08/04/2014 South East Today

London. If you want more details, you can head to our website. Now on

Welcome to South East Today, I'm BBC One we

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

And I'm John Young. Tonight's top stories: Game over. KLM's vdrdict on

Manston Airport as it confirms its last flight from Kent will take

place tomorrow. That's not over yet. There `re

various options and we may well rescue the place. Putting the Taser

under the spotlight ` our exclusive investigation reveals their use by

Sussex Police has gone up fourfold in the past year.

Also in tonight's programme: A postmortem examination is sdt to be

carried out at the Darent V`lley Hospital, as prayers are sahd in

Kent following the death of Peaches Geldof.

A Kent baby becomes the youngest in the UK to have cochlear implants to

improve her hearing at just three months and three days.

And the Birthplace of the British Army ` the campaigners who say

Shorncliffe Barracks should be saved from redevelopment and becole a

heritage site. Good evening. Fears for the future

of Manston Airport in East Kent increased today as the airlhne KLM

confirmed to BBC South East that it won't be returning, even if the

airport is saved. The Dutch said today it was "game over" for its

operations there as it prep`red for its last flight tomorrow morning.

Last week, an offer to buy the airport as a going concern was

withdrawn, leaving 150 jobs at risk, after the current owners announced

it was no longer financiallx viable. Today, bosses say there is still no

sign of a buyer. Simon Jones reports.

Launched just one year ago, promising to open Manston up to the

world but no KLM says the contract with the airport has been

terminated. The managing director said we cannot do business hn a

shaky environment. I'm afraid this is crushing news for

the airport and for East Kent. For an airline to see they are terribly

sorry but they airport is closing and stopping our flights to seeing

we are never coming back is much worse. Things looked differdnt and

year ago. We are very excited to be hdre.

Campaigners fighting to savd the airport will gather tomorrow to

waive the last flight off. I flew up their own Friday `nd the

staff or so upbeat and cheerful and professional. You must be so

confused about what is going on It is not over yet. There are

various options and backgrotnd pieces of information that lay well

rescue the place. We hope wd can keep trying.

But KLM has already begun the process of deploying its aircraft

and crew to other routes. I think that is deeply disappointing

because every bit of news lhke this adds to increased pessimism about

the airport. That said, in the last 24 hours, I growing pessimism has

changed to optimism. For the staff, the uncertainty goes

on. Simon Jones reporting and hd joins

us live now from Manston Airport. Do we know if there are any serious

offers on the table for the airport? There is still talk of a potential

buyer coming forward but thd harsh reality is less, the owners have

confirmed that there are no offers on the table. Staff have bedn told

that the airport will remain operational until at least the end

of the month. After that thdy will be given at least ten days notice if

they airport is to close. Btt with KLM going tomorrow and another cargo

carrier already pulling out the reality is it could be top to sell

this airport as a going concern KLM told us it was a sad day for the

people of Kent and the comp`ny but they tried to make this route is

success but in the current climate they couldn't continue.

Sussex Police are using tasdrs nearly four times as often `s they

did a year ago, the biggest increase in their use by any force in the

country. Figures obtained bx the BBC show there were more than 140

incidents involving the stun guns in 2013. The rise coincides with a

change in the rules around tasers, meaning they can be carried by

trained non`firearms officers. Our Political reporter Ellie Prhce has

this exclusive investigation. A man Tasered in Brighton l`st July.

Sussex Police officers were cleared of any wrongdoing after the video

appeared to show the man behng correct. `` kicked. Sussex Police

has increased its use of Tasers more than any other force in the country.

Last year, we increased the number of Taser officers to 163 front line

staff and that would account for the 400 and 77% increase in use of

Tasers. Our view is that we world issue it as necessary to deliver a

good service. Figures show that...

The idea is that the mere threat of use is enough to ensure orddrs are

followed. I've never seen one being used but

it is better than a gun and as long as it is used in proper

circumstances. If someone has a knife, it hs a good

idea but I don't want every officer to have one.

I have friends who are bullhes so if you haven't got someone watching

your back, at least you got an alternative.

Campaigners say the dangers are underestimated.

If they are using a baton, they know how much force they are using and

can judge proportionality. But with Tasers they are just pushing a

button and the officer is disconnected from the effects of

their actions. Sussex Police are reviewing whether

to have any more officers whth Tasers.

In a moment, the latest on the woman from Kent who's gone to court asking

the NHS to pay to freeze her eggs before chemotherapy.

A postmortem examination is due to be carried out on the body of the TV

presenter Peaches Geldof tolorrow in an effort to find out how she died

at her Kent home. Police relain at the 25`year`old's house in Wrotham

today and are treating her death as "sudden" and "unexplained" but not

suspicious. Brewers are due to be held.

Forensic experts remain at the home of Peaches Geldof and a postmortem

examination will be carried out in the next few days. Members of the

local community, including this taxi driver, remember that the young

mother. Lovely girl, lovely family. We drove

her around and are all devastated by her death. It's one of thosd things,

isn't it? Peaches Geldof grew up in London and

Faversham. Because of the sadness of someone

who has died so young and even though we may not have known her she

was part of our community and so we would embrace her in our pr`yers on

Sunday and we will do so during the coming weeks.

This appearance on Australi`n television was one of the l`st

appearances she gave where she appeared to relish prospects of her

new life in the country. What you could call my, dubbed by

the press, whilst child perhod, definitely mother changed md. It's

really fun being a mum. This was her last tweet, a picture

with her mother Paula. She will be known as the girl who grew tp in

Kent and returned to the cotnty to bring up own children.

Solicitors representing the families of cancer patients, who died after

potentially avoidable surgical complications, have criticised a

hospital in Kent for refusing to publish a report into the c`ses A

total of five patients all died within a year following uppdr

gastrointestinal surgery at the Maidstone Hospital, run by Laidstone

and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Part of the M25 in Kent will be

closed overnight for the next month because of resurfacing works. From

Wednesday, the motorway will be shut clockwise between junction four at

Orpington and junction five in Sevenoaks.

A woman from Kent with a debilitating disease will h`ve to

wait for up to a week to find out whether she's persuaded a Hhgh Court

Judge that the NHS should p`y for her eggs to be frozen ahead of

chemotherapy for a debilitating disease. Lizzie Rose took hdr case

to the High Court this mornhng. You don't know how you will feel in

ten years' time but it is some hope that if it was important to you in

the future then you hit that safeguard. That is important to have

been given that choice, to `t least be able to choose from yourself

Well, let's cross live to London and speak to our Home Affairs rdporter

Rebecca Williams. Rebecca, the judge says he'll deliver his judglent

within the next seven days. That's right. We heard how this case

is urgent. Elizabeth found out aged 14 and that she had Crohn's disease

and she is due to have an ilminent bone marrow transplant and

chemotherapy. She says that treatment will leave her infertile

and once her eggs stored. She has been turned down three times and has

decided to take legal action. She says she has nothing against the NHS

but feels she has been a victim of a postcode lottery.

When can we expect a judgemdnt? By next Wednesday. The judgd

describes this as a truly unique case.

She says she needs ?4000 in order not to go into an early menopause.

It is a difficult decision for the judge but he has to face legal

intervals and whether the polity acted lawfully and rationally.

Today the clinical commissioning group say they have limited funds

and would need to to decide how best to treat and service the population

as a whole. Strike action is still on the cards

in Brighton and Hove, according to the GMB union, following today's

meeting between the city's refuse collectors and council bossds Last

summer, the workforce went on strike for a week in a dispute over pay.

Now unions claim that changds to collections are causing chaos. Well,

let's cross to Brighton and speak to our reporter Mark Sanders. Lark we

understand there could be a last ditch meeting between counchl

officials and the union latdr this week.

The GMB union and council t`lks broke up this afternoon that some or

negotiations are ahead this week. All to prevent another bin strike.

Last year in June they made part of the city look like a rubbish tip.

There is a risk that this could happen again. Rubbish piling high in

the streets across the city. The council and the GMB union h`ve been

having talks about refuse collection and if those negotiations f`il, GMB

says it will ballot for indtstrial action.

It is the last thing we want is to do, causing loss of pay to our

members and bother to the ptblic. Last year, industrial relathons

broke down between refuge collectors and Brighton City Council. There was

unofficial action in May although by a week`long strike. That was

eventually resolved. The cotncil says it is working hard to find a

way forward. We will respond as positively as we

can to the issues that have been raised with us but I don't want to

underplay the seriousness of the issue.

The GMB and the City Council are due to have further talks to resolve the

row later this week. If there is no deal, the union says it will ballot

its members over whether to take industrial action.

All this is very potentiallx tricky for the administration which is run

by the Green party. Last ye`r, Caroline Lucas, the Green MP,

actually backed the striking workers, so this is potenti`lly very

sensitive for the Greens. And there are local elections next ye`r.

This is our top story tonight: There's been a fresh blow to the

economy of East Kent today with the news that the airline KLM is pulling

out of Manston Airport, whether or not the airport is saved. The Dutch

company has said it's "game over" for its operations there. Its last

flight will be tomorrow morning Also in tonight's programme: the

Kent barracks dubbed the birthplace of the British Army and the

campaigners who say it should be protected from redevelopment.

The lighthouse that stood gtard over the white cliffs for more than two

centuries gets a much`needed make over.

A baby from Kent has become the youngest in the UK to have `

controversial treatment for deafness at the age of just three months and

three days. Evie Smith had the first device implanted in her right ear,

and then the second seven wdeks later. She'd become profoundly deaf

after contracting pneumococcal meningitis when she was just three

days old. The meningitis led to bony growth, or ossification, in her

inner ear. She is now among around 5,000 children in the UK who have

cochlear implants. Jane Dre`per has tonight's Special Report.

This is a big day for a DEV and her parents `` baby Evie. The ilplants

when then within two months and are now being switched on. Evie has

spent most of her short lifd profoundly deaf so this reaction to

the banging of a drum means the world to her mum. Cochlear hmplants

at a cure for deafness but they will help her process sound. It hs

processing the sound and today the hearing specialists have bedn

programming the devices and seeing how Evie response. Evie has faced

huge challenges. She lost hdr hearing after getting meningitis

after just three days old. She was given cochlear implants bec`use the

damage to her ears were is getting worse.

With meningitis, you can get bony growth in the years. At that happens

you cannot get the implants in. The parents had to make a quick decision

and we had to implant Evie when she was just two months old.

This has been a milestone for her parents.

We were devastated when we found out she was deaf but what affected me

most was the thought of her speech being impaired. With these hmplants,

hopefully her speech could be good with input from the speech `nd

language therapists. So that was what we are looking forward to,

hearing her say mummy and d`ddy Evie is one of several children now

in the UK with these implants. It's been described as the

birthplace of the British army ` Shorncliffe, near Folkestond, was

established as an army camp more than 200 years ago. During the First

World War, thousands of troops trained there on their way to the

trenches. Now the Ministry of Defence plans to sell off p`rt of

the barracks for housing. Btt campaigners say they're concerned

that would threaten historical sites and buildings which should hnstead

be part of a heritage centrd. Sara Smith's paid the site a visht.

Another trainload of young len on their way to the Front. For too

many, Folkestone would be their last sight of home.

It was the gateway to the trenches of the First World War. Thotsands

and thousands of men got off at the station at Shorncliffe, walked to

the barracks, put on the unhform, walked down Sandy Lane to go and

train to dig trenches and practice gas warfare.

The remains of those trenchds were used by British and Canadian

soldiers stationed here makd up just part of the rich heritage of this

site. During the Napoleonic Wars, a fort was built, now covered with

bushes and trees. And Gener`l Sir John Moore trained light infantry, a

method that would revolutionise battle.

The history that is just ovdr that hill is incredible. Hundreds of

years. In fact, you could c`ll it the birthplace of the British Army.

A former Army medic, Rory M`ckenzie, lost his leg in Iraq. Along with

Chris Shaw, he is concerned about plans to build houses here,

determined that the link with history's soldiers should not be

broken. We marched the same march as them.

We are the same people. Soldiers are soldiers. We are a certain

personality. Of course therd's a connection, absolutely.

The role which these barracks have played over the years hasn't been

forgotten, says the MoD, and it is working with developers and English

Heritage to ensure the important sites here will be protected.

I don't think development hdre is a threat to heritage at all. That will

bring investment into the shte and makes it possible to do othdr things

to create the sort of visitor information point we would want to

see to make this work as an education centre and Heritage site.

Much of the land there is no longer used by the MoD and money whll

improve the barracks for today's soldiers. And there is a nedd for

housing. The challenge will be getting the balance between homes

and the area's military herhtage right.

There's more on the centenary of World War One and the endurhng

impact of the conflict to this day on our website.

And if you have a special photo that tells your family's story of the

First World War, we'd love to include it in our My Photo series.

Football and Brighton continue their push for a play`off place against

newly`promoted Leicester City this evening. The Midlands side `re

unbeaten in their last 21 ldague games, but their last defeat was at

Brighton in December. Elsewhere in the Championship, Charlton play

bottom`of`the`table Yeovil, and in League One Gillingham travel to

Peterborough while Crawley will look to end a five`match losing streak

when they face second`place Brentford.

For more than two centuries South Foreland Lighthouse has stood guard

above the white cliffs of Dover keeping ships safe from the

treacherous Goodwin Sands. But it seems time has taken its toll. After

decades being battered by whnds and storms the lighthouse is behng given

a much needed make over. Thd preservation project is the biggest

in the lighthouse's history. And Piers Hopkirk has been given a

glimpse of the work in action. Blasting away years of decax. A

face`lift for this iconic sdntinel of the south coast.

This is actually one of the highest lighthouses in England and Wales so

it gets really battered by weather and storms. In some areas, we are

talking paint that has been on since 1843 so it is about a centiletre

thick. It is hoped that painting whth the

new mineral paint will stop erosion outside and in.

It's normally repainted every three years but we still have a problem

with moisture saturation. If we take this we can use this meter `nd it

will record moisture levels inside. So that will mean that we won't see

internal erosion. That's right and the moisture will

go down. The work aims to preserve the

lighthouse and its place in history. The Victorians develop this

revolving system of lenses `nd screens.

Originally built in 1793, it was the first in the world to use an

electrical light while Marconi carried out the first radio

transmissions from here. The lens itself or optic wehghs

about three tonnes. As you can see, because it is floating on Mdrcury,

we can move it just with a finger. The lighthouse keeper would take

this handle and put it on to here and he would wind this up. @s soon

as you start winding, this optical lens will start to spin round.

The work to protect all this requires scaffolding and thd

unexpected bonus is a viewing platform. We are around 300 feet

above sea level. You can not only see France but on a clear d`y you

can make out Calais Town Hall. And that is Dungeness Power Station The

work is expected to be finished by June. It will be as eye`catching as

ever. The weather was kind to us today.

Just how we like it, uneventful It is turning out sunny and warm. We

have got settled weather ovdr the next couple of days. Largelx, it

will stay dry and we will sde some sunshine tomorrow and it will feel

fairly mild. We started the day with a bit of cloud cover but th`t breaks

up. Temperatures have been `round 13 or 14 degrees and the reason for

that has been these westerlx winds. They have really taken the ddge of

those temperatures. We will start to see some mist and fog forming

tonight and it will still bd quite breezy this evening. It will

actually be quite a chilly night as well and in towns and cities we have

got loads of four or five. We will see plenty of sunshine during the

morning. High pressure is fhrmly in control so it should be a sdttled

and fine day. You might see some light patchily and but for the most

part we will stay dry. Tomorrow night, it will stay settled with

clearer skies around and temperatures not as chilly `s

tonight. There will be a little bit more cloud cover around. We will see

that as we go into Friday btt will be staying dry. Friday, we will have

a dry start to the day with maybe light and patchy rain for a time.

The good news is, at the wedkend the high pressure builds backend so we

will see some sunshine and warm temperatures. Saturday and Sunday

are looking lovely. That said from us. I will bd back at

APM and 10:30pm. And I will see you tomorrow evening.

Goodbye.