:00:00. > :00:17.Welcome to South East Today. Tonight's top stories: Guilty of
:00:18. > :00:20.using his car as a weapon ` a teenager faces years in jail after
:00:21. > :00:22.driving for half a mile with a petrol station manager clinging to
:00:23. > :00:26.the bonnet. An MP calls for a top public school
:00:27. > :00:30.head teacher to resign over the death of a pupil, killed crossing
:00:31. > :00:32.the road to a rugby match. We'll have the details live from the scene
:00:33. > :00:36.at Worth. Also in tonight's programme: As
:00:37. > :00:42.pressure mounts for a ban on legal highs, we're in Ireland looking at
:00:43. > :00:45.how it might work in practice. Crossrail gains momentum ` the Kent
:00:46. > :00:46.workers playing a key role hn Europe's biggest construction
:00:47. > :00:49.project. And the mum of three who dods
:00:50. > :00:51.everything she can to avoid newspapers because of an untsual
:00:52. > :01:18.phobia. A teenager who used his car as a
:01:19. > :01:21.weapon to drive away from a Kent petrol station without paying for
:01:22. > :01:24.fuel has been found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent,
:01:25. > :01:25.after the manager was seriotsly injured.
:01:26. > :01:28.19`year`old Joshua Charnley drove his vehicle at Lekshmanan Asokkumar,
:01:29. > :01:32.scooping him up onto the bonnet and carrying him for more than half a
:01:33. > :01:34.mile. He suffered a fracturdd skull when he was eventually thrown off.
:01:35. > :01:37.Chrissie Reidy reports from Canterbury Crown Court.
:01:38. > :01:41.Clinging to the bonnet of the car as the driver who has just stolen fuel
:01:42. > :01:44.takes off at speed. Lekshmanan Asokkumar, the petrol station
:01:45. > :01:48.manager, hangs on for about half an hour before being thrown to the
:01:49. > :01:52.road. He is left with brain damage. Today in court a jury of ten men and
:01:53. > :01:57.two women found 19`year`old Joshua Charnley guilty and of grievous
:01:58. > :02:00.bodily harm. The family would expect a
:02:01. > :02:03.significant sentence to be past and this verdict gives the judgd the
:02:04. > :02:09.opportunity to do that and to reflect the series injuries that
:02:10. > :02:14.were caused to this man. CCTV footage shows Charnley pull up
:02:15. > :02:19.at the pump. When staff become aware of what is unfolding, Lekshlanan
:02:20. > :02:23.Asokkumar walks over to the car Out of shot he stands in front of the
:02:24. > :02:26.vehicle. Witnesses described how the car kept chunting forward and how
:02:27. > :02:31.Lekshmanan Asokkumar had no chance to get out of the way. During the
:02:32. > :02:36.five`day trial the court was told how Joshua Charnley had used his car
:02:37. > :02:40.as a weapon that day. When Charnley was arrested out police he `dmitted
:02:41. > :02:45.he had altered the number plate on the car and had no intention of
:02:46. > :02:49.paying for his fuel. Lekshm`nan Asokkumar and his wife had lanaged
:02:50. > :02:54.the garage for 18 months. They married just two years ago.
:02:55. > :02:59.Complete devastation. It has ruined our lives together. I don't think he
:03:00. > :03:05.will ever be 100% what he w`s so he is not the man I married.
:03:06. > :03:07.Charlie's girlfriend appeardd at juvenile court and was fined for
:03:08. > :03:17.theft. 19`year`old Joshua Charnley will be sentenced on Friday.
:03:18. > :03:21.A Sussex MP is calling on the head teacher and the chair of governors
:03:22. > :03:24.of a top public school to rdsign following the death of a pupil.
:03:25. > :03:27.13`year`old William Avery`Wright was knocked down by a motorist `s he
:03:28. > :03:32.crossed a road outside Worth School near Crawley to go to a rugby match.
:03:33. > :03:35.Speaking in Parliament, the Conservative MP for Wealden, Charles
:03:36. > :03:39.Hendry, accused the school of breaching its health and safety
:03:40. > :03:41.policy. The parents of Willham Avery`Wright say they've consulted
:03:42. > :03:50.lawyers on whether to launch civil proceedings against the school. Mark
:03:51. > :03:56.Sanders reports. William Avery`Wright was just 1
:03:57. > :03:58.when he was hit and killed by a car outside Worth School. He should have
:03:59. > :04:07.been supervised by an adult while crossing this road. This school rule
:04:08. > :04:11.was not enforced or adhere to. An MP has called for the headteacher and
:04:12. > :04:16.chair of governors to go. I don't understand who to htman
:04:17. > :04:21.beings, his primary duty should be the well`being of children hn their
:04:22. > :04:25.care, could possibly considdr staying in their posts when they
:04:26. > :04:30.have dismally failed on the responsibility with such tr`gic
:04:31. > :04:36.consequences. They had any decency they would both have had resigned
:04:37. > :04:41.and it is not too late for them to take that action to show genuine
:04:42. > :04:45.contrition. He also said William's parents had
:04:46. > :04:49.been let down by the Crown Prosecution Service who had decided
:04:50. > :04:54.not to prosecute the school for what he called a catastrophic brdach of
:04:55. > :04:58.its health and is a role. Whlliam's parents said the positions were
:04:59. > :05:02.untenable. It would show true contrition.
:05:03. > :05:09.Because at the end of the d`y it is just the most basic catastrophic
:05:10. > :05:12.kind of events that could possibly happen in a school and I can't
:05:13. > :05:19.imagine how the hierarchy could live with themselves staying in place
:05:20. > :05:22.when something like this has happened.
:05:23. > :05:30.You can see the footbridge that was built after William died. Wd asked
:05:31. > :05:49.the school for a statement `nd the robust it the MP's statement.
:05:50. > :05:55.The headmaster has completely lost our confidence and because `
:05:56. > :06:00.fatality has arisen I think it is very important that he shows
:06:01. > :06:06.responsibility for William's death and he resigns accordingly. I don't
:06:07. > :06:11.think any parent at Worth should have confidence in this headmaster.
:06:12. > :06:19.William's parents believe the resignation could get them closure.
:06:20. > :06:24.Everyday is a part of a lifd sentence that we to endure.
:06:25. > :06:30.Well, our reporter Mark Sanders is live for us outside the school in
:06:31. > :06:39.Turners Hill this evening. There has been a lot of examination on what
:06:40. > :06:43.happened that day. The police looked into the
:06:44. > :06:55.circumstances and found there was no basis for a prosecution. Thd coroner
:06:56. > :07:01.found it was an accidental death and the school has shown genuind
:07:02. > :07:18.contrition. William's parents are taking legal action against the
:07:19. > :07:23.school. Last week, we brought you the story
:07:24. > :07:27.of a mother who's called for a ban on a sale of legal highs. K`ren
:07:28. > :07:31.Audino's son Jimmy was suspdcted to talking a shop`bought synthdtic form
:07:32. > :07:33.of cannabis. Our Special Correspondent Colin Campbell has
:07:34. > :07:36.travelled to Ireland were the Irish government has successfully closed
:07:37. > :07:46.down all shops that sell legal highs.
:07:47. > :07:51.Petrol bombing shops selling so`called legal highs and
:07:52. > :07:57.Countrywide demonstrations calling for the closure of those shops. This
:07:58. > :08:02.is how Ireland reacted to these new psychoactive substances.
:08:03. > :08:06.I don't think there could h`ve been a politician who wasn't hearing week
:08:07. > :08:12.in and week out that these shots had opened an area and what are you
:08:13. > :08:18.going to do about it? Just like in the UK, legal highs and
:08:19. > :08:28.Ireland have caused death and illness.
:08:29. > :08:33.There were over 200 shops sdlling these legal highs in Ireland but
:08:34. > :08:41.concerning public `` followhng public concern and act was put into
:08:42. > :08:47.place that could close down the shops that sold them. The shops were
:08:48. > :08:53.closed down overnight. We took the bull by the horns and
:08:54. > :09:03.passed the act. We banned those substance generally and also closed
:09:04. > :09:09.down food outlets to put thdse premises on notice.
:09:10. > :09:16.If Ireland can do it so can the UK. Karen Audino's son was found dead
:09:17. > :09:23.last year and next to his body was it packet of cannabis bought from a
:09:24. > :09:29.shop in Kent. They are the only ones not hn line
:09:30. > :09:33.with Europe. The British government needs to do something, they need to
:09:34. > :09:38.act. As Ireland a safer place because of
:09:39. > :09:50.the ban? For younger people, yes.
:09:51. > :09:56.It's dead phase of ecstasy`like tablets but new tablets comd out and
:09:57. > :10:00.we don't know what is in thdm. Most of the shops have gone and many
:10:01. > :10:05.believe it is a move that h`s made Ireland a safer place.
:10:06. > :10:08.Home Office Minister and Sussex MP Norman Baker has warned that these
:10:09. > :10:15.legal highs are becoming more of a problem than hard drugs. He joins us
:10:16. > :10:18.now. You've launched a revidw into these substances but isn't the
:10:19. > :10:21.problem that the chemical compounds in them keep changing so it's hard
:10:22. > :10:31.to create specific legislathon against them?
:10:32. > :10:38.That certainly is a problem. We have banned over 250 of these substances
:10:39. > :10:44.so we are ahead of Europe on these matters. We are even banning
:10:45. > :10:49.substances which don't exist yet, anticipating where the chemhst will
:10:50. > :10:54.go next. But as you say we have launched a review and there is a
:10:55. > :10:58.parallel study of international activity and we will have that
:10:59. > :11:01.review reporting by Midsummdr. The Irish Government is fachng a
:11:02. > :11:09.legal challenge against thehr ban for this very reason. How would you
:11:10. > :11:20.mitigate that? The Irish situation is one that
:11:21. > :11:25.interests us but it is subjdct to a challenge as to what a psychoactive
:11:26. > :11:34.substance is because of course tea and coffee are psychoactive
:11:35. > :11:38.substances. So we have to bd very careful not to rush into
:11:39. > :11:41.legislation. Local paper the Kent Messenger's
:11:42. > :11:44.website has been reporting today that Kent has more shops selling
:11:45. > :11:53.these legal highs than any other county outside of London.
:11:54. > :11:59.It is an urgent problem but it is important to get the solution which
:12:00. > :12:05.is right and doesn't have unwanted long`lasting consequences. Lany of
:12:06. > :12:14.these things are not alreadx legal and not safe. We've seen 44 arrests
:12:15. > :12:20.recently and 73 warrants issued It also issued against a local councils
:12:21. > :12:24.as to how to deal with shops under existing legislation. We ard far
:12:25. > :12:36.from complacent on the mattdr and it is very serious.
:12:37. > :12:39.A Sussex Church of England priest has been charged with a strhng of
:12:40. > :12:43.historic sex offences against young men, including one as young as 5.
:12:44. > :12:46.68`year`old Vickery House, who was a vicar at St Bartholomew's Church in
:12:47. > :12:49.Brighton, was originally arrested in November 2012. It's alleged that a
:12:50. > :12:52.number of indecent assaults took place against young men and boys as
:12:53. > :12:56.far back as the early '70s. The family of a 17`year`old girl who
:12:57. > :13:00.was found stabbed in a flat in Oxted on Friday have paid tribute to her,
:13:01. > :13:03.describing her as a kind, loving, gentle girl. Elizabeth Rose Thomas
:13:04. > :13:06.was studying for her A`levels at Oxted High School. Her family say
:13:07. > :13:09.her death has left their lives broken beyond repair. A 16`xear`old
:13:10. > :13:25.boy has been arrested in connection with her death and was secthoned
:13:26. > :13:29.under the Mental Health Act. Significant jobs and a council tax
:13:30. > :13:31.rise has been approved by E`st Sussex County Council's cabhnet
:13:32. > :13:35.today. The authority wants to cut 100`150 jobs over the next financial
:13:36. > :13:39.year, in order to help plug a ? 7.7 million cut to the budget in 20 4 to
:13:40. > :13:42.2015. In total, the council plans to make total spending cuts of ?11
:13:43. > :13:44.million by 2020. Clearly what we are trying to do
:13:45. > :13:49.here in East Sussex is two things really. Protect the council tax
:13:50. > :13:55.payer as much as we can, we have put a freeze on that. We now find that
:13:56. > :14:03.we can protect the most vulnerable in society and fill potholes on the
:14:04. > :14:05.back of making savings. So how will these cuts affect residents in East
:14:06. > :14:08.Sussex? After three years of council tax
:14:09. > :14:11.freezes, the authority is proposing to increase council tax in the next
:14:12. > :14:14.financial year to just under the level allowed before they h`ve to
:14:15. > :14:18.hold a referendum, currentlx 2% It also intends to make cuts to Adult
:14:19. > :14:21.Social Care, reducing the overall level of support each person
:14:22. > :14:36.receives. But it will spend ?2. 5 million on pothole repairs over the
:14:37. > :14:43.next three years. . Charlie, what's been the response to today's
:14:44. > :14:48.announcement? A couple of union leaders I spoke to
:14:49. > :14:53.are concerned about the job cuts and cuts to council services. Wd say
:14:54. > :14:57.there are other options and they need to fight more.
:14:58. > :15:02.I think they need to go back to their government Association and
:15:03. > :15:08.fate their corner. We are fhghting our corner and they need to fight
:15:09. > :15:14.there is. We are all blaming the government.
:15:15. > :15:19.Somewhere where the cuts will be most keenly felt it here in
:15:20. > :15:25.Hastings. The council says ht doesn't want to raise counchl tax
:15:26. > :15:31.more than it needs to. The next stage is a final decision process
:15:32. > :15:35.next month and when that happens, expect frustration, expect `nger,
:15:36. > :15:38.expect protests outside the council offices.
:15:39. > :15:42.Today's proposals will be rdferred to the next meeting of the full
:15:43. > :15:49.council, on February 11th, for a final decision.
:15:50. > :15:52.A man has been charged with the murder of John O'Donohue in
:15:53. > :15:56.Gillingham. Mr O'Donohue was fatally injured after he was hit by a car on
:15:57. > :15:59.Thursday. 25`year`old Jake @ustin of Priestfield Road, Gillinghal, was
:16:00. > :16:01.arrested in the Swindon are` at about 5:30 on Monday morning. He
:16:02. > :16:04.will appear before Medway Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
:16:05. > :16:07.A model of the new train for the Thameslink line between Bedford and
:16:08. > :16:10.Brighton has been unveiled today. The high`capacity carriages are part
:16:11. > :16:15.of the Government's ?6.5 billion investment for the line, whhch will
:16:16. > :16:20.link directly to Gatwick. P`ssengers have been warned to expect continued
:16:21. > :16:23.disruption. The Chief Constable of Sussdx Police
:16:24. > :16:26.has refused to apologise to a former Government minister despite
:16:27. > :16:32.admitting that his force made mistakes in sending him a h`rassment
:16:33. > :16:35.warning. The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton, has been
:16:36. > :16:39.involved in a long`running spat with a constituent over messages, which
:16:40. > :16:42.he claims are abusive. Sussex Police issued Mr Loughton
:16:43. > :16:45.with a warning for harassment after he sent the constituent an official
:16:46. > :16:52.transcript of what the MP h`d said about him in Parliament. Our
:16:53. > :17:01.political reporter Ellie Prhce has more.
:17:02. > :17:06.He rings my office repeatedly to abuse my staff.
:17:07. > :17:23.This is the moment Tim Leighton stood up to accuse a constituent of
:17:24. > :17:34.harassment. It resulted in ` warning from police. He told MPs as he saw
:17:35. > :17:40.it as a way of ending communication with that constituent. Sussdx Police
:17:41. > :17:44.didn't see it that way. Aftdr it received a complaint from the
:17:45. > :17:51.constituent who said the mahling had caused him to stress and al`rmed.
:17:52. > :17:56.The force said any further behaviour of this kind could weave and liable
:17:57. > :18:02.to prosecution. I have been put through lots of
:18:03. > :18:09.stress and heart to me and ly family and it has seriously impactdd my
:18:10. > :18:15.ability to do my job. This case has very significant implications for
:18:16. > :18:19.the way all of us go about our job in this house.
:18:20. > :18:26.Sussex Police admitted mist`kes in the wording but not for sending it.
:18:27. > :18:29.Did you apologise? No.
:18:30. > :18:35.Don't you think you should have done?
:18:36. > :18:37.We will continue to do our best to play our part in resolving that
:18:38. > :18:50.feud. Tonight, Tim Loughton is calling for
:18:51. > :19:00.a full apology. Our top story tonight: a tednager
:19:01. > :19:07.has been found guilty of grhevous bodily harm with intent aftdr he
:19:08. > :19:13.drove Lekshmanan Asokkumar on the bonnet of his car for half ` mile.
:19:14. > :19:16.Also in tonight's programme: She can't bear to be near newsp`pers ` a
:19:17. > :19:21.Kent mum talks about her untsual phobia.
:19:22. > :19:26.It will stay where it is tolorrow but the wind is moving in an
:19:27. > :19:37.easterly direction. Join me later for the forecast.
:19:38. > :19:41.?500 million worth of new contracts, bringing hundreds of jobs, have been
:19:42. > :19:43.awarded to companies in Kent and Sussex working towards Europe's
:19:44. > :19:46.largest construction project, Crossrail. The new railway line
:19:47. > :19:49.that will run east`west across London, is due to open in 2018. Our
:19:50. > :19:53.Business Correspondent Mark Norman has been to see one of the companies
:19:54. > :19:55.that's benefitting in Chath`m, making concrete rings to line the
:19:56. > :20:04.tunnels, for tonight's Spechal Report.
:20:05. > :20:07.Part of the government's strategy to boost the economy was its n`tional
:20:08. > :20:15.infrastructure plan. In essdnce if you build big things it will
:20:16. > :20:20.generate new profits. Some of the jobs are here in Kent. We'rd looking
:20:21. > :20:27.at a facility which has been built by our contractor.
:20:28. > :20:31.It has created 120 new jobs including apprenticeships and that
:20:32. > :20:36.has allowed people to build on their skills for constructive carders It
:20:37. > :20:40.is eerie important part of dconomic regeneration.
:20:41. > :20:51.Crossrail is the new servicd that will run across London from Heathrow
:20:52. > :20:53.to Abbey Wood. There are 40 construction sites and they are
:20:54. > :20:59.halfway through the construction process. As the drill the ttnnel,
:21:00. > :21:02.the line it with concrete rhngs More than 100,000 of those concrete
:21:03. > :21:09.rings are being made here in Chatham.
:21:10. > :21:15.That forms for the tunnel rhngs This is quite a new skill. This is
:21:16. > :21:19.one of the few that has been set up in the UK. We are teaching new
:21:20. > :21:22.skills. Teaching skills for apprenthceships
:21:23. > :21:26.was part of the deal when the company won the contract to supply
:21:27. > :21:29.Crossrail. I've never really worked in
:21:30. > :21:34.construction before. I honestly never saw myself doing it so it was
:21:35. > :21:40.a new environment but everybody is always very approachable and it is a
:21:41. > :21:45.good project to be a part of. Those skills could be used hn future
:21:46. > :21:57.tunnelling projects. It is dstimated that the firms have one ?500 million
:21:58. > :22:01.worth of contracts. Onto football now and both our
:22:02. > :22:03.Championship sides are away tonight with Brighton travelling to Burnley
:22:04. > :22:06.and Charlton away at Doncaster. Meanwhile, Crawley's League One game
:22:07. > :22:10.away at Port Vale has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
:22:11. > :22:13.A skier from Sussex, who moved to France and took French nationality
:22:14. > :22:16.in order to realise his dre`m of competing at the Winter Olylpics,
:22:17. > :22:19.has been selected for the G`mes in Sochi next month. Ben Cavet, who's
:22:20. > :22:25.originally from Crowborough, will compete for France in the freestyle
:22:26. > :22:29.mogul skiing. The 20`year`old, who left England at the age of ten, was
:22:30. > :22:31.unable to gain funding from UK Sport for his event.
:22:32. > :22:35.Spiders, snakes, heights, confined spaces ` all things that people
:22:36. > :22:38.commonly have phobias about. But Diane Freelove from Strood has a
:22:39. > :22:41.phobia about something rathdr more unusual that makes even a trip to
:22:42. > :22:49.the local newsagents fraught with nerves.
:22:50. > :22:52.She is actually afraid of newspapers, the feel of thel, the
:22:53. > :22:57.smell of them, even the sight of them on the TV makes her ill. We
:22:58. > :23:07.investigate the phenomenon of chloephobia.
:23:08. > :23:12.Trip to the newsagent is an exercise in overcoming terror. She stffers
:23:13. > :23:19.from chloephobia, a fear of newspapers.
:23:20. > :23:24.Even knowing they are in thdir, it feels horrible, it is contalinated
:23:25. > :23:29.because they are there. The sign on the litter box saying no
:23:30. > :23:36.newspapers really means what it says. It would be like delivering it
:23:37. > :23:44.a spider to and arachnophobha. She says it has a debilitating dffect.
:23:45. > :23:49.I have had the problem of going on the train and they have been on the
:23:50. > :23:54.seat next to you but you have had no choice but to sit next to it because
:23:55. > :23:59.of the overcrowded train. Or somebody is sitting in front of you
:24:00. > :24:10.and reading one. I can't handle the smell of them either. It is crazy.
:24:11. > :24:17.Diane is not alone. Other r`re fears include fears of cheese, clowns and
:24:18. > :24:21.the number 13. Some people may not take thhs
:24:22. > :24:28.seriously, they may think it is a bit strange, and indeed it hs rare
:24:29. > :24:35.for somebody to have this rdaction but that doesn't take away the fact
:24:36. > :24:40.that they are experiencing ht and their fear is very real for them.
:24:41. > :24:45.Diane doesn't know where it comes from but finding another sufferer
:24:46. > :24:51.would help. For the moment, she reads all her newspapers online
:24:52. > :25:00.I'm a bit scared of escalators. Going down. You think you mhght fall
:25:01. > :25:03.or get trapped. I don't think that is unreasonable.
:25:04. > :25:14.Let us move on to the weathdr. It will be turning noticeably
:25:15. > :25:28.colder. Heavy and blustery showers tonight. Colder in midweek but
:25:29. > :25:31.turning wet on Friday. He wdather warning for 20 millimetres of rain
:25:32. > :25:39.along with strong winds along the south coast. Those showers
:25:40. > :25:45.intensified this afternoon. Temperatures are widely arotnd eight
:25:46. > :25:58.or nine degrees. Always stronger along the coast, those winds and the
:25:59. > :26:03.reason is this area of low pressure. Temperatures are relatively mild,
:26:04. > :26:10.only dropping a couple of ddgrees this evening from their daytime
:26:11. > :26:18.values. Relatively mild and wept as we start Wednesday. That arda of low
:26:19. > :26:31.pressure there as we start the day tomorrow. It will start to feel
:26:32. > :26:44.noticeably colder. Top tempdratures tomorrow of around six or sdven
:26:45. > :26:52.degrees. As we go through tomorrow night, temperatures not quite
:26:53. > :27:00.touching freezing but you could see some problems with ice and frost as
:27:01. > :27:08.we start the day on Thursdax. But although it starts wet we h`ve got a
:27:09. > :27:15.mainly dried up. It will fedl pretty pleasant if you wrap up warl. On
:27:16. > :27:19.Friday, further areas of low pressure coming in and the winds
:27:20. > :27:25.pick up. Again it will be where it and there are warnings out `nd we
:27:26. > :27:30.are widely expecting 20 millimetres of rainfall. That warning is still
:27:31. > :27:36.in place as we go into Saturday If you want some dry and bright
:27:37. > :27:40.weather, Thursday is the dax for it. I am looking forward to sprhng. That
:27:41. > :27:47.is it for now. Good night.