:00:00. > :00:00.three times faster than wages. That is all from BBC
:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Year blues.
:00:00. > :00:12.Welcome to South East Today, I'm John Young. And I'm Natalie Graham.
:00:13. > :00:15.Tonight's top stories: The Sussex coast is bracing itself for another
:00:16. > :00:18.night of storms ` and hundreds of households across the South East are
:00:19. > :00:26.preparing for a second wave of flooding.
:00:27. > :00:30.There needs to be serious questions asked. We do not want this sort of
:00:31. > :00:33.thing happening again. The authorities are criticised for
:00:34. > :00:41.not doing enough to stop flooding and power cuts ` but the Prime
:00:42. > :00:53.Minister is promising action. We are going to go on investing in flood
:00:54. > :00:56.offences. `` flood defences. Our reporters are live in Kent and
:00:57. > :00:58.Sussex, where heavy storms are expected to hit the coast at
:00:59. > :01:01.midnight tonight. Also in tonight's programme: Seeing
:01:02. > :01:05.in a violent New Year. Why Sussex police officers have taken to
:01:06. > :01:06.Twitter to say it's getting out of hand.
:01:07. > :01:10.Building a reputation in East Sussex. Why one of the country's
:01:11. > :01:13.smallest counties hopes to be a big player in business this year.
:01:14. > :01:14.The business using fruit from the Garden of England to give our
:01:15. > :01:31.favourite drinks a fresh twist. Good evening. Hundreds of households
:01:32. > :01:34.across the South East are preparing for the risk of further flooding
:01:35. > :01:38.tonight, as another band of severe weather is set to move in along the
:01:39. > :01:42.Sussex coast from midnight. There are three flood warnings in place at
:01:43. > :01:45.the moment and dozens of flood alerts as more rain is set to fall
:01:46. > :01:50.on swollen rivers and saturated ground. Juliette Parkin is live in
:01:51. > :01:54.Hastings and ministers are warning we're in for a period of exceptional
:01:55. > :01:57.weather. Well the Met Office is tonight
:01:58. > :02:04.warning of very high tides, large waves and coastal flooding with
:02:05. > :02:07.winds of up to 70mph. That's right along the coast from West Sussex to
:02:08. > :02:12.Brighton and along here towards Hastings. That's all to come, but
:02:13. > :02:21.inland in parts of Surrey and Sussex they're still reeling from floods
:02:22. > :02:27.over Christmas. Forced by floods out of his home.
:02:28. > :02:34.This man is facing six months in a camper. This was the scene on
:02:35. > :02:38.Christmas eve. Residents say they felt abandoned.
:02:39. > :02:44.Did you get any help when you were badly flooded? There has been nobody
:02:45. > :02:51.here at all. There have been no sandbags or pumps. No offers of
:02:52. > :02:56.assistance. It seems to be an ongoing problem. There is more bad
:02:57. > :03:04.weather forecast on the way. I am sure it is good to happen again.
:03:05. > :03:14.Nearby others were pumping out what in a bid to stop further flooding.
:03:15. > :03:18.It is fighting a losing battle. There is nothing you can do about
:03:19. > :03:26.it. We are not getting any help from the council. We are just trying to
:03:27. > :03:32.do our best to keep it down. Flood warnings are in place in
:03:33. > :03:39.several streams. The Environment Agency says it is not just inland
:03:40. > :03:47.that the threat lies. We have got crews across Sussex
:03:48. > :03:55.operating flood defences, inspecting coastal defences. We have got oodles
:03:56. > :04:07.of us shoring up shingle beaches. `` we have got bulldozers shoring up
:04:08. > :04:12.shingle beaches. The Environment Agency is urging
:04:13. > :04:18.people to stay away from the coastline. I woman who died after
:04:19. > :04:24.running into stormy waters before Christmas has been named today. Her
:04:25. > :04:29.body was found on the 28th of December.
:04:30. > :04:32.The village of Yalding in Kent is also prepared for the risk of
:04:33. > :04:36.further floods tonight and our Environment Correspondent Yvette
:04:37. > :04:40.Austin is there. Yvette, people are still clearing up from the Christmas
:04:41. > :04:50.floods, but more on the way. The situation remains tense here in
:04:51. > :04:53.Yalding. Residents had been told to prepare for another possible flood
:04:54. > :05:02.this afternoon, due to high tides downstream at Allington. But they're
:05:03. > :05:06.now being warned there could be flooding at another peak in the
:05:07. > :05:13.early hours. Residents have been doing what they can.
:05:14. > :05:21.Residents of Yalding have been warned their properties could flood
:05:22. > :05:28.again tonight. At ten o'clock on Christmas Eve the
:05:29. > :05:37.water was that deep. By eight o'clock in the morning the water was
:05:38. > :05:41.to the other side of this table everything we had put up was
:05:42. > :05:47.floating. It has been the worst floods in
:05:48. > :05:52.living memory or the resident. Never before have they seen what levels so
:05:53. > :05:56.high. After complaints that the authorities did too little too late
:05:57. > :06:01.over Christmas, today sandbags were being delivered. We are delivering
:06:02. > :06:05.sandbags to those who need them because there is going to be a high
:06:06. > :06:18.tide. We are delivering food to people who are isolated, or for
:06:19. > :06:26.whatever reason they cannot cook. One of the fish and chip shops
:06:27. > :06:32.donated some fish and chips. Residents have continued to clear up
:06:33. > :06:38.and are wondering if it all might be in vain. We have got the cities and
:06:39. > :06:45.there. A chest of drawers. It has just dried out. If it comes back
:06:46. > :06:50.then we are back to square one again.
:06:51. > :06:54.There is hope that the extent of the damage this time might prompt a
:06:55. > :07:01.search for a better solution to the flooding problems in Yalding. There
:07:02. > :07:13.need to be serious questions asked. You do not want this thing happening
:07:14. > :07:19.again. For now there is little more they
:07:20. > :07:23.can do but wait and see. The big problem in Yalding is that
:07:24. > :07:32.three rivers converge on this one area. Water levels can also be
:07:33. > :07:36.influenced by the tides. What the residents do not want right now is
:07:37. > :07:41.rain, but that is what is forecast. Juliette in Hastings, and Yvette in
:07:42. > :07:44.Yalding, thank you. Well, severe weather has been
:07:45. > :07:50.causing chaos across Kent, Sussex and Surrey for nearly two weeks now.
:07:51. > :07:53.The first storms hit the South East on the night of December 23. It led
:07:54. > :07:56.to flooding on Christmas Eve and left thousands of homes without
:07:57. > :08:00.power over the festive holiday. The situation in Kent was so severe that
:08:01. > :08:04.the Prime Minister visited Yalding last Friday. Today he agreed that
:08:05. > :08:10.the disruption caused by the floods and power cuts has been
:08:11. > :08:14.unacceptable. The power companies need to work
:08:15. > :08:18.around the clock to get people switched back on. There is tough
:08:19. > :08:24.regulation. Most people are back on within 48 hours. But with a young
:08:25. > :08:28.family I just a few hours is a major inconvenience. We are going to on
:08:29. > :08:32.investing in flood defences. We're joined from the banks of the
:08:33. > :08:35.River Medway by the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, Mark
:08:36. > :08:38.Reckless. Do you understand why people in flood`hit villages are
:08:39. > :08:46.angry with the Government and say they feel abandoned?
:08:47. > :08:51.Yes, particularly in Yalding warnings could have been given
:08:52. > :08:58.earlier than they were. I understand by the Prime Minister was given an
:08:59. > :09:04.earful. Further down the River Medway there has not been similar
:09:05. > :09:12.problems I am pleased to say. There has been a lot of activity from the
:09:13. > :09:16.council. Overall the authorities do a pretty good job in terms of
:09:17. > :09:22.resilience, but there are issues in terms of electricity supply and the
:09:23. > :09:28.regulatory regime for UK power networks. There are a couple of
:09:29. > :09:35.issues. They should restore power within 48 hours. That did not happen
:09:36. > :09:44.for many households over Christmas. Tim Yeo has described the
:09:45. > :09:57.conversation `` has described the compensation as not acceptable. The
:09:58. > :10:01.compensation needs to be increased. The compensation is just ?27 for
:10:02. > :10:10.each household affected. I have had lots of complaints as a constituency
:10:11. > :10:16.MP that power has not been put on quickly and that can be devastating
:10:17. > :10:19.for a business. It is good that they are voluntarily paying ?75 per day
:10:20. > :10:24.for those that lost power for more than 48 hours, but I think that some
:10:25. > :10:29.should be larger. There has to be a stronger incentive to get power on
:10:30. > :10:35.quickly. Back to the subject of flooding. A
:10:36. > :10:37.lot of worried households tonight. People in Yalding have heard
:10:38. > :10:48.promises before. Nothing has happened. It sounds that more is
:10:49. > :10:52.being done in Yalding today. The government is working with the
:10:53. > :10:58.insurance industry to help householders who find it difficult
:10:59. > :11:02.to get insurance. That requires a few pounds extra on the bills of
:11:03. > :11:05.other households. Most people would think that is reasonable and are
:11:06. > :11:16.prepared to give that sort of support. But if there is an area
:11:17. > :11:21.which would cost billions of pounds, my constituents would not want
:11:22. > :11:25.hundreds of pounds extra on their bills. We need to strike the balance
:11:26. > :11:30.so that people get the warning, and if things do go wrong, the
:11:31. > :11:36.authorities work to get the power back on.
:11:37. > :11:39.We want to know what you think. Should more have been done to
:11:40. > :11:41.protect homes and businesses from flooding and deal with the
:11:42. > :11:43.aftermath, or is it simply unavoidable after so much rain? Let
:11:44. > :11:58.us know. We'll hear your views later in the
:11:59. > :12:01.programme. The stories behind the unemployment
:12:02. > :12:02.statistics ` a charity says being jobless when you're young can lead
:12:03. > :12:14.to suicide. A senior Sussex policeman says he's
:12:15. > :12:18.concerned about the levels of drunken violence his officers faced
:12:19. > :12:23.on New Year's Eve. In the Brighton and Hove area alone Sussex Police
:12:24. > :12:26.made 38 arrests. As we reported yesterday, officers took to social
:12:27. > :12:30.media to say they'd suffered assaults and injuries. Charlie Rose
:12:31. > :12:40.joins us from Brighton, Charlie why did they go to these lengths?
:12:41. > :12:47.Sussex Police have said the reason officers have taken to social media
:12:48. > :12:51.to report these rings is to highlight what the officers has two
:12:52. > :13:12.contend with on New Year's Eve. `` report these things.
:13:13. > :13:18.In total 38 arrests were made in Brighton and hope during New Year's
:13:19. > :13:23.Eve and New Year's Day. For those were for assault and the others were
:13:24. > :13:28.for things like drunken behaviour and threatening behaviour. Many of
:13:29. > :13:38.those arrests to hear `` many of those arrests took place here and
:13:39. > :13:41.down on the seafront. Police officers are trained and
:13:42. > :13:46.equipped to deal with violence people, but from what they have told
:13:47. > :13:48.me, a lot of people who were arrested resisted arrest and were
:13:49. > :13:54.struggling. Unfortunately some of the officers got minor injuries as a
:13:55. > :13:57.result of that. It was not just the police were
:13:58. > :14:06.concerned about what happened. The ambulance service said it received
:14:07. > :14:11.more than 1000 calls between 10pm on New Year's Eve and 40 M on New
:14:12. > :14:17.Year's Day. Hacked Off those were for alcohol related reasons.
:14:18. > :14:21.`` 50% of those were for alcohol related reasons.
:14:22. > :14:25.Some South East commuters are having to pay more than ?5,000 for an
:14:26. > :14:27.annual rail season ticket to London from today.
:14:28. > :14:30.Many ticket prices have risen by more than three per cent, pushing
:14:31. > :14:34.fares from Dover and Deal above ?5,000 for the first time. But rail
:14:35. > :14:35.companies say the rises are the lowest they've issued for four
:14:36. > :14:38.years. Convicted murderers could be given
:14:39. > :14:41.jail sentences lasting hundreds of years, under new plans being put
:14:42. > :14:45.forward by the Policing Minister and Kent MP Damian Green. The move is a
:14:46. > :14:48.response to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which said
:14:49. > :14:53.whole life tariffs were unlawful. A teenager from Kent who died after
:14:54. > :14:55.being hit by a car on New Year's day has been named locally as Augustine
:14:56. > :14:59.Carnell. The 17`year`old from Rochester was walking home along the
:15:00. > :15:04.A229 on Bluebell Hill when he was hit by a white Skoda.
:15:05. > :15:07.Thousands of young people across the South East believe they have nothing
:15:08. > :15:09.to live for because they can't find work.
:15:10. > :15:12.That's the finding of new research by the Prince's Trust charity, which
:15:13. > :15:16.suggests that many young people who've been out of work for more
:15:17. > :15:18.than six months have suffered mental health problems and even
:15:19. > :15:30.contemplated suicide. Chrissie Reidy has more.
:15:31. > :15:37.Employed, but getting a job has been an Apple struggle. This person spent
:15:38. > :15:41.two years unemployed. It is really hard when you have not got any money
:15:42. > :15:45.to pay your bills. You are having to rely on people. It is quite
:15:46. > :15:52.depressing. It can make you feel quite down. A recent study for the
:15:53. > :15:58.Prince's Trust found long`term unemployment can cause mental health
:15:59. > :16:05.problems. Depression. Self harming. Suicidal thoughts. Low self`esteem.
:16:06. > :16:13.Difficult and challenging issues that those young people are facing.
:16:14. > :16:23.Nationally 20% of 16`24 `year`olds are unemployed. In Kent the figure
:16:24. > :16:26.is 19%. In Sussex it is 23%. Everything seems you need
:16:27. > :16:29.experience, but you cannot get it if you cannot get the job in the first
:16:30. > :16:36.place. How does it make you feel? Depressed. Bored. You cannot do
:16:37. > :16:49.anything. This person is finally earning her
:16:50. > :16:56.own money. The Prince's Trust helped me.
:16:57. > :17:01.Getting a job means she can start paying off her debts but issues
:17:02. > :17:08.facing the young and employed means age is not always on your side.
:17:09. > :17:11.Our top story tonight: Hundreds of households across the South East are
:17:12. > :17:14.preparing for the prospect of further flooding tonight, with
:17:15. > :17:19.another band of severe weather set to move in along the Sussex coast
:17:20. > :17:23.from midnight. Also in tonight's programme: The
:17:24. > :17:33.spirit of enterprise in the Garden of England. How Kent fruit could
:17:34. > :17:35.flavour your favourite tipple. And I will have the full weather
:17:36. > :17:44.forecast later. If you move to East Sussex your
:17:45. > :17:48.business will boom. That's the message a new organisation is trying
:17:49. > :17:51.to spread in the hope of attracting more companies to the county. There
:17:52. > :17:55.are currently around 22,000 firms in East Sussex.
:17:56. > :18:00.And almost 250 companies with a turnover in excess of ?250 million
:18:01. > :18:03.pounds a year. As Ian Palmer reports, Locate East Sussex believes
:18:04. > :18:15.access to Gatwick and its expanding broadband network means this could
:18:16. > :18:16.be the tip of the iceberg. 2000 houses being built in this
:18:17. > :18:24.particular area. East Sussex is open for business is
:18:25. > :18:29.the message. If this industrial park is a barometer of the economy is on
:18:30. > :18:32.the upturn. The first phase was completed a few years ago. The
:18:33. > :18:37.second phase is underway. The director says if you build it as
:18:38. > :18:43.this is will come. We have been overwhelmed with the enquiries we
:18:44. > :18:47.have received. We have been dealing with local companies that are
:18:48. > :18:49.looking to develop. We have also had grant funding applications from
:18:50. > :18:55.businesses that are looking to grow.
:18:56. > :18:59.The building blocks of any business are the people who run it. Why would
:19:00. > :19:07.a company wants to go through the upheaval of coming to East Sussex?
:19:08. > :19:13.This company moves to New Haven six years ago. The company makes
:19:14. > :19:24.materials smaller than their heroes on your head. `` smaller than the
:19:25. > :19:30.hear on your head. All of the people love the area.
:19:31. > :19:33.They see it as a benefit. The local infrastructure is great. Most of our
:19:34. > :19:41.customers and partners are in America and Europe, or Asia, so we
:19:42. > :19:48.need the road links of Sussex. New Haven is central to that. We have
:19:49. > :19:53.great internet speeds in these town but you do not have a lot of what
:19:54. > :19:58.areas. The company is recruiting more staff and is looking to expand
:19:59. > :19:59.in the next two years. The new location, it says, will be in
:20:00. > :20:09.Sussex. If you've over`indulged over
:20:10. > :20:16.Christmas and New Year, a story about alcohol may be the last thing
:20:17. > :20:20.you want to hear. But a small business in the South East is hoping
:20:21. > :20:23.to tempt you with its range of fruit flavoured spirits. Howards of Kent
:20:24. > :20:26.harvest almost a tonne of local fruit every year to flavour drinks
:20:27. > :20:29.like vodka and gin and this year they're looking to expand their
:20:30. > :20:36.range. As Claudia Sermbesiz reports, though, it came about almost by
:20:37. > :20:41.accident. It looks like the ultimate hangover
:20:42. > :20:45.cure. Fresh air and fruit. But these papers are not making a trifle or
:20:46. > :20:51.crumble. They are harvesting in deviance for home`made news. A
:20:52. > :20:58.pastime that became a business by chance for this family. I had six
:20:59. > :21:05.lemons left from pancake day and a half bottle of vodka. I made them
:21:06. > :21:09.and cello. We put other fruit and vodka and find that it worked. We
:21:10. > :21:14.found we had a business on our hands.
:21:15. > :21:20.They also spend this summer 's making `` also spend the summer
:21:21. > :21:24.picking fruit. One year she had so much raspberry
:21:25. > :21:32.vodka she threw a party to use it up. People like coming round to test
:21:33. > :21:35.the product. We have a lot of quite good parties know where we test
:21:36. > :21:42.things out and make cocktails. It is very good fun but it is also hard
:21:43. > :21:45.work. Business experts say companies like
:21:46. > :21:50.this play a vital role in driving commerce.
:21:51. > :22:01.It is a huge part of the economy. It is critical. It is what is holding
:22:02. > :22:10.the rest of it up. This year chillis grown in Dartford
:22:11. > :22:19.will be added. It has got a kick to it. That is lovely. That is good. I
:22:20. > :22:30.can taste the raspberry in that. She describes her kitchen as a
:22:31. > :22:34.meeting between Russia and Kent. Very tempting, but I might leave it
:22:35. > :22:37.attitude ease. Onto football, and despite the wet
:22:38. > :22:40.weather leading to the postponement of both Gillingham and Crawley's
:22:41. > :22:43.games yesterday there was plenty of action from our Championship teams.
:22:44. > :22:46.Both Brighton and Charlton were involved in nail`biting finishes,
:22:47. > :22:53.leaving it very late to get on the scoresheet.
:22:54. > :23:00.Things got off to a soggy start at Portman Road.
:23:01. > :23:17.Deep in the second half things looked worse. On the 90th minute the
:23:18. > :23:23.equaliser. A handy point. A lot went against us today and that is me
:23:24. > :23:34.being quite kind. We felt we should have got a penalty. New decisions
:23:35. > :23:40.went against us, but we get knowing. The rain came down. The penalty
:23:41. > :23:46.decision did not go the way of the Southeast club. Minutes later the
:23:47. > :23:55.seagulls were a goal down. Chances to equalise all old. One minute from
:23:56. > :23:58.time, the equaliser. Let's go back to our top story
:23:59. > :24:01.tonight, that homes and businesses across the South East are preparing
:24:02. > :24:04.for the prospect of further flooding, with another band of
:24:05. > :24:06.severe weather set to cause disruption from midnight. The
:24:07. > :24:09.Environment Agency has flood warnings and flood alerts in place
:24:10. > :24:12.across Kent, Sussex and Surrey, as more rain is due to fall onto
:24:13. > :24:22.already swollen rivers and saturated ground.
:24:23. > :24:26.If you have an area where the flooding is terrible and it would
:24:27. > :24:30.cost ileum is to do anything about it my constituents would not want to
:24:31. > :24:33.see hundreds of extra pounds on their instruments built. We had to
:24:34. > :24:37.work together to strike the appropriate balance.
:24:38. > :24:40.Earlier we asked if you thought the authorities had done enough to
:24:41. > :24:41.prevent flooding and deal with the aftermath. Thanks for all your
:24:42. > :24:56.messages. One person has said there is too
:24:57. > :25:02.much building on flood plains. Another person said it is hard to
:25:03. > :25:08.accept people blaming the government and authorities because they do not
:25:09. > :25:13.control the weather. Another person said it is the
:25:14. > :25:19.responsibility of the householder. Another person says there is little
:25:20. > :25:23.reason for spending more than is already spent. Kent County Council
:25:24. > :25:27.has taken all the reasonable precautions.
:25:28. > :25:38.Somebody else has said that more could be done. It is indicative of
:25:39. > :25:45.the holiday shutdown mentality. Another person is a prophetic
:25:46. > :25:54.towards the authorities. `` is sympathetic.
:25:55. > :25:58.Here is the weather. It will be particularly bad for a coastal
:25:59. > :26:04.areas. A brief respite today. But tonight they will be heavy rain.
:26:05. > :26:14.There are warnings from midnight for the rest of heavy rain. There are
:26:15. > :26:22.school rivers. `` there are fooled rivers.
:26:23. > :26:29.Further deal force winds. Heavy rain on Sunday. The risk of flooding
:26:30. > :26:33.never goes away over the next couple of days. If you have got concerns
:26:34. > :26:42.you can go online ring floodlighting.
:26:43. > :26:57.Winds will continue to strengthen as they go through tonight. Heavy rain
:26:58. > :27:01.moves very quickly. By the early hours of tomorrow morning, mostly
:27:02. > :27:12.dry. Very mild as we start the day tomorrow. It stays blustery
:27:13. > :27:19.throughout the day tomorrow. Light showers rather than prolonged
:27:20. > :27:27.rainfall. The winds still picking up on the South coast. Through tomorrow
:27:28. > :27:34.night there will be outbreaks of rain. By early Saturday morning
:27:35. > :27:40.there will be persistent rainfall. Temperatures relatively mild. And
:27:41. > :27:51.certainty about how much rain we will see on Saturday. Warnings back
:27:52. > :28:00.in force. The risk of flooding over the next couple of days.
:28:01. > :28:05.And this is where local radio comes into its own for the travel and the
:28:06. > :28:08.funding news. We will be back with the late
:28:09. > :28:15.bulletin. Goodbye.