18/03/2014 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm That is all from us,

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Polly Evans.

And I'm Rob Smith. Tonight's top stories.

Trapped waist deep in sinking mud ` a woman relives her terror before

being rescued from the Kent coast. I tried shouting out, but there was

nobody around. We're live in Herne Bay with the

story. A grandmother was beaten and thrown

through a trapdoor before hdr body was hidden in a shop basement, a

jury's been told ` three men deny murdering Harjit Chaggar. Also in

tonight's programme: Teeterhng on the edge: A coastguard's cottage at

Birling Gap is being demolished before it can fall into the sea

The history makers ` back in Britain, Paralympic gold medallists

Kelly Gallagher and her Kent guide Charlotte Evans, and flag bdarer

Millie Knight join us live. And how thousands of rare books at

Sissinghurst Castle ` the most significant collection of its kind

in the country ` are being preserved for future generations.

Good evening. A woman who had to be rescudd from

waist deep mud on the Kent coast has spoken of her terror at becoming

trapped, and her fear that she would die. Julie`Anne White becamd stuck

trying to rescue her dog whdn walking on the coast near Hdrne Bay.

In total three people had to be rescued yesterday in joint

operations between the RNLI and the Fire Service, as walkers got into

difficulty along a remote stretch of shoreline. Simon Jones reports.

Sinking as she struggled, this is how the emergency services found

Julianne. Issue had not had her mobile phone with her, she fears she

would not been found. She s`id she had tried them before stepphng on

it, but three steps in she went under, fearing the worst. I just

thought, there is nobody here I can let know what has happened. I tried

shouting out but there was no one around. I just thought, I al

absolutely trapped. The worst things go through your mind, I could be

here for hours. When will anybody know that I am missing? It went from

thinking, silly, you have got yourself stuck, to being quhte

terrified, thinking how will I get out. Did you fear you might not get

out? Idea. Later that afternoon, anothdr two

women had to be rescued aftdr they had waded in to save their dog.

The cliffs in that area are made of clay, and after the heavy r`in they

have collapsed in various places. But what has `` is extremelx soft

and body. Part of the issue in this instance was the fact that `lthough

the crust on the top of the mob had dried and appeared to be firm

underfoot, it was extremely soft. `` mod.

Even looking at the pictures is difficult. I start to feel the fear

that I felt at the time. Th`nk God for mobile phones and 999.

To that she has publicly th`nked `` tonight she has publicly th`nked all

those who help her. Well, Simon joins us from Hdrne Bay.

Simon, what more are authorhties saying about walking in places like

Reculver? The emergency services say the

recent bad weather, particularly the rain, has changed the coastlines

hugely, and that is certainly what she found. She says she is tsed to

walking her dog down there `nd has never had problems before. She

thought the mod was OK, but she started disappearing into it. The

more she started to free herself, the worse the situation got. It was

only after 15 minutes when she stopped panicking that she

remembered she had her phond. The lifeboat and Fire Service s`id that

is vital. She says she feels rather embarrassed in retrospect looking

back, and she wanted to spe`k out toward others. The Fire Service also

say there's `` as in the second case where people went into triangle is a

dog, don't do that, Barbie emergencies. As Mike went in to try

and rescue a dog. `` phone the emergency services.

A 69`year`old woman was badly beaten and then thrown through a trap door

while still alive, the jury at a murder trial has been told. Three

men who work at the Sani Globe grocery store in Chatham deny

murdering Harjit Chaggar last September.

The decomposing body of the grandmother was found hidden in the

basement of the shop 12 days after her family had reported her missing.

Chrissie Reidy reports from Canterbury Crown Court.

69`year`old Harjit Chaggar one missing on second September last

year. 12 days later her decomposed body was discovered under the

floorboards in the basement storeroom of this shop. Opening the

case for the prosecution today, the judge told the court there hs no

evidence `` the barrister told the evidence `` the barrister told the

court that... On the day Harjit Chaggar wdnt

missing, she collected a prescription from her doctor's and

then went to do some shopping. She was seen buying Ginger. She then

walked to the Sani Globe. It is the largest `` the CCTV is the last

known sighting of her alive. From industries `` injuries she

sustained, the court was told she was alive when she was thrown

through the hatch into the basement storeroom.

A 38`year`old man and a 44`xear`old man along with a 28`year`old man

deny murder. They are also charged with preventing a lawful burial

along with another man from Chatham. The case continues. All four men

deny the charges. In a moment, Superdrug stops selling

cheap alcohol in Kent after being accused of fuelling binge drinking.

Work to demolish one of the famous coastguard cottages at Birlhng Gap

began today. The Georgian house has been left teetering on the ddge of

the cliff after the winter's heavy rainfall caused seven years' worth

of erosion in just three months Just two weeks ago we showed the

dramatic moment when a huge chunk of cliff sheered away and fell to the

beach below. `` sheared. Thd demolition company involved say

they're having to radically change the way they work, concerned that

more of the cliff edge could give way at any time.

The cottage, teetering on the clifftop, is now being demolished

before catastrophe calls. The man in charge of pulling down the building

explained that the brutal btsiness of demolition is a bit more delicate

here. We will cut up and ovdr the building, through the roof, once we

have done that we will carrx out rendering to the end of the

building. Once we have completed that we will take the rest of the

building down the side, so that we do not risk either element of it.

Preparatory work started thhs morning. It will take sever`l weeks

for the work to be completed. This is why the end cottage is h`ving to

go. The cliff edge is dangerously unstable after the winter storms.

There have been a series of significant collapses at long as

Mike along the coast. It is estimated there have been sdven

years' erosion in just a few weeks. They are living on 7010 years' time

in normal conditions, but things can change differently. `` quickly.

There is no sign of the owndr of the end cottage. As a little bit of

history starts to disappear. Today's demolition is history

repeating itself. Two cottages have already been lost on elements, the

last one being pulled down just over a decade ago. The National trust

lost land by its facilities. I have met people who have been coling down

here for years, who got eng`ged here or brought the new husbands,

boyfriends, down here, so there is a tinge of sadness. But we will create

new memories. The end cottage will soon bd going.

Demolition is having to be done in a way to protect the integritx of the

cottages that remain. Police have removed a body from the

River Medway this morning. It follows an ongoing search for a

missing local man, Kieron Knowlden, who disappeared on the 1st of March.

Officers were called to Medway Wharf Road in Tonbridge at around half

past six. A formal identification is yet to take place.

Council leaders have revealdd that the cost of damage caused to roads

in East Sussex by the severd winter weather is more than ?3 million

Since the start of this year, East Sussex County Council has fhlled

more than 13,000 potholes. The council says it will now apply to

the Government for funding tnder its Severe Weather Recovery Schdme.

More than ?300,000 worth of shares have been sold as part of the

restoration of Hastings Pier. The structure was destroyed in ` fire

more than three years ago and is now undergoing a ?14 million rebuild.

The share scheme ` which has a minimum ?100 pound spend ` runs

until the 5th of April. `` ` minimum ?100 spent.

`` spend. One the country's leading

pharmaceutical companies has had to stop selling alcohol in Kent after

scores of complaints. Superdrug was accused by local politicians of

fuelling Britain's binge drhnking culture by selling cheap alcohol in

its store in Chatham. The town's MP Tracey Crouch, who's

chairwoman of the All`Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol

Misuse, had branded Superdrtg irresponsible, accusing the firm of

targeting younger customers with promotions that saw wine and spirits

on sale at almost 50% cheapdr than the norm. Peter Whittlesea reports.

`` has branded. When Superdrug decided to sdll

cut`price lose at its Chath`m store, Tracey Crouch rendered the decision

irresponsible and asked thel to remove the alcohol from the store.

That stance has been backed by the local council. We have a density of

individuals who and fortunately at one particular end of our thme do

suffer from alcohol addiction issues. We need to do all wd can to

help reduce the ability to `ccess that, and give them support to be

able to deal with the addiction issues. Including minimum pricing?

Yes. It is a view that is tougher than

the coalition Government's position on minimum call pricing. But some

feel it is a move towards the nanny state. It is nothing to do with the

Government. Why should people be told they cannot have something that

people with more money can have In a place like Chatham you do not need

to encourage drinking when there is lots of problems about as it is I

do not think they should get involved. We live in a free society.

People are going to drink anyway. Obviously people aren't `` who do

not have a lot of money, if they want to drink who are we to judge?

That is welcomed by this publican, who believes a minimum pricd for

alcohol would have a positive impact. It will give those people

who perhaps rely on cheap alcohol a chance to move away from it, maybe.

And I think it will bring the centres of the communities back to

public houses, which it has been historically for centuries.

Which many hope will trigger a responsible attitude towards

alcohol. Well, Peter joins us from Chatham.

Are we likely to see similar cheap alcohol schemes in other parts of

Kent? Judging by Superdrug's experience

their customers simply did not like it, they did not want to sed a cheap

bottle of booze next to a bottle of shampoo. This story was spl`shed

across the national press. But the strength of opinion for minhmum

pricing for alcohol seems to be gathering pace, driven by hdalth

statistics that show the impact of alcohol. If you are a man in the

town centre, your life expectancy's now nine years shorter than if you

live in a more affluent part of town. Local politicians say that

figure is why they want to tackle alcohol abuse.

It is now 80 minutes to sevdn. Our top story.

`` 18. A woman who had to bd rescued from waste not on the Kent coast has

spoken of her terror that she might die. She began stuck while walking

her dog. Also tonight, Paralympic ch`mpion

Skelly Gallacher and Charlotte Evans and Millie Knight, we will be

catching up with them. `` Kdlly Gallagher.

And the work at Sissinghurst Castle to prevent `` preserve the finest

collection of its kind in the country.

The Chancellor George Osborne is preparing to deliver his fifth

Budget tomorrow. The south dast has been a focus of recent annotncements

from the Treasury, with the Chancellor outlining plans `t the

weekend to build an new Garden City with 150,000 homes in Ebbsfleet

Then today, the coalition confirmed an estimated 257,000 familids in the

South East will benefit frol a tax`free childcare allowancd worth

up to ?2,000 per child. There's also expected to be help for bushnesses

with high energy costs, with the Chancellor set to announce `

reduction in green taxes. Otr business correspondent Mark Norman

has been in Deal, asking businesses and residents what they want from

tomorrow's Budget. Walk along any high street `nd you

will get a range of opinions of what people want tomorrow. This high

street is no different. Mord access and quicker access to the

apprenticeship schemes. Ratd reductions, rate breaks. I `m a

single parent, and I work, but I do not work enough to warrant getting

help with childcare. So to lower the hours worked, so maybe look at

changing those kinds of settings of the rules and things. I would like

to see a bit more help for those on the housing ladder, perhaps getting

rid of the large deposits pdople have to pay for mortgages. Help some

of the younger people onto the housing market. I don't think many

young people can afford mortgages. `` many people. Maybe an increase on

milk tokens. Milk and fruit and veg vouchers. They are only abott ? ten

each. It gets a bit tired. For most of us, money is tight, and the

Chancellor's challenge is to make us feel more confident about the

economy without giving too luch away.

And there will be full coverage of tomorrow's Budget announcemdnt on

the BBC news website and on Radio Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

Kent skier Charlotte Evans `nd her partner Kelly Gallagher, Brhtain's

only gold medallists at the Winter Paralympics, along with Millie

Knight, Britain's youngest competitor, today attended `

reception at Downing Street. The trio were congratulated on their

performances by the Prime Mhnister David Cameron, and I'm pleased to

say they join us in the studio. Well, in a moment we'll be talking

to them but first let's takd a look back on their historic achidvements.

I hope that it means that pdople can look at us and think, whatever they

want to achieve in their lives, they can give 100% and see what happens.

I thought we were coming back to normality, but we were told we were

coming to Downing Street. I thought, that is so cool! We have a lot in

our team from Kent, and thex are going to be coming up and through,

and we spent a lot of time teaching them how to do the best thex can do.

Hopefully that will pay off and they will be coming to the next games

with medals like we have. `` the next Olympic games.

Ladies, thank you for joining us. How does it feel to be back in

Britain after all that succdss? The eyes of the world have been on you.

It is pretty surreal, but wd got the feeling when we got into He`throw

last night how big it has bden back home. We have been in a little

bubble for two weeks. Kelly, you were at Downing Street. What was the

atmosphere like? It was gre`t to be there. For our hard work to be

recognised. And you are both wearing your gold medals so proudly. Hold

them up, because we got a chance to see them earlier on. They are very

heavy. How does that feel? Did you think

that you would be sitting hdre wearing a gold medal? We wanted it.

We wanted to be here and we wanted to be doing this come whethdr it was

possible or not, we definitdly believed it was if we had ltck on

our side. Have you been back to the dry ski slope yet? No, we c`me in

last night and we have been nonstop all day. I am sure we will be making

a visit back there. Obviously the build up for four years to this big

event, and all your focus h`s been on that, and now that you h`ve

achieved your dreams, had you adjust to life back at home? I guess being

elite athletes we are still not finished with what we want to do,

the world championships next year, so we will take a break and then be

focus and see what else we can achieve together. `` focus. You did

not quite get a medal, but xou did absolutely brilliantly, Millie, how

did it go? I was expecting to come last, basically! And then to come

top five was amazing. I was not expecting it at all. And yot carried

the flag, that must have bedn exciting. That was very exchting. I

have been dreaming of representing Mike country since I was tiny, and

yes, it was amazing. Coming back to reality, you are back to school

argue, this week? Yes. Were you have to be `` do a what I did in my

holidays thing in front of @ssembly? Possibly!

For the people back home in Kent, like your dad, you must be so proud.

Yes, we have had so much as `` support on Facebook and Twitter we

are really grateful to have it. What were the snow conditions like? The

snow was the best conditions it could be. The guys worked so hard in

making that pieced as strong and as good as they could. `` making that

slope. It was more the weather for the girls, the girls did not have

the best weather, but we fotght through they do best results we

could. How do you work on the trust in your partnership? That is so

crucial to what you do. We have to respect each other and understand

each other and make space in our team for our personalities. We have

been working for these past four years and I think we have a really

strong partnership. Charlotte knows me more than I know myself. She

knows if I am not ready for a race. So it is a real partnership in that

sense of the word. Millie, do you fancy doing another Paralympics

Definitely! And you have inspiration right next to you. Yes, thex are

great role models. I would like to be walking in their footsteps, to

get one of these lovely things. They are quite special, and they?

Thank you all for coming in, and congratulations.

Football now, and Crawley Town welcome League One leaders Wolves to

the Broadfield Stadium tonight. While loan striker Jonathan Obika

could feature for Charlton `gainst Bournemouth. The 23`year`old, who

was recalled from a spell at Brighton to join the Addicks, spent

three months at the Valley last season.

It's home to the most significant 20th`century in situ book collection

in the country. Sissinghurst Castle in Kent houses an impressivd 11 000

rare books, and now a speci`l conservation project to preserve

them is under way. It's hoped the three year t`sk will

restore the books so they c`n be handled in the future withott fear

of damage. And it's all being carried out right under the noses of

visitors, as Ellie Price reports. A landmark of the Kent countryside

for centuries. But it is wh`t is inside that may come as a strprise.

We have books all along the walls, as you can see. A large collection

of 20th century books, from crime to travel to autobiographies. @ll

lovingly collected and annotated by Sissinghurst's 20th century owners.

Harold and feet have written in everything. They wrote books `` here

is one which is ten one's mother was Mac copy. `` here is one `` here is

one which is temp one's mother's copy. `` Vita's mother's copy.

You can see there is quite ` lot of damage on the paper cover of this

book, because of the way thdy have been stored, I think. Quite a lot of

slug damage to the paper covers so we are repairing those.

It is expected to take thred years, but even this project has h`d very

personal beginnings. This, ` poem written by Vita to Harold. Ht is a

secret which I must know best. It was found in a book which also

inspired this project, becatse as you can see we have a tremendous

amount of silverfish damage. The library will stay open

throughout the restoration, so visitors can watch, and even the

former owner can keep an eyd on it. You may want to enjoy the stnshine

tomorrow, because you could be back in your winter clothes by the

weekend. Today of course not too bad, we had

some sunshine around, but mostly we have stayed dry. Temperaturds still

fairly decent for the time of year, highs of 12, 13 degrees. It has been

increasingly breezy, those wins 15 to 20 mph. With the cloud cover

tonight, it will be quite a mild night, certainly staying frost free.

Thusly we will be staying dry them, temperatures only jumping to around

five or six degrees. A little bit cloudy initially, but very puickly

we are going to start seeing `` start to see plenty of sunshine

Those are so buyers mean it will still be quite blustery. A little

bit more cloud cover. `` isobars. Those breezes, 15 to 20 mph, we

could see temperatures potentially as high as 18. It will not last

though, as we head through the week. Through tomorrow night it whll stay

dry, temperatures five or shx degrees. Then this shift as we go

into Thursday. We will be starting the day try, but as we had through

Thursday we will be seeing some rain, `` 's darting the day drive.

`` starting the day die. `` staying dry.

Top temperatures on Thursdax cooler than tomorrow. `` than todax. Into

Friday, it is going to be chilly, and also we have some showers

around. To bridges 12 or 13 degrees, and wins around 20 mph. ``

temperatures 1230 degrees. The weekend is going to be colddr. ``

temper just 12 or 13 degrees. That `` temperatures 12 or 13 degrees.

Tomorrow, highs of 18 degreds. Make the most of it, it would be

lasting. I hope the weather changes hts mind!

It is all right for much, as long as it is not raining.

I will be back at 8pm and 10:25pm. Good night.