17/10/2013 South East Today

more than 9%. That is all from the BBC News at Six.

It Welcome to South East Today, I'm

Natalie Graham. Tonight's top stories.

The legal high which nearly killed a teenager in Kent ` now the

Government orders an urgent review. Our home affairs correspondent is

live with the story. Vote UKIP get Labour ` the warning

from the Prime Minister to voters in Sussex and Surrey.

Also in tonight's programme. A show of solidarity from striking

teachers, as hundreds of schools are shut across Kent and Sussex.

Getting the hump in the Gobi desert ` the camel conservationist who's

helping to save the species. She is the mother of your children

was. How could you be so cruel? And a tale of two lovers ` the

affair Charles Dickens conducted in Kent is brought to the big screen.

Good evening. An urgent review of the risks posed by a legal high

which nearly killed a student in Kent last week is going to be

carried out by the Government. 17`year`old Matt Ford smoked the

substance Exodus Damnation after buying it over the counter at a shop

in Canterbury. An investigation by BBC South East Today has discovered

the drug has caused other health scares across the country. Now the

Home Office Minister and MP for Lewes, Norman Baker has asked

officials to look at the issue. Our Home Affairs Correspondent Colin

Campbell has the story. It is a so`called legal high cell does in

sense but smoked by young people. We have discovered it is causing health

problems across the UK. One young person tried to jump out of the

window and another bit his father in the face. It was an extreme adverse

reaction suffered by Canterbury student Matt Ford focus attention on

the substance Exodus Damnation. In another five minutes I probably

would have been dead. Despite the health risks the substance remains

on sale in shops across the south`east. We bought these today in

Tunbridge Wells. One medical experts says one person per week on average

is ending up in hospital after taking this product. We sent a

sample of it for analysis. The results show it contains active

chemical compounds, synthetic variance of cannabis known as

synthetic cover Lloyds. Manufacturers in China told me they

supply several English distributors with the chemicals. When I suggested

that the chemicals could soon be banned I was told there are new

substances already available. I was also advised how to import the

product into the UK. The UK seller of Exodus Damnation

told me they were not able to provide 100 packets of the legal

high as they were working at full capacity to keep up with demand. We

understand the government has known about Exodus Damnation since May. We

do take action within weeks to ban particular substances. I will ask

for an investigation on this product. The government is now

considering automatic bans on substances that cause harm. Let's

talk to Colin, he's outside UK Skunkworks' shop in Maidstone now.

Colin, today the company hit back at criticism from the Canterbury MP.

Yes Julian Brazier has said he wants this chain of shops close down. He

described it as a squalid trade. But UK Skunkworks has hit back today

criticising Julian Brazier and accusing him of hypocrisy, failing

to challenge alcohol and tobacco companies. UK Skunkworks say they

have an extremely high moral code and say nobody on the age of 18 is

allowed into their shops. They say none of the products that they sell

are for drug use. Over the phone they told me they had no complaints

about the product Exodus Damnation. The Prime Minister, David Cameron

has made a direct appeal to people tempted to vote for the UK

Independence Party at the next General Election to think again.

Speaking on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, he said the Conservative

Party is tackling issues such as immigration and welfare ` and he

warned that voting for UKIP could help Labour get into Government. Our

Political Editor Louise Stewart reports. UKIP members celebrating in

Margate after becoming the main opposition party on Kent county

council in May. And just last month they took a seat on Sevenoaks

district Council. But also in the East Sussex they have seven seats,

the same number as Labour. And in West Sussex they have ten, making

them the second party after the Conservatives. It is those games

which are worrying the Prime Minister and today he made a direct

appeal. Two people who have gone to UKIP I would say if you care about

immigration, we are cutting it. If you care about welfare reform, we

are doing that and capping the money families get so they are always

better off in work. And I have promised a referendum on Europe by

2017. You will not get that from a Labour government. A large part of

the UKIP support does come from disgruntled voters in the south`east

annoyed with policies on immigration and defence. I think this is hardly

a Labour stronghold around here so he has got a point about voting for

UKIP. I have voted UKIP occasionally in the past. I do not think they

will ever get in but I did it as a warning. I am a Conservative

supporter and I am all for David Cameron. I think he's doing the

right thing. The UKIP leader says the Conservatives are right to be

worried. We always polled strongly in European elections but now they

are terrified about domestic elections. That UKIP could

potentially win. With the latest polls showing the Conservatives neck

and neck, the Prime Minister knows winning back support from voters who

have defected to UKIP could be the deciding factor at the next

election. Louise joins me now. How unusual is it to hear such a direct

appeal from the Prime Minister to UKIP voters? I think it is unusual

and a new strategy. Before he used to ignore UKIP. That strategy has

not worked so he has decided, he had a spare 20 minutes in his diary and

decided to speak directly to people at BBC Sussex and Surrey. He has

also spoken to radio stations in Solent. Clearly they are concerned

about the threat from UKIP head of the next election and want to get

the message across that if you vote for them you could risk of getting

the Labour government and squeezing out the Conservatives.

In a moment, the Sussex hospital which pioneered burns treatment

during the war celebrates 150 years with a royal visit.

An elderly woman who lost hundreds of pounds to conmen is warning

others not to be fleeced by fraudsters. The offenders, posing as

police officers and bank staff, duped her into revealing details of

her credit card account over the phone. Kent police have linked up to

60 similar reports of fraud in the county over the last two months. One

victim was duped out of ?45,000. Ellie Price has more.

It is a credit card scam that is on the rise in Kent. Criminals posing

as police by the bank for victims and ask them to call back on a

trusted number. They then intercept the call, and take the private

information and the money. Jeanette Atkins lost a lot of money in this

way. I was very upset at the time. I've reported it to the bank and

they reported it to the police. It frightened me to think that they may

even turn up at my home because they must have had my address. More than

1600 people across the UK fell victims to this scam last year. It

cost more than ?7.5 million. Kent police say they have had more than

60 cases reported in the county in the past two months alone. This is

not the way that banks or the police will ever operate. So if you are

suspicious about a phone call supposedly from the bank or a police

officer do not do what they have asked you to do. Things like Chip

and pin and online shopping protection has meant that the system

is now secure so instead criminals are trying to dupe individuals into

giving away their card and financial information instead. Experts say the

average age of a victim of this kind of fraud is 69. While the police and

banking industry are working to stop it, the advice is to hang up.

Police have arrested multiple suspects in connection with the

murder of a British primary school teacher in Qatar. 24`year`old Lauren

Patterson was reportedly last seen leaving a five`star hotel in Doha

with a group of men in the early hours of Saturday. Her mother,

Alison Patterson, from West Malling, is believed to have flown to Doha to

identify the body. A 17`year`old boy has today been

arrested in connection with an attack on an elderly couple at their

home in Hextable, near Dartford, on Tuesday morning. John McDougall,

who's 84, and his wife Jean, who's 89, suffered head injuries. A

16`year`old boy, arrested yesterday, has now been released without

charge. The Chief Executive of Gatwick says

the London Mayor Boris Johnson's billion pound Thames estuary airport

plan was "sinking without trace". But today the mayor was visiting

Hong Kong airport to see just how feasible a hub airport in the sea

could be. Almost 300 schools have closed or

partially closed across the South East today, because of the teachers

strike over pay and working conditions. In Brighton, 58 out of

76 schools have been affected. Another 99 closed in East Sussex.

And 109 shut in West Sussex. In Kent the number of schools affected was

103. And in Medway 32 schools closed. The NUT and the NASUWT

unions have accused the Education Secretary Michael Gove of attacking

teachers. The Government says the strike is disappointing and

disruptive for parents. In a moment we'll be hearing from our

Correspondent Yvette Austin in Chatham, but first Juliette Parkin

has been in Brighton. The majority of schools were closed here in the

city today and hundreds of teachers the streets in March which finished

with a rally. `` in March. The unions say because the city is

relatively confined geographically they were able to get two more of

their members and hear their concerns and rally support.

The reason why most of the schools were closed across Brighton and Hove

today, their teachers were here on strike and on a protest march. Some

might say is not right for the children to take a day off today.

None of us want to take a day away from the education of children but

we have to make a stand. Nobody wants to ruin a child's education.

But it is one day instead of a lifetime for them. He is changing

things left right and centre. It is not good enough. Teachers striking

today say this is about pensions, page and performance related pay in

particular. But some parents say this day of action is hitting them

hard financially as well. There is a punitive measure in place which the

parents pay. I think it is not a level playing field. When schools

are not able to open, we do not get the same care. We are parents

ourselves and understand the concerns about this disruption to

education. But we feel it is in the long`term interests of children in

this country. That teachers are fairly and properly paid. The

government could the strike action disappointing. `` called. Parents

rely on teaching their children and this is damaging to the reputation

of the teaching profession. Teachers today called this a last

resort but said it is about defending the future of the

profession and education. Unions spoke today about divisive pay

systems and changes to the pension age but some teachers we spoke to

said it is about so much more full stop it is about changes to the

curriculum and unnecessary testing. One temporary childcare agency said

this evening they had had an particularly busy day. Clearly this

has caused some working parents dearly. `` has cost.

Our correspondent Yvette Austin has been in Kent and Medway and she

joins us now from Chatham. Yvette, the strike may not have had quite

the same impact there as it had in Brighton, but lots of schools and

families have been affected? Many parents have had to juggle work and

childcare. But some were supportive of the strike action saying that

they did understand what the fight was about. One young Grammar School

pupil was very much enjoying the day off and catching up on some

homework. What did the council have to say about events today? Of course

the fight is between the government and the unions. The council said it

feels stuck in the middle and can only advise parents what to do.

Whatever the merits of what is going on, this is a disruption to

education and the lives of families and we clearly would not wish to see

that happen. There does not seem to be much of an end to this dispute.

There is expected to be more action before Christmas.

This is our top story tonight. The government has ordered an urgent

review of the health risks posed by a legal high which nearly killed a

student in Kent last week. 17`year`old Matt Ford smoked the

substance Exodus Damnation after buying it over the counter at a shop

in Canterbury. An investigation carried out by this programme

discovered the drug has caused other health scares across the country.

Also in tonight's programme. The Invisible Woman ` Charles Dicken's

secret mistress, now the subject of a film starring Ralph Fiennes. And

getting the hump. The camels back in the Gobi desert, thanks to a man

from Kent. The Princess Royal was in East

Grinstead to open new operating theatres at the Queen Victoria

Hospital. The Princess is patron of the hospital and the event was part

of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The QVH became world

famous when the surgeon McIndoe used pioneering plastic

surgery to treat aircrew with burns during World War II. It moved to its

present site in 1936 ` and Mcindoe began work there three years later.

In 1941 he formed the Guinea Pig Club for the service men he was

treating. The hospital was one of the

t I the the first to be granted Foundation

As a writer, he epitomised Victorian values with his stories of British

life. But what wasn't so well`known at the time was that Charles Dickens

had a secret relationship with a young actress. Now a new film called

The Invisible Woman, starring and directed by Ralph Fiennes, focuses

on that relationship. Charlie Rose reports.

He seemed to leak up into it with a mighty bound. The man famous for his

work but in his private life, and began to shift. In the Invisible

Woman a middle aged Dickens falls for the young actress Nelly who is

seduced by his work. I did not know much about Dickens and I was totally

transported by the story of this woman. It was really her story and

her dilemma moving it. Based on a biographical story, as a married man

Dickens was leading a double life. Ralph Fiennes left the author of the

book in no doubt as to his suitability for the role. I is said

to him early on, you were born to play Dickens! But before taking on

the role the actor had hardly any knowledge of Dickens. He did not

study him at school. So to solve the problem he said he had to have a

Dickens binge. I had the original Dickens country house. It is now a

school. It was a mistake. Did you send Katherine to me like she is the

mother of your children, how could you be so cruel? Kent is integral to

some of the finest works of Dickens. And through Nelly he sought an

escape from his isolation as a writer here.

For the first time ever, two wild camels have been released into their

natural habitat because of the work of a conservationist from Cranbrook.

John Hare left his home in the county and travelled more than 4000

miles to Mongolia where last week the two males were led in to the

Gobi desert. Claudia Sermbezis has been to meet him. John Hare

encouraged the Chinese and Mongolian government to work together to

provide information through satellite collars. John receives

regular information from them. Will they settle? Will be linkup with

another wild herd? We do not know these and says. So this is a real

experiment. `` these answers. His work saw this camel confirmed as a

separate species in 2008. It also has incredible resilience. The

deserts of China and Mongolia are harsh and the camels in the Chinese

Gobi Desert have also survived weapons testing. It survived 43

nuclear weapons tests. Not even the domestic camel can do this. So we

have a remarkable creature which is not improperly scientifically

investigated. This is worth preserving. It could have all kinds

of answers for us which could benefit mankind. John Hare is now

starting an educational campaign in schools in China and Mongolia to

help children understand the value of the wild camel.

One of the major selling points for the London 2012 Olympic bid was the

legacy the Games would leave. But what impact did they actually have?

Today at Canterbury College an Olympic Legacy road show began a

tour of the UK. Its aim ` to capitalise on the excitement

generated last summer ` and inspire teenagers to set up sporting

projects in their area. Neil Bell reports.

It may be more than a year since the country was gripped by Olympic

figure `` Olympic fever but the site and touch of a gold medal has lost

none of its magic. This is as close as we have got. The excitement has

been relived with the torches here and everything. We want to have the

whole experience all over again. We are here to inspire a generation.

Dozens of students from the south`east got the chance to try a

variety of sports. The emphasis was on teamwork and making a difference.

It is about empowering young people, that they can still be

inspired by that Olympic legacy. We are trying to give them a bit of

that magic back. The canoe slalom produced one of the most dramatic

finishes in any of the events last summer. Canoe slalom is quite a

small sport. So coming to events like this is a great opportunity.

Millions watched on TV, hundreds of thousands experienced it first hand.

The hope now is that many more will benefit from London 2012.

And it was a beautiful day to get outside and take some exercise.

There were some showers around today but these were passing through

pretty quickly. And temperatures mild for the time of year. But it

was also a breezy day. As we go into tonight we have some widespread and

quite dense fog as we go through the night. Initially we have some

showers and those will be using overnight. Quite a foggy picture by

Dawn. Temperatures still holding up at around 12 degrees. Some good news

for tomorrow, this area of low pressure will be to the north and

the west of us. We will mostly be staying dry with a lot of miles

there still around. `` mild air. And temperatures a little down on today

but still not too bad. As we head towards the weekend we will have

further up wrecks of rain overnight into Saturday. `` up wrecks of rain.

So for the weekend we will see some blustery showers around but it will

be staying miles. The rain clears out of the way on Saturday. Some

heavy showers around on Sunday. Well that is it for now but we will

be back with the eight o'clock update. Goodbye.