:00:20. > :00:25.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Bryony MacKenzie.
:00:25. > :00:27.Tonight's top stories. A week on from the Sheppey crash — calls for
:00:27. > :00:32.the Government to carry urgent safety review. We're live at
:00:32. > :00:35.the scene of the crash with the details. In Margate for the money?
:00:35. > :00:40.Mary Portas denies she misled parliament over her high street
:00:40. > :00:44.champion role. If I was getting half £1 million from Channel four for my
:00:44. > :00:50.programme I would be a happy woman. I think that she was misleading
:00:50. > :00:54.Parliament. Also in tonight's programme. An inquest begins into
:00:54. > :00:57.the death of a motorist killed by an ambulance on a 999 call — witnesses
:00:57. > :01:00.say they didn't hear sirens. Remembering Tokyo with four time
:01:00. > :01:04.olympian Paul Nihill, who won silver in the 50 kilometre walk in 1964.
:01:04. > :01:07.And looking forward to a night on the tiles — the roofer who's won
:01:07. > :01:27.£3.6 million on the national lottery. If Good evening. It was one
:01:27. > :01:30.of the biggest incidents the South East's emergency services have ever
:01:30. > :01:33.had to deal with. More than 130 vehicles colliding in thick fog on
:01:33. > :01:37.the Sheppey Crossing in Kent. And tonight, the local MP has urged the
:01:37. > :01:40.Government to carry out an urgent safety review. The Sittingbourne and
:01:40. > :01:43.Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson has written to the Transport Minister,
:01:43. > :01:46.asking him to ensure the chaos and terror seen last Thursday can never
:01:46. > :01:52.happen again. Peter Whittlesea reports. The twisted wreckage
:01:52. > :01:57.slashed as far as the eye could see. On the day that the local MP was
:01:57. > :02:03.shocked by the numbers involved, he said his priority was casualties.
:02:03. > :02:06.Now Gordon Henderson wants to transport Minister to act to make
:02:06. > :02:13.sure these scenes are never repeated. I have written to the
:02:13. > :02:17.Secretary of State for transport to ensure the safety of the crossing
:02:18. > :02:24.and to come up with measures to make sure nothing like it ever happens
:02:24. > :02:30.again. More than 130 village King — more than 130 vehicles where
:02:30. > :02:34.involved in the crash on Sheppey Crossing. Those who survived the
:02:34. > :02:39.crash said that safety lessons can be learnt from their ordeal. Mainly
:02:39. > :02:46.the human element. People driving more safely according to the road
:02:46. > :02:50.conditions. One week on and everyone is still talking about the pile—up,
:02:50. > :03:01.because everybody on the island know somebody who was involved. We have
:03:01. > :03:05.been asking for lights and warning lights and other things that the
:03:05. > :03:10.ministry did not want to afford or did not deem possible or needy,
:03:10. > :03:23.until such time as the trauma and I think 130 cars in one pile is enough
:03:23. > :03:28.to get some action. It is dangerous. Professional driving organisations
:03:28. > :03:36.agree that something has to be done. Clearly, there is a risk of folk
:03:36. > :03:41.occurring on this bridge —— fog. Look at what is used in the Dartford
:03:42. > :03:48.Crossing in recent years. It looks as if we're going to need safety
:03:48. > :03:51.measures like that for Sheppey. Almost a week later there are still
:03:51. > :03:55.disbelief that nobody was killed. Many think that this should be used
:03:55. > :04:06.as a warning to improve safety, before it is too late. Peter's live
:04:06. > :04:10.for us on the Isle of Sheppey. It's not the first time the local MP —
:04:10. > :04:14.and others — have raised safety concerns about the Sheppey Crossing,
:04:14. > :04:17.is it Peter? Ever since the bridge was opened in 2006, safety concerns
:04:17. > :04:20.have been raised. Even before he became an MP, Gordon Henderson said
:04:20. > :04:25.he raised safety issues about the bridge. Today the Department of
:04:25. > :04:28.Transport would not comment on safety because there was an ongoing
:04:28. > :04:33.police investigation as to what happened on Thursday. The ones
:04:33. > :04:33.survive that I spoke to said that something has to be done to slow
:04:33. > :04:48.down drivers, because they do not treat it as a bridge, but as a
:04:48. > :04:51.launch pad. The retail expert Mary Portas has been accused tonight of
:04:51. > :04:54.misleading Parliament over money she received in her role as a champion
:04:54. > :04:57.for high street regeneration. The so—called Queen of Shops rejected
:04:57. > :05:00.suggestions she'd only got involved in Portas Pilot towns like Margate,
:05:00. > :05:04.Dartford and Brighton to make money from spin off TV programmes when she
:05:04. > :05:06.gave evidence to MPs last week. In a select committee hearing she
:05:06. > :05:10.specifically denied receiving a 500—thousand pound fee from Channel
:05:11. > :05:21.Four — but has now admitted that IS the amount she's paid by the
:05:21. > :05:25.broadcaster. Simon Jones reports. She was accused from the start of
:05:25. > :05:30.being more interested in self—promotion than in promoting
:05:30. > :05:38.attempts to revitalise the town attempts to revitalise the town
:05:38. > :05:42.proved no less controversial. You have said repeatedly that you have
:05:42. > :05:47.not been paid for any of the work that you have done for the
:05:47. > :05:51.Government. Last week, MPs asked if she was being paid half £1 million
:05:51. > :06:02.by Channel four, for her shares, as was reported by the newspapers. If I
:06:02. > :06:05.was getting £500,000 for my shows from Channel four I would be I happy
:06:05. > :06:12.woman. I'm surprised that you listen to the Daily Mail. She has said that
:06:12. > :06:16.she misinterpreted the question about her payment from Channel four.
:06:16. > :06:21.She is on a two—year contract worth half £1 million but at this to make
:06:22. > :06:29.20 programmes, not just the Queen of the high Street show. The MP who
:06:29. > :06:33.quit was not impressed. I think she was misleading Parliament, no doubt
:06:33. > :06:36.about it. I can't think of many people who can't recall receiving a
:06:36. > :06:46.payment of half £1 million. It is bizarre. One shopkeeper who featured
:06:46. > :06:50.in the programme is defending her. She might have made money out of it
:06:50. > :06:55.but she is not a charity, and I have not got a problem with that at all.
:06:55. > :07:01.But, a different view on the high Street. With Mary Portas it was all
:07:01. > :07:06.about her own career rather than anything, to be honest. Mary Portas
:07:06. > :07:11.took it with the again to say that she had misinterpreted the questions
:07:11. > :07:15.from MPs, under fire. She says that she believes in honesty, and that
:07:15. > :07:21.she will roll with the punches. Today, plans were unveiled for a new
:07:21. > :07:27.60 bed hotel next to the Turner contemporary gallery. It has started
:07:27. > :07:30.to create debate through the Turner Gallery, through the new hotel, to
:07:30. > :07:36.bring tourists into places like Margate. But the role of Mary Portas
:07:36. > :07:55.in that regeneration has proved as ever. —— as divisive as ever. In a
:07:55. > :07:58.moment — controversial plans to close a quarter of the Surestart
:07:58. > :08:03.children's centres in Kent meet with criticism from Conservative MPs. An
:08:03. > :08:06.inquest into the death of a Sussex motorist killed in a collision with
:08:06. > :08:09.an ambulance answering an emergency call has heard from witnesses who
:08:09. > :08:13.say they didn't hear any sirens. Gary Tucker died from head injuries
:08:13. > :08:14.at the scene of the collision in Brighton in February. Fiona Irving
:08:14. > :08:19.reports. Gary Tucker was an exceptional and beautiful person,
:08:19. > :08:23.his friend said. The court inquest heard that he was killed immediately
:08:23. > :08:30.when his car collided with an ambulance responding to an emergency
:08:30. > :08:34.call. It sounds a bit corny, but every day of the week he used to
:08:34. > :08:40.send me naff jokes. Friends used to say, keep sending us these jokes.
:08:40. > :08:48.The crash happened on the jewel carriageway section in Marine Drive
:08:48. > :08:53.in Brighton in February. A witness saw the vehicles collide and bend
:08:53. > :09:01.the wheels of the ambulance drive over Gary Tucker's vehicle. Andrew
:09:01. > :09:08.Brown, who was in the passenger seat, was thrown into the middle of
:09:08. > :09:27.the road. In court today he was asked:
:09:27. > :09:44.Tomorrow, the coroner will hear evidence from the paramedics
:09:44. > :09:47.involved. Fiona joins us outside the coroner's court in Brighton. Fiona,
:09:47. > :09:53.I understand this was a routine journey for Gary. They made the tour
:09:53. > :09:59.—— the journey every Thursday evening. It was routine to them.
:09:59. > :10:05.Andrew had replied to Gary asked if he could turn right here,
:10:05. > :10:09.go for it. There were paramedics in tears during parts of the evidence
:10:09. > :10:31.being read out. Tomorrow, we hope to hear from the driver of the
:10:31. > :10:37.ambulance involved in the crash. She said she believed staff had withheld
:10:37. > :10:53.information about how her mother had fractured ankle. Plans for the first
:10:53. > :10:56.phase of a six hundred and fifty —million pound regeneration scheme
:10:56. > :10:58.at Chatham Docks could be given the go—ahead by Medway Councillors.
:10:58. > :11:01.Developer Peel Ports wants to build a thousand homes, a supermarket, a
:11:01. > :11:04.hotel and leisure facilities. They claims the scheme would create 3500
:11:04. > :11:07.jobs. Councillors unexpectedly rejected the original plans in June
:11:07. > :11:10.— but will consider a revised application this evening. Four men
:11:10. > :11:13.are awaiting sentencing for their part in a Kent drugs supply ring
:11:13. > :11:16.worth millions of pounds. Hugh Webb, brothers Danny and Michael Malone,
:11:16. > :11:23.and Martin Merritt were arrested in March, after Kent Police seized
:11:23. > :11:27.almost two tonnes of cannabis resin. Plans to close dozens of children's
:11:27. > :11:29.centres have sparked a row between the Conservatives running Kent
:11:29. > :11:33.County Council, and two Tory MPs. The authority's planning to save one
:11:33. > :11:36.and a half million pounds by closing 23 Sure Start centres — that's one
:11:36. > :11:39.in every four across the county. Councillors say Government funding
:11:39. > :11:42.cuts are forcing them to make difficult decisions, but two Kent
:11:42. > :11:45.MPs say the move will leave families without access to vital services.
:11:45. > :11:55.Our political editor Louise Stewart reports. Lynne Marie Cook has three
:11:55. > :11:58.children and uses sure start facilities. She says it provides
:11:58. > :12:04.vital support for families like ours, but it is now earmarked the
:12:04. > :12:10.closure. I think it being taken away is disgusting. They are not thinking
:12:10. > :12:14.about young parents, middle—aged air and saw all the parents that need
:12:14. > :12:23.the extra help and advice. Kent County Council ones to close 23 sure
:12:23. > :12:27.start centres. The cuts will save 1.5 William pounds but local MPs say
:12:27. > :12:33.that the funding should be found elsewhere. We have to look at where
:12:33. > :12:35.the site closures are. Some of them in Folkestone and new Romney are in
:12:35. > :12:41.areas of real need, well supported by the local
:12:41. > :12:47.communities, which support a number of other activities. I think we
:12:47. > :12:52.should keep them open. Labour says that the Conservative lead counsel
:12:52. > :12:57.has got its priorities wrong. It is unfortunate that the cuts been
:12:57. > :13:01.chosen to make in these areas with the most vulnerable children's and
:13:01. > :13:07.families. It was promised prior to the election that the centres would
:13:07. > :13:10.be safe. Kent County Council says that the closures are necessary, and
:13:10. > :13:20.that children will be able to access other centres close by. Most of them
:13:20. > :13:24.are part time and have signed poster children services elsewhere in the
:13:24. > :13:28.community, and the majority of users also use other children centres that
:13:28. > :13:34.we do not propose to close. Back in Sittingbourne, mothers say that they
:13:34. > :13:37.would only be able to access other centres if they have a car, which
:13:37. > :13:44.would leave the poorest families with nowhere to go. Kent County
:13:44. > :13:46.Council said that they have got to make these decisions because of the
:13:46. > :13:53.Government cutting local budgets. Sure start was set up under Labour
:13:53. > :13:56.in 1998, with the idea of Mick giving children the best possible
:13:56. > :14:01.start in life, and David Cameron output texted —— pledged to protect
:14:01. > :14:02.the centres, but because of cuts from central government to local
:14:02. > :14:07.authorities, centres have closed across the
:14:07. > :14:14.country, and the south—east has been the hardest hit. So, now, we have
:14:14. > :14:20.Conservative MPs in Kent, urging the Conservative lead counsel not to
:14:20. > :14:23.close any more of these centres. It has to be said, no decisions have
:14:23. > :14:27.been taken yet. This is a consultation. The public can still
:14:27. > :14:48.have their say, until October the 4th. A family from East Grinstead
:14:48. > :14:51.are campaigning for Government funding to access specialist drugs
:14:51. > :14:57.for their son —— who has a rare and incurable condition. Six—year—old
:14:57. > :15:01.Benedict McAlister has a rare muscle wasting disease — which means he's
:15:01. > :15:03.unlikely to reach adulthood — but his family believe the right
:15:03. > :15:06.treatment could prolong his life. Rebecca Williams reports. Benedict
:15:06. > :15:09.has a rare muscle wasting disease which means that he can only walk on
:15:09. > :15:13.his tiptoes. As a parent, the thought of that loss or potential,
:15:13. > :15:15.it is like you have to deal with the grief of it, and it is very
:15:16. > :15:23.difficult. And it does not ever go away. The disease means Benedict is
:15:23. > :15:39.unlikely to live much past his early 20s. They have gone too far with my
:15:39. > :15:42.wobbly legs now. It is a hereditary disease affecting 200 people in the
:15:42. > :15:47.UK. It causes muscle weakness and curvature of the spine. Later in
:15:47. > :15:53.life some patients might experience respiratory problems or even
:15:53. > :15:59.paralysis. At the moment, there was no cure for the disease. Clinical
:15:59. > :16:02.trials have been done. The family is now backing calls for the muscular
:16:02. > :16:08.dystrophy campaign to get extra funding so that access to drugs is
:16:08. > :16:13.made easier. The campaign is calling on the Government to set up a new
:16:13. > :16:18.fund that will support these kinds of treatments and hopefully, we will
:16:18. > :16:22.be able to see a ring fenced fund for these particular conditions. Too
:16:22. > :16:28.often, these are overlooked and neglected. The Department of health
:16:28. > :16:33.says that it is working to develop a UK wide strategy for people with
:16:33. > :16:50.diseases like Benedict's, which will be published by the end of the year.
:16:50. > :16:53.Our top story. There are calls tonight for the Government to carry
:16:53. > :16:56.out an urgent safety review of the Sheppey Crossing in Kent. The local
:16:56. > :17:00.MP has written to the Transport Minister, asking him to ensure there
:17:00. > :17:09.can never be a repeat of last week's pile—up there. More than 130
:17:09. > :17:13.vehicles collided in thick fog. Looking forward to a night on the
:17:13. > :17:18.tiles — the roofer who's won £3.6 million on the national lottery. And
:17:18. > :17:23.is going to rain later? Join me later in the programme to find out.
:17:23. > :17:24.And if you have a story you think we should be covering, you can contact
:17:24. > :17:47.us. The decision to award the 2020
:17:47. > :17:50.Olympics to Japan has brought memories flooding back for a Kent
:17:50. > :17:56.Olympian who competed there almost 50 years ago. Paul Nihill won a
:17:56. > :18:03.silver medal in the 50 kilometre race walk when Tokyo last hosted the
:18:03. > :18:07.games, in 1964. He went onto compete in three further Olympic Games — and
:18:07. > :18:15.Alex Beard has been to meet him for tonight's Special Report. Swinging
:18:15. > :18:23.his hips all the way to a silver medal, Paul Nihill said the success
:18:23. > :18:27.in Tokyo changed his life. I got onto the world stage there. I was
:18:27. > :18:35.thought that I could get a medal. I was thought I might get a medal, but
:18:35. > :18:41.on the day, it rained like mad and it was a home from home for me. The
:18:41. > :18:46.50 kilometre race is the longest athletic event. Competitors must
:18:46. > :18:54.maintain contact with the ground throughout. There is no middle
:18:54. > :19:04.ground. Walking is unbroken contract —— —— contact with the terra firma.
:19:04. > :19:12.Most of the athletes at the time had day jobs. Now they have got all day
:19:12. > :19:17.to train. They have got a team with physiotherapists and doctors. In our
:19:17. > :19:25.day, if you had trouble with your legs, you popped down to the local
:19:25. > :19:31.GP. Paul went on to collect numerous more world titles, but Pace walking
:19:31. > :19:36.was something that he chanced upon. There was an advert in the paper
:19:36. > :19:40.that said, have you —— can you walk five miles per hour, and I thought,
:19:40. > :19:44.I will have a bash at that. I was did what I did best, and they seem
:19:44. > :19:48.to be doing best at Pace walking, so I stuck to it. And he has only
:19:48. > :20:13.retired recently. As we approach the
:20:13. > :20:17.start of the First World War, the most familiar images of the conflict
:20:17. > :20:20.for most of us are those of trench warfare. But this weekend a new
:20:20. > :20:24.exhibition opens in Kent, which looks at the story of the Great War
:20:24. > :20:25.at sea. Sir John Lavery was a society painter turned war artist,
:20:25. > :20:28.who travelled society painter turned war artist,
:20:28. > :20:31.bases, shipyards and munitions factories. Sara Smith has been to
:20:31. > :20:35.the Historic Dockyard Chatham to see his work. Battleships waiting to
:20:35. > :20:42.sell into danger, and airmen looking for the enemy. Woman at work in
:20:42. > :20:46.munitions factories. That did not mean that he did not have a story
:20:46. > :20:53.worth telling. He travelled the length of Britain, to the Orkneys,
:20:53. > :21:01.for the British fleet had its base at the harbour of Scapa flow, and to
:21:01. > :21:08.the dockyards were ships were built to take the wounded home. The
:21:08. > :21:15.background was very important for the prosecution of the war. They
:21:15. > :21:23.needed the munitions and food. All of that was being shown in his
:21:23. > :21:29.paintings. Mostly it was naval life that took his attention. The ground
:21:29. > :21:34.fleet before and after battle. He intended to go to the Western front,
:21:34. > :21:38.but, almost 60 when the war began, his health and the insistence of his
:21:38. > :21:45.wife kept him on these shores, but his paintings help tell the story of
:21:45. > :21:48.what was going on well beyond them. Trench warfare was only one aspect
:21:48. > :21:54.of the First World War. What we're trying to put forward to is not just
:21:54. > :21:58.the dockyard, but the Navy played an important part, and without the war
:21:58. > :22:05.at sea and the home front work, the war would have been lost. Sir John
:22:05. > :22:10.Lavery witnessed and painted one hugely significant moment bash the
:22:10. > :22:15.surrender of the German fleet, with the high command from both sides
:22:15. > :22:32.negotiating terms aboard a British flagship. The exhibition opens at
:22:32. > :22:35.Chatham historic dockyard on Friday. A couple from Crawley say they've
:22:35. > :22:48.been left shocked, speechless, sleepless. But its not the arrival
:22:48. > :22:51.of a new baby that's turned Stuart Hunt and Nicky Martin's life upside
:22:51. > :22:54.down — its the unexpected windfall of £3.6 million from the National
:22:54. > :22:57.Lottery. Their good fortune is especially timely because Stuart —
:22:57. > :23:01.who is a self employed roofer — hasn't been able to work for weeks
:23:01. > :23:04.because he injured his knee playing football — with his daughter. Robin
:23:04. > :23:07.Gibson has more. Special numbers that he chooses every week. Numbers
:23:07. > :23:14.he thought no one else would choose. Finally, the dream has come true. I
:23:14. > :23:23.had to sit down. It still has not sunk in now. It is also surreal. He
:23:23. > :23:28.is a self—employed roofer, she is a full—time mum, looking after their
:23:28. > :23:35.three young children. Now they face cameras, questions and the
:23:35. > :23:42.inevitable champagne. I haven't slept. Have not eaten. Hopefully I'm
:23:42. > :23:49.going to get a good nights sleep tonight. The lucky day came after a
:23:49. > :23:54.long lay—off from work for Stewart. They join an elite group of lottery
:23:54. > :24:00.winners from Sussex and Kent. Earlier this year, a Brighton
:24:00. > :24:09.lottery syndicate of dinner ladies 12.1 million pounds. In 1995, a
:24:09. > :24:14.giant haul of £22.5 million went to Paul Maddison and Mark Gardner from
:24:14. > :24:20.Hastings. Stewart and Nikki found out on Sunday. They kept quite to
:24:20. > :24:29.all but a few before deciding to go public. It was exciting and nervous.
:24:29. > :24:37.It was good, good. It has been a good experience. They have got a new
:24:37. > :24:46.lottery number to remember, and life will never be
:24:46. > :25:05.We are so jealous, aren't we? So, are you going to be a millionaire
:25:05. > :25:11.this weekend? I wish! The weather is not going to beanie and the as
:25:11. > :25:21.exciting. —— to be nearly as exciting. Tonight, we have rain, on
:25:21. > :25:28.the way, it is going to become increasingly murky. Top—10 bridges,
:25:28. > :25:36.around 17 Celsius today, not too bad for the time of year. —— top
:25:36. > :25:43.temperatures. This evening, we're going to be seeing that rain. Behind
:25:43. > :25:47.it, lots of cloud around. Temperatures not quite as cool as
:25:47. > :25:51.they have been recently. We're going to be seeing outbreaks of rain.
:25:51. > :25:59.Eventually it will clear. Going through, heading towards dawn,
:25:59. > :26:03.temperatures of around 12 Celsius. Lots of fog and mist around.
:26:03. > :26:11.Starting the day, it is going to be overcast, but mostly dry. It is
:26:11. > :26:14.going to be increasingly windy over the next couple of days. Another
:26:14. > :26:23.band of rain is going to be heading our way. For Match of the Day two,
:26:23. > :26:31.we will stay dry. —— for much of the day, we will stay dry. High
:26:31. > :26:36.temperatures of around 18 Celsius, and the wind is still from a
:26:36. > :26:39.westerly direction, at around ten miles an hour, so easing off, from
:26:40. > :26:44.today. Tomorrow night, increasingly unsettled, with that rain becoming
:26:44. > :26:53.heavy and staying with us throughout the night. Temperatures around 15
:26:53. > :26:56.Celsius. It is going to be a wet start on Friday, remaining wet and
:26:56. > :27:01.windy, with temperatures not getting much above 18 Celsius, and heading
:27:01. > :27:14.to the weekend, pretty blustery, but lots of rain around and Is of around
:27:14. > :27:19.19 Celsius. —— highs. You will need your umbrella over the next couple
:27:20. > :27:31.of days. I don't think I am going to have a barbecue on Saturday, after
:27:31. > :27:32.all. Harvest 2013 will be looking at the method used by some food
:27:32. > :27:45.producers. And Thanet Earth, the method used by some food
:27:46. > :27:46.feature on Harvest 2013.