here is chaotic and the delays are impacting on pregnant

women who are due there are 12 week scan. -- there are 12 week scan. The

hospital says it is dealing with cases in two to three days and it

has drafted in extra staff and put on additional clinics to deal with

the backlog. Staff here are livid that this computer system is not

working. I have heard of cases where radiographers and admin staff have

cancelled their holidays and are coming in at weekends to deal with

this backlog. There is a sense of anger that they are having to do

this to bail out a private company that has not delivered.

Coming up... The row over rubbish in wielding, with 9000 homes saying

they have been missed of the collection for weeks. -- missed off.

The Sussex and England cricketer Monty Panesar has been fined by

police for urinating on bouncers outside a nightclub in Brighton.

It's believed the 31-year-old spin bowler had been asked to leave the

Shooshh club this weekend after complaints from some female

clubbers. Our reporter John Young is in Brighton for us now.

This has developed as quite a story. By lunchtime, Monty Panesar

had made an apology and no denial. This is a really popular cricketer

with the public, playing for Sussex and also England in the Ashes

squad, but not selected to play at the weekend, which is why he was in

the nightclub in the small hours of Monday morning. He had a few drinks

and was causing problems with some and who were unhappy, so he was

asked to leave. He was not happy and then things kicked off. He went up

the stairs, along the street, and then urinated on to the bouncer in

Neath. He was furious and chased after Monty Panesar. They ran along

the road to a takeaway. The police were called and he was fined �94

drunk and disorderly behaviour. �90 four drunk and disorderly behaviour.

That is pocket money to him. That is not enough. It is not discouraging

others. We spend a lot of time trying to give these guys good role

models and teach them the rights and wrongs and it makes life harder when

they say that he did this or that, and it is almost childish behaviour

to see this in the news. How have Sussex County Cricket club

responded? They have issued a statement saying

they are taking it very soon see. They say he is a talented cricketer

and with that there are challenges. They say it will be decision time

next week, and we will know then if Monty Panesar is in that squad.

Around 3,000 homes in Kent have had their water supply cut off after

three water mains burst. Residents in Ticehurst, Hurst Green,

Roberstbridge and Mountfield have been affected. Some say they've been

without water for over 24 hours. South East Water says that two of

the water mains have already been repaired and that people in the area

may have low water pressure for a time.

Dozens of retired Gurkhas from Kent have been involved in a protest

about pay and conditions outside the Ministry of Defence today. The

former members of the Gurkha Regiment, who now train new

recruits, are angry about proposed changes to the terms and conditions

of their jobs with the defence contractor, SERCO. They are also

balloting on industrial action. Sussex Police say they are preparing

for an increase in the number of protesters against oil exploration

in Balcombe next week. They say several hundred campaigners from the

group Reclaim the Power are planning to join the demonstration. 100

officers a day are at the site and the force says it's constantly

reviewing its resources. It says it has cost �73,000.

A man on trial in connection with the murder of his friend had said he

would shoot anyone who threatened his home, a court heard. Kevin

McKinley was shot outside a house in Dartford in February. Lewis

Wickenden is charged with possessing a firearm and assisting an offender,

his girlfriend, with murder. Sara Smith reports.

Kevin McKinley had come to this street last February to sort out an

argument with a friend, jurors heard today. It ended up with him shot

dead, his friend facing charges, his friend's partner accused of murder.

Today, the man who had driven him to the house and witnessed the

aftermath was giving evidence. Marley Booth said that friend, Lewis

Wickenden, told him on an earlier occasion he had been threatened by

an armed gang at his home and police Kevin McKinley had been involved in

threatening Lewis and that he had gone round to sort things out

between them. But later it was said that he probably knew there would be

a fight. The court heard that Lewis Wickenden's partner, Michaela

Sargent, met Kevin McKinley outside the house. She was armed with a

shotgun which she pointed at his head. When he turned away she

lowered the gun and says it went off by accident, causing the lethal

wound. The jury will have to decide if it was an accident or murder.

Residents in East Sussex said they are angry and frustrated their bins

and recycling have not been collected for over a month. Around

9000 homes have missed a connection and some people have complained

about maggot infestations. The contract for bin collections and

recycling in the district had recently been given over to a new

company. Every day I come out to spread the

maggots. It is quite disgusting. These are in double bags and the

maggots keep on appearing. maggots, the smell, the rubbish

piled high. In this picturesque corner of East Sussex, the residents

have not had their bins collected for over a month and they are angry.

We are fed up with it. I do not know what the solution is. I am just

doing it with a spray and still cannot stop them. It is revolting.

We try and keep asked tight shot and it got to the stage for their work

maggots crawling up and down the outside of the bin. Two weeks ago,

waste collection was fully taken over by a new company. They have

fewer trucks and fewer refuge to collectors, but they say they are

having teething problems. They have apologised to customers. Because

they are not using the old stuff they do not know where to pick up

from. The district council say the contract is saving them three

quarters of �1 million a year, but currently those efficiency savings

are not particularly efficient. There are 65,000 households in the

district. So far, 9600 have not had their rubbish collected in the last

two weeks. It is saving and it will be a better service, but they are

not supplying that and we have responsibility for that and we are

working towards that. It will be a better service and saving the

taxpayer 's money. Residents say right now, they just want to see

their household waste go. The top story tonight...

The man charged with looking at airport capacity in the UK, Sir

Howard Davies, has told this programme it's "highly unlikely"

Lydd or Manston will play a significant part of any expansion

plan, although they could still have a role to play. No fewer than six

different plans have been submitted for a Thames Estuary airport.

Also in tonight's programme... Not the end of the line - the

historical steam railway track making a modern day comeback.

It has been eight ales sunshine and showers. Tomorrow, much more

sunshine. -- a day of sunshine and showers.

Two East Sussex funeral directors have joined forces to launch an

unusual appeal, calling on local people to come forward and collect

the remains of their loved ones. Bexhill's Douglas Mercer & Son, and

Hastings-based Banfield & Pomphrey, both long established funeral

directors in the area, say many relatives never collect the remains.

In total, 124 sets of ashes have been left unclaimed. Many of the

remains have been at the funeral directors' for 20 years or more. And

the oldest set has been there for over 40 years, since 1971. Claudia

Sermbezis has tonight's special report.

We come from dust, we returned to dust. A frequent phrase at a

funeral, but for more than four decades, these ashes of all ages,

young and old, have remained in a sort of limbo, unclaimed and

uncollected. People move, it can be too painful, people can pass away.

There are a number of cremation urns we hold for families until such time

as they want them want to do something with them. Douglas Mercer

& Son and Banfield and Palfrey in Hastings have 124 earns between

them. The oldest remains are from 1971. They are trying to contact any

relatives so they can be scattered, interred, or kept at all. We are

always humbled that people let us look after their loved one when they

pass away. It is a continuation of that. We are just the custodians. We

are humbled we are able to do that. We would rather families have them,

if they do so wish. Martin has been driving a hearse for three years. He

believes part of the problem is death was not get discussed much.

People often do not know what their mum or dad wanted. That can lead to

heartache for people while they try and sort it out. We hope it gets

people talking about their future wishes. The funeral directors will

keep hold of the Ashes if no one comes forward, but it is hoped the

appeal will mean that everyone will finally be laid to rest with family.

The dream of rebuilding the old railway line running all the way

from Tenterden in Kent to Robertsbridge in Sussex has taken a

major step to being realised. Enthusiasts who took over the line

years after it closed in the 1950s have restored the track and run

steam trains from Tenterden as far as Bodiam. Now, the first half mile

of track coming the other way, back from Robertsbridge, is nearing

completion. And as Robin Gibson reports, its sent hopes soaring that

the missing three miles could be finally be completed, and complete a

track that was last used more than It is a waiting game... This is

where they are making a stand to win the West. The unconquered western

end of the line. It began coming back from Tenterden in the 1960s.

There has been a volunteer presence since the 1990s. It has been the

ambition, the dream, to get back to Robertsbridge and remake the

connection with the national railway. Passenger services were cut

in 1954, and the last freight trains departed in 1961. Thanks to

enthusiasts, today the much loved steam trains are back. Well, to a

point. There is always a way. You always want to go a bit further and

do a bit more. The grass is always greener, isn't it? It has taken the

Kent and East Sussex Railway the best part of 50 years to get to

hear, the middle of nowhere, the end of the line for an hour. But for how

much longer? The precious new half mile of track coming all the way --

the other way has got them thinking. It is a glimpse of the future. Can

you put a time frame on it? That is a difficult question to answer. I

think we are looking at around five years. There are a number of bridges

to cross and roads as well, literally, to cross before the Kent

and the Sussex real weight reaches Robertsbridge. Next month, the

rather Valley Railway will have a steam train on the line to get

steamed up a bag what might just be the beginning of the end of the

line. -- steamed up about. Football now, and only one of the

south east's teams made it through to the second round of the Capital

One Cup last night. There were plenty of thrills and spills and one

particularly embarrassing home defeat. Neil Bell reports.

Most Albion supporters thought this would be a formality against the

team who were in Conference South two years ago. Ashley Barnes put

Brighton in front. The game changed in the second half, when a challenge

left the Newport captain with a broken leg and saw the Albion

defender sent off. With less than ten minutes to go, a header from

Danny Crow took the game into extra time. And a solo effort from another

sub, Washington, to serve a famous upset, although Brighton will appeal

against the red card. He went to the ball. It was a 50-50 challenge. It

was unlucky for the Newport player. A 4-0 win over Oxford saw Charlton

Athletic qualify from round two, with Simon Church scoring twice. Two

goals from Micky Adams couldn't prevent Crawley going down 4-3 after

extra time in a cup tie at League two Cheltenham, Harrison scoring the

winner six minutes from time. And Gillingham failed to repeat last

season's victory over Bristol city, Lots of disappointment. It is early

days! We have got some decent weather

news. It will be warm. Today, there was cloud and rain. Over the next

couple of days, it is not bound right. We will see more rain,

particularly on Friday. There is sunshine, and temperatures feeling

warm for the time of year. The area of low pressure gave us cloud

pressure and outbreaks of rain. Temperatures not too bad for the

time of year. There were highs of around 21 or 22 degrees. The breezes

will ease of tonight and the showers ease as well. It will be dry and

cool. Temperatures in low double figures and in rural spots dropping

down to single figures. Clearer skies with mist and hill fog

forming. We have got the ridge of high pressure to thank for that.

Tomorrow, a settled picture, perhaps one or two showers by the afternoon.

For the most part, staying dry with decent spells of sunshine.

Temperatures around 21 or 22. Lighter winds as well. So tomorrow

night, clearer skies initially and more cloud cover with outbreaks of

patchy rain and drizzle first thing on Friday. The weather front players

out of the way first thing on Friday. By the afternoon it

brightens up. For the weekend, Saturday it looks to be pretty good