:00:00. > 3:59:59more than 9%. That is all from the BBC News at Six.
:00:00. > :00:09.It Welcome to South East Today, I'm
:00:10. > :00:13.Natalie Graham. Tonight's top stories.
:00:14. > :00:17.The legal high which nearly killed a teenager in Kent ` now the
:00:18. > :00:22.Government orders an urgent review. Our home affairs correspondent is
:00:23. > :00:26.live with the story. Vote UKIP get Labour ` the warning
:00:27. > :00:33.from the Prime Minister to voters in Sussex and Surrey.
:00:34. > :00:36.Also in tonight's programme. A show of solidarity from striking
:00:37. > :00:40.teachers, as hundreds of schools are shut across Kent and Sussex.
:00:41. > :00:46.Getting the hump in the Gobi desert ` the camel conservationist who's
:00:47. > :00:52.helping to save the species. She is the mother of your children
:00:53. > :00:55.was. How could you be so cruel? And a tale of two lovers ` the
:00:56. > :01:07.affair Charles Dickens conducted in Kent is brought to the big screen.
:01:08. > :01:10.Good evening. An urgent review of the risks posed by a legal high
:01:11. > :01:14.which nearly killed a student in Kent last week is going to be
:01:15. > :01:17.carried out by the Government. 17`year`old Matt Ford smoked the
:01:18. > :01:22.substance Exodus Damnation after buying it over the counter at a shop
:01:23. > :01:25.in Canterbury. An investigation by BBC South East Today has discovered
:01:26. > :01:31.the drug has caused other health scares across the country. Now the
:01:32. > :01:34.Home Office Minister and MP for Lewes, Norman Baker has asked
:01:35. > :01:41.officials to look at the issue. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Colin
:01:42. > :01:45.Campbell has the story. It is a so`called legal high cell does in
:01:46. > :01:50.sense but smoked by young people. We have discovered it is causing health
:01:51. > :01:56.problems across the UK. One young person tried to jump out of the
:01:57. > :02:03.window and another bit his father in the face. It was an extreme adverse
:02:04. > :02:10.reaction suffered by Canterbury student Matt Ford focus attention on
:02:11. > :02:16.the substance Exodus Damnation. In another five minutes I probably
:02:17. > :02:21.would have been dead. Despite the health risks the substance remains
:02:22. > :02:27.on sale in shops across the south`east. We bought these today in
:02:28. > :02:31.Tunbridge Wells. One medical experts says one person per week on average
:02:32. > :02:38.is ending up in hospital after taking this product. We sent a
:02:39. > :02:42.sample of it for analysis. The results show it contains active
:02:43. > :02:51.chemical compounds, synthetic variance of cannabis known as
:02:52. > :02:56.synthetic cover Lloyds. Manufacturers in China told me they
:02:57. > :03:05.supply several English distributors with the chemicals. When I suggested
:03:06. > :03:10.that the chemicals could soon be banned I was told there are new
:03:11. > :03:11.substances already available. I was also advised how to import the
:03:12. > :03:32.product into the UK. The UK seller of Exodus Damnation
:03:33. > :03:36.told me they were not able to provide 100 packets of the legal
:03:37. > :03:46.high as they were working at full capacity to keep up with demand. We
:03:47. > :03:53.understand the government has known about Exodus Damnation since May. We
:03:54. > :04:00.do take action within weeks to ban particular substances. I will ask
:04:01. > :04:05.for an investigation on this product. The government is now
:04:06. > :04:11.considering automatic bans on substances that cause harm. Let's
:04:12. > :04:14.talk to Colin, he's outside UK Skunkworks' shop in Maidstone now.
:04:15. > :04:21.Colin, today the company hit back at criticism from the Canterbury MP.
:04:22. > :04:28.Yes Julian Brazier has said he wants this chain of shops close down. He
:04:29. > :04:34.described it as a squalid trade. But UK Skunkworks has hit back today
:04:35. > :04:40.criticising Julian Brazier and accusing him of hypocrisy, failing
:04:41. > :04:44.to challenge alcohol and tobacco companies. UK Skunkworks say they
:04:45. > :04:49.have an extremely high moral code and say nobody on the age of 18 is
:04:50. > :04:54.allowed into their shops. They say none of the products that they sell
:04:55. > :05:03.are for drug use. Over the phone they told me they had no complaints
:05:04. > :05:06.about the product Exodus Damnation. The Prime Minister, David Cameron
:05:07. > :05:09.has made a direct appeal to people tempted to vote for the UK
:05:10. > :05:12.Independence Party at the next General Election to think again.
:05:13. > :05:15.Speaking on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, he said the Conservative
:05:16. > :05:18.Party is tackling issues such as immigration and welfare ` and he
:05:19. > :05:21.warned that voting for UKIP could help Labour get into Government. Our
:05:22. > :05:28.Political Editor Louise Stewart reports. UKIP members celebrating in
:05:29. > :05:34.Margate after becoming the main opposition party on Kent county
:05:35. > :05:38.council in May. And just last month they took a seat on Sevenoaks
:05:39. > :05:44.district Council. But also in the East Sussex they have seven seats,
:05:45. > :05:48.the same number as Labour. And in West Sussex they have ten, making
:05:49. > :05:52.them the second party after the Conservatives. It is those games
:05:53. > :05:57.which are worrying the Prime Minister and today he made a direct
:05:58. > :06:02.appeal. Two people who have gone to UKIP I would say if you care about
:06:03. > :06:07.immigration, we are cutting it. If you care about welfare reform, we
:06:08. > :06:11.are doing that and capping the money families get so they are always
:06:12. > :06:19.better off in work. And I have promised a referendum on Europe by
:06:20. > :06:23.2017. You will not get that from a Labour government. A large part of
:06:24. > :06:29.the UKIP support does come from disgruntled voters in the south`east
:06:30. > :06:35.annoyed with policies on immigration and defence. I think this is hardly
:06:36. > :06:42.a Labour stronghold around here so he has got a point about voting for
:06:43. > :06:50.UKIP. I have voted UKIP occasionally in the past. I do not think they
:06:51. > :06:54.will ever get in but I did it as a warning. I am a Conservative
:06:55. > :07:00.supporter and I am all for David Cameron. I think he's doing the
:07:01. > :07:08.right thing. The UKIP leader says the Conservatives are right to be
:07:09. > :07:12.worried. We always polled strongly in European elections but now they
:07:13. > :07:20.are terrified about domestic elections. That UKIP could
:07:21. > :07:24.potentially win. With the latest polls showing the Conservatives neck
:07:25. > :07:29.and neck, the Prime Minister knows winning back support from voters who
:07:30. > :07:35.have defected to UKIP could be the deciding factor at the next
:07:36. > :07:38.election. Louise joins me now. How unusual is it to hear such a direct
:07:39. > :07:46.appeal from the Prime Minister to UKIP voters? I think it is unusual
:07:47. > :07:55.and a new strategy. Before he used to ignore UKIP. That strategy has
:07:56. > :08:00.not worked so he has decided, he had a spare 20 minutes in his diary and
:08:01. > :08:07.decided to speak directly to people at BBC Sussex and Surrey. He has
:08:08. > :08:13.also spoken to radio stations in Solent. Clearly they are concerned
:08:14. > :08:17.about the threat from UKIP head of the next election and want to get
:08:18. > :08:20.the message across that if you vote for them you could risk of getting
:08:21. > :08:26.the Labour government and squeezing out the Conservatives.
:08:27. > :08:29.In a moment, the Sussex hospital which pioneered burns treatment
:08:30. > :08:39.during the war celebrates 150 years with a royal visit.
:08:40. > :08:43.An elderly woman who lost hundreds of pounds to conmen is warning
:08:44. > :08:47.others not to be fleeced by fraudsters. The offenders, posing as
:08:48. > :08:50.police officers and bank staff, duped her into revealing details of
:08:51. > :08:55.her credit card account over the phone. Kent police have linked up to
:08:56. > :08:59.60 similar reports of fraud in the county over the last two months. One
:09:00. > :09:08.victim was duped out of ?45,000. Ellie Price has more.
:09:09. > :09:12.It is a credit card scam that is on the rise in Kent. Criminals posing
:09:13. > :09:17.as police by the bank for victims and ask them to call back on a
:09:18. > :09:21.trusted number. They then intercept the call, and take the private
:09:22. > :09:27.information and the money. Jeanette Atkins lost a lot of money in this
:09:28. > :09:35.way. I was very upset at the time. I've reported it to the bank and
:09:36. > :09:40.they reported it to the police. It frightened me to think that they may
:09:41. > :09:46.even turn up at my home because they must have had my address. More than
:09:47. > :09:51.1600 people across the UK fell victims to this scam last year. It
:09:52. > :09:55.cost more than ?7.5 million. Kent police say they have had more than
:09:56. > :10:02.60 cases reported in the county in the past two months alone. This is
:10:03. > :10:07.not the way that banks or the police will ever operate. So if you are
:10:08. > :10:11.suspicious about a phone call supposedly from the bank or a police
:10:12. > :10:19.officer do not do what they have asked you to do. Things like Chip
:10:20. > :10:23.and pin and online shopping protection has meant that the system
:10:24. > :10:30.is now secure so instead criminals are trying to dupe individuals into
:10:31. > :10:35.giving away their card and financial information instead. Experts say the
:10:36. > :10:39.average age of a victim of this kind of fraud is 69. While the police and
:10:40. > :10:50.banking industry are working to stop it, the advice is to hang up.
:10:51. > :10:53.Police have arrested multiple suspects in connection with the
:10:54. > :10:56.murder of a British primary school teacher in Qatar. 24`year`old Lauren
:10:57. > :11:00.Patterson was reportedly last seen leaving a five`star hotel in Doha
:11:01. > :11:03.with a group of men in the early hours of Saturday. Her mother,
:11:04. > :11:07.Alison Patterson, from West Malling, is believed to have flown to Doha to
:11:08. > :11:10.identify the body. A 17`year`old boy has today been
:11:11. > :11:14.arrested in connection with an attack on an elderly couple at their
:11:15. > :11:17.home in Hextable, near Dartford, on Tuesday morning. John McDougall,
:11:18. > :11:19.who's 84, and his wife Jean, who's 89, suffered head injuries. A
:11:20. > :11:26.16`year`old boy, arrested yesterday, has now been released without
:11:27. > :11:29.charge. The Chief Executive of Gatwick says
:11:30. > :11:32.the London Mayor Boris Johnson's billion pound Thames estuary airport
:11:33. > :11:35.plan was "sinking without trace". But today the mayor was visiting
:11:36. > :11:40.Hong Kong airport to see just how feasible a hub airport in the sea
:11:41. > :11:43.could be. Almost 300 schools have closed or
:11:44. > :11:46.partially closed across the South East today, because of the teachers
:11:47. > :11:52.strike over pay and working conditions. In Brighton, 58 out of
:11:53. > :11:56.76 schools have been affected. Another 99 closed in East Sussex.
:11:57. > :12:00.And 109 shut in West Sussex. In Kent the number of schools affected was
:12:01. > :12:05.103. And in Medway 32 schools closed. The NUT and the NASUWT
:12:06. > :12:10.unions have accused the Education Secretary Michael Gove of attacking
:12:11. > :12:14.teachers. The Government says the strike is disappointing and
:12:15. > :12:17.disruptive for parents. In a moment we'll be hearing from our
:12:18. > :12:23.Correspondent Yvette Austin in Chatham, but first Juliette Parkin
:12:24. > :12:27.has been in Brighton. The majority of schools were closed here in the
:12:28. > :12:35.city today and hundreds of teachers the streets in March which finished
:12:36. > :12:38.with a rally. `` in March. The unions say because the city is
:12:39. > :12:42.relatively confined geographically they were able to get two more of
:12:43. > :12:49.their members and hear their concerns and rally support.
:12:50. > :12:54.The reason why most of the schools were closed across Brighton and Hove
:12:55. > :12:59.today, their teachers were here on strike and on a protest march. Some
:13:00. > :13:05.might say is not right for the children to take a day off today.
:13:06. > :13:11.None of us want to take a day away from the education of children but
:13:12. > :13:18.we have to make a stand. Nobody wants to ruin a child's education.
:13:19. > :13:23.But it is one day instead of a lifetime for them. He is changing
:13:24. > :13:29.things left right and centre. It is not good enough. Teachers striking
:13:30. > :13:34.today say this is about pensions, page and performance related pay in
:13:35. > :13:40.particular. But some parents say this day of action is hitting them
:13:41. > :13:47.hard financially as well. There is a punitive measure in place which the
:13:48. > :13:55.parents pay. I think it is not a level playing field. When schools
:13:56. > :14:01.are not able to open, we do not get the same care. We are parents
:14:02. > :14:07.ourselves and understand the concerns about this disruption to
:14:08. > :14:12.education. But we feel it is in the long`term interests of children in
:14:13. > :14:16.this country. That teachers are fairly and properly paid. The
:14:17. > :14:26.government could the strike action disappointing. `` called. Parents
:14:27. > :14:34.rely on teaching their children and this is damaging to the reputation
:14:35. > :14:40.of the teaching profession. Teachers today called this a last
:14:41. > :14:45.resort but said it is about defending the future of the
:14:46. > :14:50.profession and education. Unions spoke today about divisive pay
:14:51. > :14:55.systems and changes to the pension age but some teachers we spoke to
:14:56. > :15:00.said it is about so much more full stop it is about changes to the
:15:01. > :15:04.curriculum and unnecessary testing. One temporary childcare agency said
:15:05. > :15:07.this evening they had had an particularly busy day. Clearly this
:15:08. > :15:15.has caused some working parents dearly. `` has cost.
:15:16. > :15:19.Our correspondent Yvette Austin has been in Kent and Medway and she
:15:20. > :15:23.joins us now from Chatham. Yvette, the strike may not have had quite
:15:24. > :15:29.the same impact there as it had in Brighton, but lots of schools and
:15:30. > :15:36.families have been affected? Many parents have had to juggle work and
:15:37. > :15:38.childcare. But some were supportive of the strike action saying that
:15:39. > :15:45.they did understand what the fight was about. One young Grammar School
:15:46. > :15:52.pupil was very much enjoying the day off and catching up on some
:15:53. > :15:56.homework. What did the council have to say about events today? Of course
:15:57. > :16:01.the fight is between the government and the unions. The council said it
:16:02. > :16:05.feels stuck in the middle and can only advise parents what to do.
:16:06. > :16:12.Whatever the merits of what is going on, this is a disruption to
:16:13. > :16:16.education and the lives of families and we clearly would not wish to see
:16:17. > :16:21.that happen. There does not seem to be much of an end to this dispute.
:16:22. > :16:25.There is expected to be more action before Christmas.
:16:26. > :16:29.This is our top story tonight. The government has ordered an urgent
:16:30. > :16:32.review of the health risks posed by a legal high which nearly killed a
:16:33. > :16:35.student in Kent last week. 17`year`old Matt Ford smoked the
:16:36. > :16:41.substance Exodus Damnation after buying it over the counter at a shop
:16:42. > :16:44.in Canterbury. An investigation carried out by this programme
:16:45. > :16:47.discovered the drug has caused other health scares across the country.
:16:48. > :16:50.Also in tonight's programme. The Invisible Woman ` Charles Dicken's
:16:51. > :16:55.secret mistress, now the subject of a film starring Ralph Fiennes. And
:16:56. > :17:07.getting the hump. The camels back in the Gobi desert, thanks to a man
:17:08. > :17:10.from Kent. The Princess Royal was in East
:17:11. > :17:14.Grinstead to open new operating theatres at the Queen Victoria
:17:15. > :17:17.Hospital. The Princess is patron of the hospital and the event was part
:17:18. > :17:20.of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The QVH became world
:17:21. > :17:24.famous when the surgeon McIndoe used pioneering plastic
:17:25. > :17:30.surgery to treat aircrew with burns during World War II. It moved to its
:17:31. > :17:36.present site in 1936 ` and Mcindoe began work there three years later.
:17:37. > :17:41.In 1941 he formed the Guinea Pig Club for the service men he was
:17:42. > :17:42.treating. The hospital was one of the
:17:43. > :17:42.t I the the first to be granted Foundation
:17:43. > :20:00.As a writer, he epitomised Victorian values with his stories of British
:20:01. > :20:03.life. But what wasn't so well`known at the time was that Charles Dickens
:20:04. > :20:07.had a secret relationship with a young actress. Now a new film called
:20:08. > :20:09.The Invisible Woman, starring and directed by Ralph Fiennes, focuses
:20:10. > :20:16.on that relationship. Charlie Rose reports.
:20:17. > :20:21.He seemed to leak up into it with a mighty bound. The man famous for his
:20:22. > :20:28.work but in his private life, and began to shift. In the Invisible
:20:29. > :20:31.Woman a middle aged Dickens falls for the young actress Nelly who is
:20:32. > :20:36.seduced by his work. I did not know much about Dickens and I was totally
:20:37. > :20:45.transported by the story of this woman. It was really her story and
:20:46. > :20:52.her dilemma moving it. Based on a biographical story, as a married man
:20:53. > :21:00.Dickens was leading a double life. Ralph Fiennes left the author of the
:21:01. > :21:05.book in no doubt as to his suitability for the role. I is said
:21:06. > :21:12.to him early on, you were born to play Dickens! But before taking on
:21:13. > :21:15.the role the actor had hardly any knowledge of Dickens. He did not
:21:16. > :21:28.study him at school. So to solve the problem he said he had to have a
:21:29. > :21:40.Dickens binge. I had the original Dickens country house. It is now a
:21:41. > :21:46.school. It was a mistake. Did you send Katherine to me like she is the
:21:47. > :21:50.mother of your children, how could you be so cruel? Kent is integral to
:21:51. > :21:54.some of the finest works of Dickens. And through Nelly he sought an
:21:55. > :22:03.escape from his isolation as a writer here.
:22:04. > :22:06.For the first time ever, two wild camels have been released into their
:22:07. > :22:11.natural habitat because of the work of a conservationist from Cranbrook.
:22:12. > :22:14.John Hare left his home in the county and travelled more than 4000
:22:15. > :22:22.miles to Mongolia where last week the two males were led in to the
:22:23. > :22:30.Gobi desert. Claudia Sermbezis has been to meet him. John Hare
:22:31. > :22:34.encouraged the Chinese and Mongolian government to work together to
:22:35. > :22:41.provide information through satellite collars. John receives
:22:42. > :22:47.regular information from them. Will they settle? Will be linkup with
:22:48. > :22:57.another wild herd? We do not know these and says. So this is a real
:22:58. > :23:03.experiment. `` these answers. His work saw this camel confirmed as a
:23:04. > :23:09.separate species in 2008. It also has incredible resilience. The
:23:10. > :23:12.deserts of China and Mongolia are harsh and the camels in the Chinese
:23:13. > :23:24.Gobi Desert have also survived weapons testing. It survived 43
:23:25. > :23:32.nuclear weapons tests. Not even the domestic camel can do this. So we
:23:33. > :23:35.have a remarkable creature which is not improperly scientifically
:23:36. > :23:41.investigated. This is worth preserving. It could have all kinds
:23:42. > :23:46.of answers for us which could benefit mankind. John Hare is now
:23:47. > :23:50.starting an educational campaign in schools in China and Mongolia to
:23:51. > :23:57.help children understand the value of the wild camel.
:23:58. > :24:00.One of the major selling points for the London 2012 Olympic bid was the
:24:01. > :24:04.legacy the Games would leave. But what impact did they actually have?
:24:05. > :24:09.Today at Canterbury College an Olympic Legacy road show began a
:24:10. > :24:12.tour of the UK. Its aim ` to capitalise on the excitement
:24:13. > :24:14.generated last summer ` and inspire teenagers to set up sporting
:24:15. > :24:20.projects in their area. Neil Bell reports.
:24:21. > :24:23.It may be more than a year since the country was gripped by Olympic
:24:24. > :24:34.figure `` Olympic fever but the site and touch of a gold medal has lost
:24:35. > :24:40.none of its magic. This is as close as we have got. The excitement has
:24:41. > :24:50.been relived with the torches here and everything. We want to have the
:24:51. > :24:54.whole experience all over again. We are here to inspire a generation.
:24:55. > :24:58.Dozens of students from the south`east got the chance to try a
:24:59. > :25:05.variety of sports. The emphasis was on teamwork and making a difference.
:25:06. > :25:10.It is about empowering young people, that they can still be
:25:11. > :25:17.inspired by that Olympic legacy. We are trying to give them a bit of
:25:18. > :25:22.that magic back. The canoe slalom produced one of the most dramatic
:25:23. > :25:31.finishes in any of the events last summer. Canoe slalom is quite a
:25:32. > :25:38.small sport. So coming to events like this is a great opportunity.
:25:39. > :25:42.Millions watched on TV, hundreds of thousands experienced it first hand.
:25:43. > :25:51.The hope now is that many more will benefit from London 2012.
:25:52. > :26:03.And it was a beautiful day to get outside and take some exercise.
:26:04. > :26:08.There were some showers around today but these were passing through
:26:09. > :26:19.pretty quickly. And temperatures mild for the time of year. But it
:26:20. > :26:25.was also a breezy day. As we go into tonight we have some widespread and
:26:26. > :26:29.quite dense fog as we go through the night. Initially we have some
:26:30. > :26:36.showers and those will be using overnight. Quite a foggy picture by
:26:37. > :26:43.Dawn. Temperatures still holding up at around 12 degrees. Some good news
:26:44. > :26:49.for tomorrow, this area of low pressure will be to the north and
:26:50. > :27:00.the west of us. We will mostly be staying dry with a lot of miles
:27:01. > :27:05.there still around. `` mild air. And temperatures a little down on today
:27:06. > :27:09.but still not too bad. As we head towards the weekend we will have
:27:10. > :27:19.further up wrecks of rain overnight into Saturday. `` up wrecks of rain.
:27:20. > :27:24.So for the weekend we will see some blustery showers around but it will
:27:25. > :27:36.be staying miles. The rain clears out of the way on Saturday. Some
:27:37. > :27:43.heavy showers around on Sunday. Well that is it for now but we will
:27:44. > :27:48.be back with the eight o'clock update. Goodbye.