:00:07. > :00:15.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Natalie Graham. And I'm Rob Smith.
:00:15. > :00:19.Tonight's top stories: Two years jail for the man who left a woman
:00:19. > :00:28.disabled and brain damaged in a high speed crash. I have lost my life.
:00:28. > :00:36.She has changed my life. I wish he could understand what he has done.
:00:36. > :00:39.If you shut the school, I want compensation — the Sussex dad
:00:39. > :00:47.furious at the potential disruption to his children's education. Also
:00:47. > :00:50.tonight, Kent and Sussex councils say they are ready for the snow.
:00:50. > :00:53.After the Balcombe protests — the fracking focus moves to East Kent as
:00:53. > :00:56.a company seeks explore for gas.
:00:56. > :01:03.Would you not mention it to anyone, my foolish behaviour?
:01:03. > :01:05.And the original Room With a View — the childhood home that inspired EM
:01:05. > :01:17.Forster gets a blue plaque. Good evening. A speeding driver who
:01:17. > :01:21.left a woman with permanent brain injuries has become one of the first
:01:21. > :01:24.in the country to be jailed under a new motoring offence. 25—year—old
:01:24. > :01:27.Jonathan Ellis from Ashford was sent to prison for two years today after
:01:27. > :01:31.admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving. His victim,
:01:31. > :01:34.59—year—old Patricia Ireland, has been diagnosed with post—traumatic
:01:34. > :01:45.stress disorder and forced to give up work. She told our reporter Ellie
:01:45. > :01:51.Price she feels she's lost her life. I saw head lights coming towards me
:01:51. > :01:58.at such speed, I knew there was nothing I could do. Patricia Ireland
:01:58. > :02:01.was left with frack just to her skull and ankle after the head—on
:02:01. > :02:04.collision last December. She is still on morphine for the pain and
:02:04. > :02:09.the brain damage she suffered meant she could no longer run hope
:02:09. > :02:17.business, a care home she set up more than 20 years ago. I have just
:02:17. > :02:21.lost my life. She has changed my life and I wish she could understand
:02:21. > :02:31.what she has done. And what they do when they get into a car. It is a
:02:31. > :02:36.weapon. Today, 25—year—old Jonathan Ellis was jailed for two years for
:02:36. > :02:42.the crash after the court heard he had been bracing another car when he
:02:42. > :02:47.lost control. We didn't expect it to be that long but it is a cracking
:02:47. > :02:55.result but it is a warning to others drivers. Because this is one of the
:02:55. > :02:59.first cases of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, there
:02:59. > :03:06.are no guidelines. The judge said people alter water —— realise ——
:03:06. > :03:16.ought to realise they are driving something they can kill. This new
:03:16. > :03:23.offence was brought in last year. People who calls serious life
:03:23. > :03:26.changing injuries to individuals were not being caught by any
:03:26. > :03:30.legislation and sometimes it was seen that they were getting off
:03:30. > :03:38.lightly. The judge said nothing could —— change the damage he had
:03:38. > :03:44.caused. Mrs Ellis said he had —— justice had been done. He got an
:03:44. > :03:51.eight year ban and two years in prison. Hopefully, that will make
:03:51. > :03:54.people realise and think. And later in the programme, we'll be
:03:54. > :03:57.looking at the Kent project teaching children about the dangers of
:03:57. > :04:08.driving by letting them get behind the wheel in the school playground.
:04:08. > :04:09.Sussex businessman says he is going to ignore teachers and take his
:04:09. > :04:16.children to to ignore teachers and take his
:04:16. > :04:21.Paul Yates—Smith says parents are fined if they children's school
:04:21. > :04:23.without position —— permission so he expects compensation from Saltdean
:04:23. > :04:30.Primary School if it refuses to let his children in. Teachers in the
:04:30. > :04:35.North and East of England have already gone on strike this month
:04:35. > :04:37.over pay and pensions. Next week, it is thought many schools in the
:04:37. > :04:42.south—east will close because of similar industrial action. Saltdean
:04:42. > :04:47.Primary School is one of them. It is thought parents not to bring their
:04:47. > :04:52.children into school on Thursday. But some parents say that is
:04:52. > :04:56.uncorrectable. the actions of those in the school are causing resentment
:04:56. > :04:59.among people I know because of the inconvenience and additional costs
:04:59. > :05:05.of looking after those children with short notice. I have respect for the
:05:05. > :05:09.children —— teachers right to strike and I agree they need to do that but
:05:09. > :05:16.I am asking for more time so we can plan effectively to plan for what we
:05:16. > :05:19.do as business owners. Paul Yates—Smith said he should be
:05:19. > :05:27.compensated for lost income and childcare costs. His letter was in
:05:27. > :05:31.response to a letter from the teacher's letter saying they had a
:05:32. > :05:42.high number of unauthorised absences from children and that they would be
:05:42. > :05:47.fined 120 times. —— 120 pounds. Nuptial it is a one—way street. I do
:05:47. > :05:50.believe it should be on both parties, if the teachers are
:05:50. > :05:52.going to work on that date because they have a strike, why
:05:52. > :05:58.going to work on that date because we be the one that are financially
:05:58. > :06:02.penalised? we don't agree with the system of fining parents. It can
:06:02. > :06:10.punish families in difficult stockings dances but as I say, the
:06:10. > :06:15.fault is with Michael Gove and the Department for Education. —— it can
:06:15. > :06:24.punish families in difficult circumstances. Head teachers need to
:06:24. > :06:26.make decisions and say that schools cannot be held responsible for
:06:26. > :06:31.children when they are closed because of strike action. Paul
:06:31. > :06:33.Yates—Smith says if the school does not take his children next
:06:33. > :06:44.Thursday, he will be demanding compensation. In a moment, the title
:06:44. > :06:51.of a new exhibition of avant—garde painter Basil Beattie's work in
:06:51. > :06:54.Sussex. The gritters are ready — the South
:06:54. > :06:57.East's highways managers promise they're better prepared than ever
:06:57. > :07:02.for snow and ice over the next few months. Our councils say they've
:07:02. > :07:05.spent millions of pounds repairing road surfaces damaged by frost
:07:05. > :07:08.earlier this year. But even so, some motoring experts say roads in Kent
:07:08. > :07:17.and Sussex continue to be blighted by potholes. In a moment we'll cross
:07:17. > :07:20.to our reporter Peter Whittlesea in Dover. But first, Juliette Parkin's
:07:20. > :07:30.at a gritter depot in Ringmer, near Lewes. Well might hear, I'll duck
:07:30. > :07:35.high, they have got around 3000 tonnes of salt across the county.
:07:35. > :07:42.Would you believe that is enough to feel around 800 million bags of
:07:42. > :07:47.chips. As the cold weather that income of the critters are on
:07:47. > :07:52.stand—by. This is costing £1.5 million but here, they say they are
:07:52. > :07:56.ready for all weathers. Gearing up for the task ahead, who knows what
:07:56. > :08:03.lies in store for these gritter drivers as winter approaches. It can
:08:03. > :08:07.be quite scary. You can see how dangerous and slow it is on the
:08:07. > :08:11.road, there are parked cars, abandoned cars everywhere, you have
:08:11. > :08:18.to keep your wits about you. When snow fell last year, the usual
:08:18. > :08:26.questions were asked —macro where were the critters —— — where were
:08:26. > :08:32.the critters? In terms of freak snow, there was always the chance
:08:32. > :08:37.that mother nature will beat us but we will do our best to make sure we
:08:37. > :08:44.have resources in the right place. There are 12,000 tonnes of salt for
:08:44. > :08:51.use and every time the great argues, it costs £10,000. It is
:08:51. > :08:55.making sure we have the right equipment. The reality is we are
:08:55. > :09:00.having more and more severe weather, more catastrophic events and they
:09:00. > :09:05.have to be prepared for that. Prepare for winter is the message to
:09:05. > :09:09.drivers, too. What is the advice to drivers? Check the forecast and
:09:09. > :09:14.don't journey out in difficult conditions unless you need to. Take
:09:14. > :09:23.warm clothing and a shovel. Over in Kent, they have a making similar
:09:23. > :09:28.preparations. Last day, Dover said they'd used more salt than ever
:09:28. > :09:37.before. This year, they have a fleet of 60 gritter'. They have stop
:09:37. > :09:41.packed 23 thousand tonnes of salt. Will the state of our roads and
:09:41. > :09:46.specifically potholes be the main problem this winter? After stocking
:09:46. > :09:52.up on salt, Kent County Council have declared it is ready for winter. But
:09:52. > :09:56.many motorists seem more concerned about the state of our roads rather
:09:56. > :10:06.than the salt stockpiles. Iraq wrote there are too many potholes. —— the
:10:06. > :10:10.water gets underneath, it freezes and pushes it out. What do you think
:10:10. > :10:19.of the state of the roads? awful. But the County Council said they are
:10:19. > :10:24.fixing potholes. we gave up the idea of a cheap fix several years ago.
:10:24. > :10:29.Nowadays, when we get a pothole, it is cut out, properly filled. So,
:10:29. > :10:40.taxpayers and there, the roads are up to standard? we think so. Do you
:10:41. > :10:44.honestly leave that? yes. The County Council says they are regularly
:10:44. > :10:49.prepared. Overnight, a yellow weather warning for heavy rain has
:10:49. > :10:53.been forecast and in certain parts of Kent, we could have up to 50
:10:53. > :10:56.millimetres of rain which could cause localised flooding.
:10:56. > :10:58.Peter Whittlesea in Dover and Juliette Parkin in Ringmer, thank
:10:58. > :11:01.you. Detectives investigating the sexual
:11:01. > :11:05.assault of a teenage boy on board a train in Sussex have released an
:11:05. > :11:08.image of a man they want to speak to. The 18—year—old from Bexhill was
:11:08. > :11:11.assaulted on a train travelling between Hastings and St Leonards
:11:11. > :11:14.Warrior Square. The Sussex Police and Crime
:11:14. > :11:17.Commissioner says she's considering increasing the amount the force
:11:17. > :11:21.receives from council tax payers next year. People living in the
:11:21. > :11:24.county pay an average of £138 per year to Sussex Police but Katy
:11:24. > :11:35.Bourne says she may ask for additional funding, with a final
:11:35. > :11:38.decision due in January. A public consultation is underway
:11:38. > :11:44.into plans for exploratory drilling for gas at three sites in East Kent.
:11:44. > :11:48.Coastal Oil and Gas believe there could be methane in coal seams which
:11:48. > :11:52.could be released to provide a cheap and plentiful source of fuel. But
:11:52. > :11:55.some local people fear it could lead to the controversial extraction
:11:55. > :11:58.process known as fracking and convert quiet villages into battle
:11:58. > :11:59.grounds between the police and anti—fracking protesters.
:11:59. > :12:04.environment correspondent Yvette Austin reports. For Benny the
:12:04. > :12:08.farmland in this part of East Kent lies a bit of coal much was
:12:08. > :12:15.throughout the 1900 spot now a company called Crystal oil and gas
:12:15. > :12:20.wants to look for methane and local people are worried. This is clearly
:12:20. > :12:25.one of the three sites that will be affected. Lets not forget that the
:12:25. > :12:29.explorative borehole is there to look for the viability for
:12:29. > :12:36.extraction. This could lead easily to up to 2000 wellheads here if it
:12:37. > :12:40.goes on to the extraction process. It is something local people must
:12:40. > :12:46.understand. Local people, businesses and indeed farmers. A public
:12:46. > :12:51.consultation is underway for each of the three planning applications in
:12:51. > :12:57.the three areas. The company says it wants to test will only for now.
:12:57. > :13:02.What people remember the mining and remember that the mines were closed
:13:02. > :13:05.partly due to the difficulties underground caused by flooding
:13:05. > :13:11.shafts. Ground water contamination, they say, is a real right here if
:13:11. > :13:19.fracking is ever allowed. It is known that they are unstable, they
:13:19. > :13:22.can move by considerable depth, up to 50 metres. That would be
:13:22. > :13:26.sufficient to disrupt the overlying formations and allow gases and
:13:26. > :13:34.fluids to move upwards into deep base of the aquifer. People in Kent
:13:34. > :13:38.watch closely the protests in bulk over the summer and not everyone
:13:38. > :13:42.wants a repeat of these scenes. Some people say fracking would not happen
:13:42. > :13:47.in East Kent anyway and testing isn't a problem. my concern is that
:13:47. > :13:49.the fact that we will end up with protesters turning up on mass,
:13:49. > :13:54.campaigning against fracking which isn't going to happen and causing
:13:54. > :14:00.the sort of contest —— congestion and road blocking that we wouldn't
:14:00. > :14:04.see from the test running going ahead. People have just over a month
:14:04. > :14:07.see from the test running going to make their views known to the
:14:07. > :14:11.local council. Our top story tonight: A speeding
:14:11. > :14:14.driver who left a woman with permanent brain injuries after
:14:14. > :14:18.crashing into her car in Kent has become one of the first in the
:14:18. > :14:20.country to be sentenced under a new motoring offence. Jonathan Ellis,
:14:20. > :14:25.from Ashford, was jailed for two years today, after admitting causing
:14:25. > :14:34.serious injury by dangerous driving. Also in tonight's programme: It was
:14:34. > :14:39.set in Tuscany but a house in Kent inspired a Room With a View and now
:14:39. > :14:42.it has a blue plaque. And first, the blustery northern winds and then it
:14:42. > :14:46.got cold and today, we saw the brain. I will have a full cast ——
:14:46. > :14:54.weather forecast. With growing concerns about the
:14:54. > :14:57.numbers of young drivers involved in high speed road accidents, one
:14:57. > :15:01.school in Kent is taking an unusual approach by allowing teenagers to
:15:01. > :15:08.drive in the playground. It comes as the government looks at dramatically
:15:08. > :15:15.toughening up the driving licence. New proposals would —— require
:15:15. > :15:20.teenagers to have 100 hours of day time driving and 20 hours of my time
:15:20. > :15:23.driving before they could even take their test. And even after passing,
:15:23. > :15:25.they'd only be given a 12—month probationary license and potentially
:15:25. > :15:28.a curfew preventing them from driving between 10pm and 5am. Ian
:15:28. > :15:30.Palmer has been to Swadelands School near Maidstone for tonights special
:15:30. > :15:39.report. It is a lesson they will never
:15:39. > :15:42.forget. The stick Dean and 16—year—olds are getting better
:15:42. > :15:52.first taste of what it is like to drive a car. It squeals of pleasure,
:15:52. > :15:57.there is a serious message. Pro rata drivers between the age of 17 and 24
:15:57. > :16:01.cause a significant number of road accidents. The driving Academy
:16:01. > :16:05.programme aims to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries caused by
:16:05. > :16:09.Doug people. Usually, you wouldn't think about it. You would then, they
:16:09. > :16:17.are in a car, they know how to drive. I think it is good that I
:16:17. > :16:23.have done this is that of my first driving lesson being in the road. It
:16:23. > :16:25.was scary. Driving can have scary consequences if you don't give it
:16:25. > :16:35.your full attention. It is to give the young people into an
:16:35. > :16:39.insight into driving. Before they get the Russia. When they are 17,
:16:39. > :16:42.they have all this pressure on them to perform rather than to
:16:42. > :16:47.understand. This is giving them the understanding when they are young
:16:47. > :16:51.and hopefully, they will go away and one to study the Highway Code which
:16:51. > :16:59.has the bits in it about young drivers, pedestrians, cyclists.
:16:59. > :17:03.Here, they are all too aware about the dangers on the road. Five years
:17:03. > :17:08.ago, a pupil was killed inside a car. Recently, and pupil was
:17:08. > :17:11.seriously injured. The Department for Transport figures show that
:17:11. > :17:16.young drivers account for a significant number of accidents on
:17:16. > :17:23.the road, despite being just 8% of the driving population. 20 per two
:17:23. > :17:29.—— 22% involved one young driver. There were 350 deaths and more than
:17:29. > :17:37.4000 people were serious injury —— seriously injured. The company
:17:37. > :17:47.running the scheme says it will save lives.
:17:47. > :17:53.A Room With a View, Howard's End and A Passage to India — novels that
:17:53. > :17:56.captured the essence and tensions of Edwardian England at the height of
:17:56. > :17:59.the Empire. And today, as Chrissie Reidy reports, a blue plaque has
:17:59. > :18:00.been unveiled at the author EM Forster's childhood home in
:18:00. > :18:18.Tonbridge. Isn't it extraordinary? I mean,
:18:18. > :18:22.Italians are so kind, so lovable. Room With a View is a 20th—century
:18:22. > :18:29.classic. EM Forster was inspired when he lived at this house in
:18:29. > :18:32.Tunbridge as a child. It was this view that is said to have inspired
:18:32. > :18:39.EM Forster to write the novel brethren with a view. Back then, he
:18:39. > :18:41.could see way out across North Down. —— to write the novel room with the
:18:41. > :18:59.youth. Honourable gentleman Lucy! . The experienced in Tunbridge is
:18:59. > :19:03.definitely part of his formative experiences, the way in which he
:19:03. > :19:08.views the class system in England. It is definitely laying a very
:19:08. > :19:18.important part in his early life. Something he explored in books like
:19:18. > :19:23.Howard's End. do arrest, do arrest. Macro as an adult, he would have
:19:23. > :19:27.reflected back to his schooldays and seen those as the read Richard and
:19:27. > :19:34.he may well have had principles which felt that that sort of glitch
:19:34. > :19:37.was not right. Today, that Room With a View which is now a school marked
:19:37. > :19:47.his contribution to the literary world. I am every proud to announce
:19:47. > :19:52.the plaque is open. Personally, I think it is amazing that I went to
:19:52. > :19:57.school in the house where one of our best novelists lived and worked.
:19:57. > :20:03.Hopefully, it will inspire the children as well. There are another
:20:03. > :20:07.six to be unveiled. It isn't —— it is hoped these loop backs will
:20:07. > :20:11.ensure the camp of Mac heritage is not for bottom.
:20:11. > :20:13.Renowned for his large—scale, avant—garde abstract paintings
:20:13. > :20:17.78—year—old Basil Beattie is showing few signs of slowing down. A new
:20:17. > :20:20.display of his work opens to the public tomorrow at the Jerwood
:20:20. > :20:22.Gallery in Hastings. Sara Smith has been along for a preview with the
:20:22. > :20:35.artist. Ladders which go nowhere but in
:20:35. > :20:41.every direction. It takes a few moments in this space to realise
:20:41. > :20:46.these are a recurring theme on Basil Beattie's huge canvases. He admits
:20:46. > :20:53.they have proved endlessly intriguing for him. the staircases
:20:53. > :20:59.do not touch the top of the canvas. They don't touch either side. I
:20:59. > :21:13.think that that is for me, intriguing, they look as if one can
:21:13. > :21:22.be optimistic for stop ——. . He sews —— she shows no size —— he shows no
:21:22. > :21:26.signs of scaling back his ambition. All these canvases were produced in
:21:26. > :21:34.the last year. They explore shakes, colour and darkness. for me, to look
:21:34. > :21:39.at these gallery and this painting, it is like that waking moment when
:21:39. > :21:45.then, that was a strange dream, what does it mean? We know that dreams
:21:45. > :21:50.mean everything and nothing, they mean what you want them to mean, in
:21:50. > :21:56.a way, and that is what happens here. The paintings feature
:21:56. > :22:08.alongside two accompanying exhibitions, this piece clearly
:22:08. > :22:15.influenced by the famous Dutch painter. The exhibition opens
:22:15. > :22:18.tomorrow. Onto sport, and with news of
:22:18. > :22:27.football, athletics and an exciting weekend of motorsport, let's cross
:22:27. > :22:31.live to Neil Bell in Chatham. It is the easy weekend of international
:22:31. > :22:33.fixtures. International fixtures mean there's
:22:33. > :22:36.no league match for Brighton or Charlton this weekend, while
:22:36. > :22:40.Crawley's game with Bristol City has been postponed. But Gillingham are
:22:40. > :22:43.in action away to Shrewsbury. The Gills are hoping for a third
:22:43. > :22:46.successive win, but will be forced to make at least one change,
:22:46. > :22:48.following an injury to full—back Michael Harriman.
:22:48. > :22:51.Sprinter Adam Gemili says he's excited about training at
:22:51. > :22:54.Loughborough with a new athletics coach. The 20—year—old from Dartford
:22:54. > :22:57.has parted company with Michael Afilaka, who he'd worked with since
:22:57. > :23:01.swapping football for athletics last year. He'll now be trained by
:23:01. > :23:05.British Athletics sprint coach Steve Fudge.
:23:05. > :23:10.Now, anyone out on the roads this afternoon will know it was a bit
:23:10. > :23:13.hairy — but just a few miles from here, a 16—year—old was hitting
:23:13. > :23:16.speeds of a 100 plus. No need for alarm, Will Palmer was quickest in
:23:16. > :23:28.practice for this weekends Ginnetta Championship at Brands Hatch. He is
:23:28. > :23:35.keen, he is quick, and he knows every hump around Brands Hatch. His
:23:35. > :23:41.dad Jonathan and the Kent circuit and this weekend, his son hopes to
:23:41. > :23:47.win there. he would like —— I would like to win at our home circuit. It
:23:47. > :23:50.is pretty special coming here. I have in watching since I was pretty
:23:50. > :23:56.young. I have always thought I would love to one day get on there. To win
:23:56. > :24:01.there would be fantastic. Will Palmer celebrated his first race
:24:01. > :24:02.victory last month and is currently third in the Ginnetta Championship.
:24:02. > :24:10.He gets help from his big third in the Ginnetta Championship.
:24:10. > :24:15.who is a successful driver. he showed an interest that a very early
:24:15. > :24:23.age, at four or five years old, he was driving an adult car. He clearly
:24:23. > :24:27.had a natural talent. William was different, I ran the being in Abu
:24:27. > :24:31.Dhabi and I found out that William was in a karting race, saying he
:24:31. > :24:36.doesn't want to do it any more, he is cold and wet and he was to go
:24:36. > :24:42.home. I said if he gives up now, we won't do any more bracing. He stuck
:24:42. > :24:52.at it and now, he hopes to imitate his brother. There is a bit of
:24:52. > :25:00.Russia but not too much, is there? Who is the best in the family? I am
:25:00. > :25:03.going to say me. Not everything went according to plan but Will Palmer
:25:03. > :25:10.was the quickest man on the surface. —— on the circuit. He is one to
:25:10. > :25:19.watch. Some sad news today, the death of David Clarke, former
:25:19. > :25:23.cricket happy —— Captain. He was 94. We are going to need some what
:25:23. > :25:29.somewhat this weekend, so how about this? To baby dormice have been
:25:29. > :25:38.rescued after being found at a plant pot in a garden centre. The team at
:25:38. > :25:40.Canterbury are hand feeding them. These are former balls to extinction
:25:40. > :25:50.but these to stand a fighting chance. We will have to survive the
:25:50. > :25:54.weather. Very cute, they will be inside. It is not a weekend to be
:25:54. > :25:57.outside, but from Saturday after the name, you might see some brighter
:25:58. > :26:03.weather around but also some very heavy rain. We have had a warning
:26:03. > :26:11.out from The Met office about this very heavy rain. You don't need me
:26:11. > :26:14.to tell you that it has been a wet and windy day. Lots of heavy,
:26:14. > :26:18.persistent and around. Temperatures reaching highs of around 11 or 12
:26:19. > :26:23.degrees. When you take into account the raw easterly wind, and all the
:26:24. > :26:31.rain, it has been feeling more like it agrees. It is going to be a wet
:26:31. > :26:36.picture. Temperatures only dropping perhaps to 910 degrees but it will
:26:36. > :26:40.build pretty chilly. The wind easing off as we get towards dawn but it
:26:41. > :26:45.will be a wet start to the weekend. The rental is a little bit as we go
:26:45. > :26:49.through the off the moon, and increasingly price will become of
:26:49. > :26:52.the winds easing off, still the chance of one or two hefty downpours
:26:52. > :26:56.that for the most part, it looks like it'll be a dry afternoon,
:26:57. > :27:00.temperatures up to 12 degrees, always feeling cooler with a win is
:27:01. > :27:08.coming in from any silly direction. As we go over into Sunday, some
:27:09. > :27:17.clever skies and mist and fog but it doesn't stray dry for long. Sunday,
:27:17. > :27:23.lots of rain, the winds still to light but not pretty picture. Highs
:27:23. > :27:29.around 12 or 13 degrees. Feeling a lot cooler than that. Saturday
:27:29. > :27:34.afternoon, best for any plans, it clears by Monday but it will head
:27:34. > :27:42.back through the rest of the week. Make the best of it. See you next
:27:43. > :27:46.week as long as we don't get all washed away. Goodbye. Goodbye.