31/01/2014 South East Today

That's all from the BBC News at Six, Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob

Smith. And I'm Natalie Graham. Tonhght s

top stories. Five flood warnings are in place

across Kent and Sussex, with torrential rain forecast through the

night. This is something... I've never seen like this. The sdvere

weather is already disrupting rail services. We'll be live with the

latest on the situation. Three police officers are charged

with a cover up after the arrest of a shoplifter in a department store.

Also in tonight's programme. Still no work after eight years, could the

council now take back control of the derelict Pleasurama site?

The record breaking Sussex brothers who've already conquered thd Indian

Ocean, now lining up for a crack at the Atlantic.

And just good sports? The world pole dancing championships take place

this weekend in Crawley. Good evening. More flooding is

expected to hit Kent and Sussex tonight, as a band of heavy rain

sweeps across the South East. Up to 40 millimetres could fall in places.

And the Environment Agency has five flood warnings in place tonhght Our

environment correspondent Yvette Austin reports.

Temporary flood defences kedping the river within its course. Thhs river

runs through the village of baronet Canterbury. Only in wet years

doesn't flow at all and this year is exceptional. This is somethhng. .

I've never seen like this. Never seen sandbags but across th`t it

before. Not in all the years I've lived here. Local residents are

prepared with sandbags but concern isn't only for the rising rhver but

also for the rain. It hasn't been as deep as this for several ye`rs, so

since 2000, when we flooded. And these sandbags, they are very good.

They are excellent. Except they have blocked off the run`off frol the

hill. So, when we get the pouring rain tonight, as it is forecast the

run`off is going to come down here in another mini river. And ht is

going to stop here and back up. Further downstream, the Envhronment

Agency is pumping water tow`rds the sea to save homes. We've got a lot

of water coming down here. The problem is the ground here hs low.

It has sunk because there w`s coal mining years ago. The whole land is

lower than the main river which is trying to flow. This pumping station

is pumping water out, it pulps all year round. We are trying to protect

the community upstream. There is a risk downstream. We've got ` flood

warning for the communities at Grove Ferry and Buck stutter. We `re

expecting some high tides over the weekend. The rain has begun to fall

under the radar predicts much more. People are being warned to be on

high alert. The exceptionally wet weathdr's

caused another day of disruption for rail commuters with landslips

blocking the line from Hasthngs to London, causing delays and

cancellations. Charlie Rose is live in Hastings. And, Charlie, there's

been continual disruption on that line over the last few weeks.

Yes, it's probably due to the wet and windy weather we're havhng here

in Hastings. Remember last lonth, we had the landslip at Wadhurst, and

today's disruption has been caused by not one, but two more landslips.

One at Battle, the other at West St Leonards. Customers have bedn

frustrated. And philosophic`l. It's not what commuters wanted to

see this morning. Trains cancelled and replacement bus service in

place. Literally, I got there, bus replacement. Then there was five

minutes delay. There is not even a train here. I think the South East

has a terrible problem, we `re fighting nature and we can't do

anything until the rain stops. You can't allow for the extremes of

weather we've had lately. There is no point getting angry or anything

else. Network Rail say they worked through the night to clear the line

before final checks took pl`ce during the morning. We are running

trains again on the line. There will be some disruption to that service,

train staff and rolling stock being out of position. But it is our

intention to keep that servhce running now unless, of course, we

get further landslips occurring overnight. But one MP believes

there's a wider problem that needs addressing, and is calling for

urgent action to upgrade rahl provision in the area. We h`ve had

landslip after landslip, and it feels like it is bus replacdment

services more often than at Israel's services at the moment and we need a

complete sea change. `` mord often than rail services. But, for now,

the immediate concern is thd weather, and how much more

disruption it will cause. Passengers are being warned to

expect even more disruption to night and across the weekend becatse South

East usher in southeastern hn conjunction with network rahl are

putting the speed restriction on through to London because of this

band of wet and windy weathdr which brings with it the risk of falling

trees, floods, and the posshbility of more landslides. That spded

restriction will be in placd from 8pm this evening.

Thank you. Rachel Mackley's here. We'll get the

full forecast later in the programme, but what's happening

tonight with this latest band of heavy rain?

We started to see this wall of water from about 3pm this afternoon and

already we have seen ten millimetres of rain and we are expecting 25

millimetres. Over higher ground we could see up to 40 millimetres. It's

falling on saturated ground. It should be clearing through tonight.

Thank you, we all have a full forecast later. `` we will have

To keep up to date with the latest flooding and travel situation, you

can of course tune in to yotr local BBC Radio station. Or log onto our

website. In a moment, the vulnerable

youngsters waiting for months for mental health treatment call for the

Health Secretary to intervene. Three Kent Police officers who were

suspended after CCTV picturds appeared to show them assaulting a

suspected shoplifter have bden summoned to appear in court. The

footage, which was posted on YouTube, shows uniformed officers

restraining and repeatedly punching the man in Debenhams departlent

store in Canterbury last July. They've now been accused of

conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. You may find the phctures

distressing. Caught on CCTV, this is what

happened when a shoplifter was arrested in Canterbury. It happened

at the Debenhams store. Earlier footage fails to show what leads up

to the incident. The identity of the three officers hasn't been confirmed

but today it was announced that three police constables, based in

Canterbury, have been chargdd with conspiring to pervert the course of

justice. They are right, Jeff Keane, and Daniel Short. There are accused

of failing to retain and reveal that CCTV was available. Allegathons that

will now be examined in court. There are officers of the law, so they

need to abide by the constable and the role of the constable, which

means they have to act withhn the law and they have to follow the

professional standards. There are areas of that kind of film that

doesn't show what happened off`camera. He doesn't appe`r to be

physically attacking the police He may have said something verbally

that was abusive that was qtite seriously abusive. The shoplifter

was taken to court and admitted theft but charges that he assaulted

a police officer were droppdd. But the incident will now lead to a

second court case. A 16`year`old boy has been charged

with the murder of an A`levdl student in Surrey. The boy, who

can't be named for legal re`sons, is accused of stabbing 17`year`old

Elizabeth Thomas whose body was found in Oxted last Friday. He was

initially sectioned under the Mental Health Act, but has now been

charged. A Kent teenager who used his car as

a weapon to avoid paying for fuel has been jailed for 11 years.

19`year`old Joshua Charnley drove his car at petrol station m`nager

Lekshmanan Asokkumar in West Kingsdown, carrying him on the

bonnet for over half a mile and leaving him with brain damage.

The jury have gone to consider their verdict in the trial of Edmtnd Nela

who is accused of murdering scaffolder Xhem Krasniqi. Mr Nela,

who is originally from Albania, is accused of the fatal shooting in

Hove in May 2013. The father of two was shot in the abdomen in Church

Road and died the following day It's one of the most import`nt

regeneration projects in Kent. But the site of the former Pleasurama

funfair in Ramsgate has rem`ined derelict for years, despite an

agreement that building work to create a hotel and luxury flats

should be virtually finished by now. Thanet District councillors have

been meeting today to decidd what to do next. And we've seen doctments

suggesting the developers are "in material breach" of their agreement,

meaning the council could bd in a position to take back the shte. Our

business correspondent Mark Norman has this exclusive report.

It has been described as ond of the most important regeneration sites in

East Kent. When the developdrs signed a deal with an Distrhct

Council to build flats, shots on a hotel here back in 2006, most people

thought it would be built bx now. But, as you can see, the work hasn't

been done and this programmd has seen legal advice to Thanet District

Council that says the developers of this site are in breach of their

development agreement by not substantially completing thd work by

the end of next month. I'm very pleased with the advise. It may take

a while. It won't happen ovdrnight and the council has got to go

through several different procedures. But my reading of the

legal advice is such that the council's got to strong chance to

rid itself of the developers. The site on Ramsgate seafront h`s a long

history. In 1998, the historic Pleasurama funfair was destroyed by

fire. An agreement to develop the site was then reached in 20 `` in

2006. Substantial works werd due to be finished by next month. For a

decade, there has been a local campaign against both the

development and the developdrs. However, others have wanted to buy

property and handed over deposits, only to get money back becatse of

the lack of progress. I wanted to overlook the beach. The devdloper

told is that due to the economic downturn, the original fund was not

in a position to proceed and that way forward has now been agreed and

that they look forward to starting on the site the spring.

The council have been considering their legal advice today but it may

be some time before we know the future of the Pleasurama site.

This is our top story tonight. Five flood warnings are in place

across Kent and Sussex as a band of heavy rain sweeps across thd South

East. The weather's already caused disruption to train services.

Landslips blocked the line between Hastings to London, leading to

delays and cancellations. Celebrating the jewels of the sea. A

new exhibition is unveiled `t Hasting's Jerwood Gallery. @nd

Crawley is in pole position hosting the world pole dancing championships

and a campaign for the sport to be adopted by the Olympics.

There are calls tonight for the Health Secretary to intervene after

it emerged that some vulner`ble young mental health patients in Kent

are waiting as long as four months to be assessed. It's a huge problem.

It's a huge problem. The latest research suggests as many as one in

five young adults show signs of an eating disorder. One in 12 have

deliberately harmed themselves. And nearly 80,000 children and xoung

people in the UK suffer frol severe depression. The Tunbridge Wdlls MP

Greg Clark has added his vohce to those of campaigners who sax those

delays are unacceptable. Pidrs Hopkirk has tonight's speci`l

report. When Marie's teenage daughtdr began

self`harming, she knew she needed expert help, and quickly. It took

six months for that help to arrive. Speaking to a synonymously to

protect her daughter's identity she said she believes a service for

young people is in crisis. Ht is absolutely shocking, it is

diabolical, and it is nonexhstent. The service is failing young people,

and I believe a lot of young people are dying as a result. It w`s quite

scary how we were going arotnd and around in circles. I felt I needed

help and I was not getting ht at all. Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark

says some young mental health patients are facing a four lonth

wait for assessment and that 1, 00 waiting for treatment. We h`ve to

get it right and is unacceptable to allow young people and their parents

to have to go through this without the support they deserve. Mdntal

health services for young pdople in Kent were taken over by Sussex

partnership NHS foundation trust in September 2012. My response would be

to reassure people that we're on case, we have had the opportunity to

start making changes, they have taken time, but we are motoring on.

And we want to reassure famhlies and that we are listening to all the

stakeholders in finding ways to improve the service. What wd'd like

to see is the object increase. So the people on the ground have the

resources to do their job properly. With the Health Secretary asked to

intervene, the call for change has gone right to the top.

The Jerwood Gallery in Hasthngs has been raiding its own family jewels

for its first show of 2014. It's showing off modern British `rtworks,

bought for the nation by thd Jerwood Foundation. Appropriately enough for

a seafront gallery, the show also features the work of Alfred Wallis,

the Cornish fisherman famous for his pictures of boats and seasc`pes

Robin Gibson has more. It's a family show this timd at the

Jerwood. Most of the works hn here have been brought out from their

stores at the gallery's and collection. Some have never been

shown before Bickley. This hs a show which will really have broad appeal.

On one hand, we have key itdms like this Wood painting, which is a very

iconic piece. People will come to see that. But I think peopld that

love portraiture and landsc`pe, people that want to see scenes of

the local, the domestic. It all began as a private collection. Based

on a fortune made trading in pearls and property. This was at the end of

his life. Alan Green is the man who bought most of these works `nd also

took the decision to build ` public gallery here. People said to me when

it was hanging up in my offhce, what are you going to do with thhs

collection? You can't just hang it on the wall and lock the door. So,

the decision to build the g`llery was partly to find a home for the

collection and put it in thd public eye. This room focuses on the work

of early Saint Ives painter, Alfred Wallis, self taught and influential

in the 20s and 30s. It's no coincidence his use of ships in the

sea echo this classic Jerwood few of the fishermen 's beach. You can see

in some of these paintings, the experience of the lurching boat

that feeling you're actuallx going to go upside down. He reallx lived

that lie. They hope this is a show for all tastes. It's not entirely

focused on one particular style which gives the public at l`rge the

opportunity to have a reallx enjoyable day when they are visiting

it. This show is a first. The first time the gallery has looked at its

own taste to the publics. They've got some beautiful stuff

there. It's lovely. Now, football transfer deadline day. The sale of

Brighton midfielder Liam Brhdcutt to Premier League Sunderland for ?

million pounds is a done de`l. The 24`year`old, who was a favotrite of

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet during their time together at the Seagulls,

has signed a three and a half year contract. Elsewhere veteran Crawley

striker Gary Alexander has joined Burton Albion and winger Nicky Adams

has been reunited with formdr Reds manager Steve Evans at Rothdrham.

Charlton Athletic manager Chris Powell remains adamant the @ddicks

can escape relegation from the Championship despite winning just

once in ten League games. The Addicks travel to in`form Whgan

without midfielder Dale Stephens who joined Brighton yesterday and fans

favourite Yann Kermorgant, who's signed for Bournemouth.

Brighton's Championship gamd against Watford is a Sunday afternoon

kick`off. While in League One, Crawley Town are at home to bottom

of the table Stevenage. And Gillingham welcome Port Vald to the

Priestfield. They're bendy, they're stretchy and

extremely strong and they'rd competing in Crawley this wdekend.

International pole dancers will be descending on the Sussex town for

the World Championships. Men, as well as women, from over 26

countries are competing in the event which is being hosted in thd UK for

the first time. Organisers say they want to move the image of pole

dancing away from the strip clubs to an athletic show of strength and

skill. Juliette Parkin reports. Some have come from as `` from as

far away as Russia. Tomorrow's final is preceded by today's knockouts. A

barn is surprising location for the competition but it is judged in

strict accordance with pole dancing rules. It is a sport that h`s become

a global sensation. I think nowadays it is very pop killer. And ht is an

important kind of sport in Russia. It makes me feel proud and grateful.

It has been a joy. It's really good. Each performance is about showing

off strength, skill, stamin` and choreography. And, sometimes,

costumes are judged, too. More than anything, it's about getting away

from the strip club stereotxpe, famously portrayed by Demi Loore in

the late 90s film, striptease. An angel appeared... My main ahm was to

get it away from the gentlelan s club and onto a world stage. Those

that are privileged to see ht on Saturday will make their own mind

up. There are still people with

stereotypes and it is the older people that haven't had the

education of it. If I was an elderly grandma and I hadn't seen it, I

would say that too. It's not people being rude, but it is lack of

education about the sport wd've made out of it. It's not just for women.

More and more men are taking to the pole and will be competing hn Sussex

this weekend. There is a fitness to it. There are two different things.

It is an art. 95% is women, but there are a lot more guys t`king it

up, which is really good to see There are calls for pole dancing is

a sport be included in the Olympic Games. Poles apart from where it

began. That is incredible!

They already hold a world rdcord for the fastest four`man crew ever to

row across the Indian Ocean. Now Bexhill brothers Phil and Nhck

McCorry are hoping to repeat their success by rowing across thd

Atlantic. If they do it in 40 days or less, they'll become the first

people ever to hold a simultaneous world record for rowing both oceans.

In a moment, we'll speak to them here in the studio. But, first,

here's a reminder of their extraordinary feats in 2009.

Well, Phil and Nick join us now Had you forgotten how hard it w`s

crossing the Indian Ocean? Ht was hard. We had our ups and downs, the

hunger, sleep deprivation. But it was fun as well. And the achievement

of going really far each dax was quite nice. But there were four of

you in the boat. But you ard brothers and spending the bdst part

of six weeks only in each other s company. That's right. Wearx road

for 12 hours a day last timd. This time we will grow up to 16 hours. So

the shift and the ratio of rowing will be tougher. Do you get on?

Brothers don't always. I thhnk we do and we know our strengths and

weaknesses. There are times when it will be tough and we can support

each other. And you're going for the world record but actually to row

across the Atlantic itself would be an achievement. Definitely. It's got

an 80% success rate so it is in our favour but for a record it hs down

to the weather which nobody can predict. Absolutely! Your training

hasn't quite started yet. You still got some time until December. How

much training do you do in Bexhill? Ideally, we do most of it on the

land `` ideally we'd like to do it on the sea but we do most of it on

the land. How big is the bo`t? It is about 29 feet long. It is slaller

than our last boat, and it hs lighter. And you're hoping to raise

a lot of money for local catses Yes, Saint Mary 's. The school in

our local area. Hopefully, we will see lots of pictures of you doing

it. Good luck. They just mentioned the

unpredictable weather and wd've got another night of heavy rain. Sadly,

it has been all but too predictable! Tonight, of course, still w`rnings

for this heavy rain. We could see up to 40 millimetres over highdr

ground. We start to see it `` we started to see it from about 4pm.

The temperatures were decent with plenty of cloud cover around.

Tonight, heavy rain, strong winds, but as that rain moves throtgh from

about 2am, it will be an improving story from the West. Temper`tures

dropping to a round three of four degrees `` to around three or four

degrees. Saturday, strong whnds a much, story as we go into Stnday.

Saturday, warnings about sole hefty showers but also the winds. They

could just about 50 miles an hour. To give the coastal areas, ht is

going to be trouble attic. `` particularly. There are somd

blustery showers, strong winds even inland, around 25 miles an hour The

sunshine makes a difference to the day. Top temperatures around seven

or eight. Where you see the sunshine, it is feeling ple`sant. On

Saturday, and into Sunday, we see showers, temperatures dropphng to

around three or four degrees. On Sunday, a much calmer story. By the

afternoon, perhaps one or two showers around and we will still

hold onto those winds, but they ease off to around 20 miles an hour.

Temperatures on Sunday recovering, with highs of nine or ten. @s we

head into the new week, it hs going to be increasingly unsettled. The

rain returns as we go into Londay. The winds are back with temperatures

eight or nine. Choose day, lore of the same. The main story is the

heavy rainfall through tonight. It is going to be clearing frol about

2am, and the main story on Saturday is strong winds, gusting about 0

miles an hour. Further inland, not much above 20 miles an hour. Sunday,

by contrast, the best day of the weekend. The rain is back again on

Monday and Tuesday. Sunday hs relatively dry with a littld bit of

sunshine. Sunshine? That would be nicd. We

will have more updates on the weather at 10:25pm. We hope the

weather doesn't ruin your wdekend. We will be back on Monday. Goodbye.