24/04/2017 South East Today

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Natalie Graham.

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

The Home Secretary pledges to do more to tackle sexual exploitation,

following our exclusive investigation into so

2,500 jobs are set to come to Bluewater

as the shopping centre announces huge expansion plans.

The mother of a toddler who drank methadone and died breaks down in

court. Verging on extinction -

the campaign to save rare flowers which exist only on roadsides

and a regimental restoration for the Queen's Own Buffs -

who've reopened their chapel The Home Secretary and Hastings MP

Amber Rudd has told this programme that tackling sexual exploitation

is a key government priority. It follows our investigation

into adverts offering Charities have condemned

"sex-for-rent" as exploitative It comes as another South East MP

has revealed he plans to raise Somewhere to live for those who have

nowhere to go. Adverts offering free accommodation with sex as payment.

Our investigation has prompted calls for action to be taken across the

UK. I'm extremely concerned, horrified, Ashley to read the report

is a member refers to and the Minister for Housing has written to

the website concerned that posted these adverts, asking them to take

action. Today the Home Secretary told me that she cared deeply about

this issue. In a statement, she said... She says that protecting

women and girls and tackling exploitation are both key government

priorities. Despite the reaction to our investigation, more adverts are

appearing on craigslist every single day. Last week, this one on East

Grinstead offering accommodation to a passive female partner to attend

adult parties. One in Canterbury was posted this morning aimed at

Aviemore student on a friends with benefits basis. And one in

Sittingbourne offering in exchange for sex four times a week and basic

help with the upkeep of the house. These adverts show a bigger problem

in this country which is that there is just not enough affordable

housing for young people who have no roast ago, and too often, young

people have to take some desperate measure to find a roof for the

night. One Southeast politician says that he will raise the issue as a

matter of urgency. I have two days left in Parliament before the

general election and I intend to do everything I can do drag an answer

out of the government, before the election. We haven't got time to

wait until after the election because vulnerable young people are

being put at risk right now because of these websites. We need an answer

now. We have approached craigslist several time for comets but have had

no response. One landlord who didn't want to go on camera defended his

ardour, saying... -- defended his advert. Charities out that this

could be addressed as soon as this summer. -- charities hope that.

A mother broke down in tears in court today as she described

how she tried desperately to save her two-year-old daughter's

life after she had taken the heroin substitute methadone.

Frankie Hedgecock died after swallowing the drug

which her mother had left out in the sitting room

Lucy King, who's 39, denies manslaughter by gross

Piers Hopkirk has been at Maidstone Crown Court today

Lucy King took to the witness stand and told the jury that she had been

a long-term methadone user and that a long-term methadone user and

ordinarily, she would go to the ordinarily, she would go to the

pharmacy and take the drug under close

what she had been doing is going to what she had been doing is going to

a friend and buying pop-up doses of the drug and taking it at home. In

June 2015 she said that one evening, she had full back-up with methadone,

with a view to taking up the following morning, but when that

morning arrived she saw that the cup was empty and realised that

two-year-old Frankie had taken it, with, of course, fatal consequences.

She admits that she panicked. She says she tried to make frankly sick,

but that hadn't worked. It had been very distressing, so she had stopped

that. She said as time progressed, Frankie was nationally showing any

signs of being sick and she started believing that she perhaps had not

taken the drug at all. But, then, a couple of hours later, Frankie

actually stopped breathing and she broke down in tears as she described

how she had tried to resuscitating. Frankie was taken to hospital, but

she died a few short hours later. Lucy King denies the charges against

and the case continues. In a moment, after the murder of Shana Grice,

Sussex Police introduce specialist training for officers to help them

recognise stalking. The South East's biggest shopping

centre is to expand, Bluewater in Dartford has been given

planning permission for five separate extensions to the main

shopping centre, Our reporter Simon Jones

joins us live now Simon, what else do

the plans include? Bluewater already occupies a huge

amount of their former quarry behind me. If you are a regular shopper

there you will know that doing a circuit of the place can take quite

a long time, and it is going to get even bigger. Under these plans some

of the buildings are going to be demolished. Others are going to be

rebuilt. There are plans to move the lake. Interestingly, they are not

actually going to add to the car parking spaces. Some raised eyebrows

about that. And we are not sure which new retailers may come in.

What have the management at Bluewater had to say about this?

They say they are pleased the planning application has been

approved. They want to continue to add to a continuing -- compelling

customer experience. There has been some concerns raised by neighbouring

councils fear that this place already has the monopoly and a

detrimental affect on the town centres, and also, concern about how

traffic in the area will cope. Sussex Police still needs

to do more to recognise the crime of stalking according

to the county's Police Crime Commissioner,

as it emerged that more than 200 people had reported the offence

last year, with a sharp

increase towards Christmas. An investigation is already

underway into the force's treatment of Shana Grice,

a young woman from Portslade who was killed by her

stalker last summer. As John Young now explains,

Sussex Police has now become one of the first forces in the country

to bring in specialist training

for its officers. Shana Grice is a name that

haunts Sussex Police. More than five times she told them

that Michael Lane was stalking her and on one occasion, she told her

she was wasting their time. Today the county's Police

and Crime Commissioner admitted to the BBC that the force's response

to stalking in general, as she put it,

"wasn't what it should be". I think it's very

difficult for police officers to understand in the first

instance the severity of the crime of stalking because, often,

incidents are reported in isolation and what we want to see

is police officers actually joining up

the dots and understanding that this

is about a pattern of abuse. So, in a training centre

in Worthing today, The training is

organised by a stalking victim herself, who now runs

courses to raise awareness. It's extremely encouraging,

and they are engaging And that's the whole point

of what we're doing. We need to increase

the communication And to get people to

thoroughly understand what There is plenty of evidence that

it's a real problem. This man is pretending to be

a hospital doctor in Haywards Heath A stash of weapons

was later found in his van. The singer, Lily Allen, helped

campaigners by talking publicly about the moment a man

who harassed her for seven years It's far too frequent

that we hear stalking victim say to us that they had

reported it to the police but they The police have said, well,

come back when he does something or "he may just go away",

or that doesn't sound very serious. The research we've

released this week really does underline how

very serious this is. The research has led to a list of

tell-tale signs, hanging around outside the house, to the more

bizarre, rearranging furniture in a victim's garden, or falsely

reporting a victim to social services for bad parenting. They can

also say I have told them to stop and ask them know, and that is

therefore stalking. That is the message I would get across today. We

should be really clear about what is wanted and unwanted. And if you do,

Sussex Police are now promising that they will listen more and future.

Our reporter John Young joins us now from Brighton.

John, you saw the training in action today.

Not the front-line staff who might pick up the phone if you call them,

or if you attend a police station like this, but those able helping

the victims of stalking, the experts to deal with people we know how the

problem. The idea is that those people getting this extra training

will spread the word to the people you might report it to at a police

station or on the phone and, as a result, the culture of the force

will change. That is the idea, and the next few months and year or so

will show whether it is working. An inquest into the death

of a 16-year-old boy at a Kent jail has heard how a prison officer

who couldn't find him decided and didn't return to his cell

for 18 minutes. Daniel Adewole, who suffered

from epilepsy, was later found unresponsive at Cookham Wood

prison in Rochester. Officer Philip O'Neill said

he hadn't considered The former Liberal Democrat Business

Secretary, Sir Vince Cable, has urged his party not to field

a candidate in Brighton Pavilion, where the Green MP Caroline Lucas

is seeking re-election. Mr Cable says he's told the local

party to back Ms Lucas who he described as a

"good, progressive MP" when they hold

a meeting on Wednesday. The current Lib Dem candidate

has told us he would be

willing to stand down. In a moment we'll be speaking

live to Vince Cable. First, this was the reaction

from people in the Brighton Pavilion

constituency today. I understand the need for alliances.

I think people will vote with common sense in the end. Nothing in

politics is going to surprise us, in this day and age. Does really bother

me? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If they decide to go

that way that is up to them. Let's talk to the former

Business Secretary Vince Cable who joins us now from south

West London where's he's campaigning

to get back into Parliament. Why are you supporting

Caroline Lucas? The Conservatives lost

Brighton Pavilion 20 years ago There's no real prospect

of a pro-Brexit Tory I thought it was the right thing to

do. Caroline is one of those MPs with whom I think myself and my

colleagues have a great deal in common. A very strong line in

opposing the hard Brexit the government is pursuing,

environmental values, support for voting reform, all of those things.

And it isn't part of any central agreement or anything of that kind.

I think it was the right thing to do, and I think our members in

Brighton think it is the kind of gesture we can have with parties

where we have a strong, common view. Presumably you are getting something

in return, maybe a local deal. Are they helping you out in Eastbourne

and in Lewes, the seat she lost two years ago? There was no quid pro

quo. I thought it was the right thing to do. And hoping that

like-minded people, Green supporters and others will support others in

Eastbourne and in Lewes and elsewhere. That is down to them. I

am not trying to plan some agreement from the top. Our party operates

very much from the grassroots. This was from other party members and

supporters, and they will form their own view. The kind of gesture I have

made might well be interpreted in different ways across the country

and it is the kind of politics people want to see instead of narrow

tribalism. Is it about money? You have limited resources. Everyone is

scamming to get candidates and campaigns organised. This would

enable you to focus resources on other Sussex seats. That wasn't

actually part of my thinking. I just go back to the point I said at the

beginning. I thought it was the right thing to do. With Caroline

Lucas Beeney force were good. The same as my colleagues did in the

coalition in terms of supporting environmental issues, setting up a

green investment bank which has now been trashed by the Conservative

government and, I think it's very important that we stand together to

fight them. So Vince Cable, thank you very much for joining us. -- Sir

Vince. You can follow the election campaign

over the coming weeks - and find out more about

the candidates on our Radio stations Kent, Sussex and Surrey

and on our websites... This is our top story tonight. Home

Secretary and Hastings NPR Barat says that tackling sex for rent is a

key government priority, following Alex Lees investigation. Questions

are set to be raised in Parliament this week. Also tonight, a restored

chapel is unveiled in Canterbury Cathedral. And we have called and

clearer conditions or tomorrow, after rain this evening. I will have

the full details of the forecast later in the programme.

Roadside verges are becoming the last refuge for some

of the rarest wild flowers and plants in the UK,

Plantlife is calling for better management of grassy verges

to preserve a wealth of different flowering plants.

Britain's verges are home to more than 700 species

They include the Spiked Rampion of them are under threat.

which is one of the UK's rarest plants

and found at only eight sites, all of them in East Sussex.

Amanda Akass has tonight's special report.

carpet chalk grasslands and meadows carpet chalk grasslands and meadows

in England. Now roadside verges are often the only territory they have

sprayed quite a lot, so we lose a sprayed quite a lot, so we lose a

lot of plants, losing one of the areas where they are not sprayed as

much with herbicide. Conservationists say that even these

last havens are increasingly under threat as many councils cut back

grass verges early in the year, not giving plants enough time to sow

seeds, and swamping new growth with cuttings. But some Kent verges are

back -- bucking the dead. If you come along this road outside

Maidstone you might think this was like any other grassy bank. Actually

it is one of 90 roadside nature reserves run by the Kent Wildlife

Trust to provide the kind of environment native plants need to

thrive. Other areas have to be cut as much as every two weeks. That's

the main thing highway safety. The trust doesn't think that is always

necessary. Lots of verges which, if it's a long, straight road, it could

be left until later in the season, even if they left it until late

August, September. One of the country's ten rarest plants, the

Spiked Rampion, only grows in Sussex. It is not yet in flower this

year. East Sussex County Council says it had by many wild flower

verges and they are constantly designating more. We put up marker

posts to indicate that there is a wild flower birch, so that the

community are aware of that and most importantly, when the grass covers

come along, they leave it alone. We are introducing new technology with

GPS locations, which shows them exactly where the wild flower verges

are. Conservation charities argue that more grass verges need to be

actively protected to protect some of our most fragile natural Heritage

and prevent it being lost or good. -- lost for good.

Former soldiers who are among the last to serve in

the Queen's Own Buffs Regiment - which was the regiment for Kent

for almost 400 years - have taken part in a special

ceremony to mark the re-opening of their Warriors Chapel

The chapel's been closed for eight years so repair work

including the restoration of the regimental colours.

A simple moving moment which has happened here each weekday from 90

years. The ringing of the bell from HMS Canterbury, a cruiser in the

Great War, is followed by the turning of a page from the book of

life. It records the names of soldiers from the Queen's Own Buffs

who fell in the first and second world Wars and other conflicts. I

marched down the hill from the barracks down to this chapel to turn

the page in May 1957, and here we are, 60 years on, about to do the

same thing. The colours have all been cleaned, where they can, and it

is a remarkable day, to see open again. The Queen's Own Buffs were

originally the East Kent Regiment amalgamated in the 60s with the

Royal West Kent Regiment. The chapel and ceremony was their special place

of remembrance, until it was closed to allow restoration of parts of the

cathedral. We took the decision to move the ceremony to another part of

the cathedral for a few months and here we are seven years and nine

months later and the last piece of the jigsaw is back in its own in

this transept. It is one of the most colourful corners of Canterbury

Cathedral, the Warriors' Chapel with its tombs of plaques at ground

level. But you rise almost instantly drawn to these covers hanging from

the walls, which form a key part of the conservation effort. The trick

was to have them cleaned and to remove all that surface dust, but

not to interfere with the natural disintegration and the gate, which

is what is expected that the colours will achieve. -- disintegration and

decay. So the covers which were cut carried into battle during the

Crimean War will be allowed to fade away, but the regiment will be

honoured here, as long as there are people who remember it.

Brighton failed to read the script on Friday,

and missed out on the opportunity to clinch the Championship title

both goals freakishly deflecting in off the keeper.

But there is a chance they will be crowned champions this evening,

Juliette Parkin is at the Amex Stadium now.

Juliette, the club have their annual awards evening

tonight, and there should be plenty to celebrate.

There is lots to celebrate. There is a great atmosphere here tonight with

players and fans arriving in the last hour. There is, as you say,

lost to celebrate such a successful season. There could be a double

celebration tonight. If Newcastle lose tonight, they are currently

second in the table, then the seagulls could be crowned the league

winners. We'll be showing highlights of the season tonight and as

Chrissie Reavie reports, there are plenty of those that choose from.

Brighton may have spent the week celebrating their promotion to the

Premier League but the weekend was won by two freakish and goes against

Norwich. Despite the 2-0 defeat, they could secure the championship

title if Newcastle lose tonight. After getting promoted, it was

almost a holiday, the atmosphere was really nice and it was a special

night. League 1 Gillingham find themselves in a relegation fight

after they lost to Fleetwood town. An injury time goal at the begin

designing Gillingham to a 3-2 defeat. They could be saved if Port

Vale did them a favour on Tuesday night, but if it goes to the final

game, Gillingham might need to beat Northampton town, who are managed by

Justin Edinburgh, the man sacked as Gillingham manager in January. A

number of awards are being handed out tonight, including Player of the

Year. I'm delighted to be joined by a player who won that award last

year. Thank you for joining us. For everyone of us, the players, it is

to achieve more in the team, but the hard work we did all season is

coming in now. And probably the fans are going to vote for Player of the

Year. For us, now, what we achieve like a team is the most important

thing, but obviously it is nice winning this evening to pick this

trophy up. It is something special. And I am happy for every one of the

players because we did have an unbelievable season and we achieved

something so special. So I want to say congratulations to the winner,

because everyone deserves this trophy this evening. Sum up what it

means to be promoted to the Premier League. It is a great achievement

for this club. Something special. We really enjoyed every moment. We

still have some more to do to win the league, but it is like a dream

for us, and something big for us, for the players. Thank you so much

for joining us this evening. There could be a double celebration

tonight. That really would be a dream tonight. They are going to

have a good evening, anyway, aren't they? It is turning nice and cold at

the end of the football season. It is going to get cooler over the next

couple of days. Earlier, it was quite a bright start. And overnight

temperatures should not be too bad but we have a cold front heading our

way and behind that is some much cooler air conditions from the

North. For the first half of this evening there will be some rain. It

passes through really quite quickly. Behind it, we have clearer skies.

Temperatures falling away. A little bit below freezing in rural spots.

Hovering at one or 2 degrees in towns and cities. It is chilly with

a frosty start for Tuesday. Holding onto that cold, northerly wind. We

start the day dry, with more cloud around and one or two scattered

showers, potentially do some hail mixed in. Lots of sunshine, a chilly

start, temperatures by the afternoon reaching highs of around 10 Celsius.

Feeling much cooler. The reason for that, those northerly winds, ticking

up at around 10-15 mph. On Tuesday, into Wednesday, we have the

scattered showers and it will be very chilly with temperatures in

rural spots hovering around freezing and around two or three Celsius

around the coast. Sunshine and showers throughout the day. We still

have this northerly airflow. Temperatures at around 10 Celsius,

still feeling cooler, and on Thursday, eventually a warm front

means what warmer conditions. A chilly start and lots of sunshine by

the afternoon, and some scattered, wintry showers. We don't want Frost!

Before we go, let's take a look at the closing headlines. France's

mainstream parties have been left out in the cold as voters face a

clear choice, a run-off between Emanuel and Marine Le Pen two Front

National. Following our exclusive and sophistication into sex for

rent, the Home Secretary and Hastings MP Amber Rudd has told this

programme that tackling sexual exploitation is a key government

plan. More on those stories in our late Brotherton at 1020 5p. And I'm

back tomorrow. -- our There are times in the life

of a nation when the choices we make define

the character of our country, times when people stand up

and demand real, significant change. we have the chance to shape

a brighter future for Britain and I believe we have the vision

and the plan to do it.