:00:00. > :00:08.Today's main headlines in the South East: 17 drivers
:00:09. > :00:10.spotted using mobile phones on the M20
:00:11. > :00:16.There are calls tonight for tougher penalties.
:00:17. > :00:23.MPs say it should be taken out of the hands of
:00:24. > :00:42.Another dry, bright and cold day for tomorrow.
:00:43. > :00:47.Police are being urged to clamp down on people using mobile phonds
:00:48. > :00:50.while driving, after 17 lorry drivers were spotted in just an hour
:00:51. > :01:01.It follows the case of a drhver being jailed for ten years
:01:02. > :01:03.for killing a mother and her three daughters, after ploughing
:01:04. > :01:05.into stationary traffic while he was distracted
:01:06. > :01:08.Kent Police say they are out patrolling Kent's roads,
:01:09. > :01:10.but admit they can't be everywhere at once.
:01:11. > :01:25.Many caught in the space of just 30 minutes.
:01:26. > :01:29.The M20 is one of the main routes in the
:01:30. > :01:35.So, the number of foreign trucks on that
:01:36. > :01:37.motorway will be disproportionally higher,
:01:38. > :01:42.because of where it is and the job
:01:43. > :01:45.This is an issue for all drivers, not just
:01:46. > :01:59.The Lithuanian lorry driver behind the
:02:00. > :02:01.wheel was sentenced to time in prison.
:02:02. > :02:03.Another driver was sentenced to ten years for killing a mother
:02:04. > :02:11.He was changing the music on his mobile phone.
:02:12. > :02:19.The RAC called for stronger police enforcement.
:02:20. > :02:26.We have seen the penalties decline from 23,000 in 2011 to just under
:02:27. > :02:27.70,000 penalty notices issudd last year.
:02:28. > :02:31.We will prioritise our workload as well.
:02:32. > :02:33.When we do catch people using mobile phones,
:02:34. > :02:36.we will then robustly enforce the law.
:02:37. > :02:39.It doesn't take long to spot a lorry driver on a
:02:40. > :02:43.Here above the M20, we have seen one every ten minutes
:02:44. > :02:48.Only yesterday, Kent Police pulled over
:02:49. > :02:54.He had been watching a film on a laptop computer.
:02:55. > :02:56.At Maidstone services we met Dutch lorry driver,
:02:57. > :03:09.The Government says it plans to double the penalty to a ?200 fine
:03:10. > :03:12.Some people argue that does
:03:13. > :03:19.Our reporter Leanne Rinne joins us now from the M20.
:03:20. > :03:23.Leanne, the RAC have said today that the best way to tackle this
:03:24. > :03:26.problem is by issuing toughdr penalties to drivers.
:03:27. > :03:45.I spoke to Kent Police earlher and they said prosecuting drivers is
:03:46. > :03:50.just half of the solution. They say educating all the drivers, not just
:03:51. > :03:54.for drivers, is crucial and can be effective in the long term. They
:03:55. > :04:00.also said that despite cutb`cks it is a key priority for them to police
:04:01. > :04:05.Kent Rhodes. Loads of lorrids pass through here all the time going up
:04:06. > :04:11.to the Channel Tunnel and to Dover. And as we know, with a largdr
:04:12. > :04:12.vehicles, just one moment's lapse in concentration can cause a sdvere
:04:13. > :04:14.accident, possibly fatal. Radical changes to the way
:04:15. > :04:16.the country manages the risk A group of MPs say a new Rivers
:04:17. > :04:23.and Coastal Authority should be set up, to take over responsibility
:04:24. > :04:25.for the threat from The MPs are are also calling
:04:26. > :04:29.for a new Floods Commissiondr to be appointed to help tackle flood risk
:04:30. > :04:32.in a more joined-up way. There should be incentives
:04:33. > :04:36.for farmers to store and developers who flout pl`nning
:04:37. > :04:42.rules and increase the risk Our environment correspondent,
:04:43. > :04:48.Yvette Austin has been getthng reaction to the proposals from some
:04:49. > :04:53.of the areas in the South E`st worst Christmas 2013 and Yalding
:04:54. > :05:00.under water again. There's been much criticism
:05:01. > :05:02.here over the years about the Environment Agency for failing
:05:03. > :05:05.to provide a solution to thd Now, an influential group of MPs
:05:06. > :05:11.says the agency shouldn't bd allowed to deal with
:05:12. > :05:15.flooding any more. The problem with the present system
:05:16. > :05:17.is that the Government reacts Flood goes away,
:05:18. > :05:25.they forget about it. Subsequent, successive
:05:26. > :05:28.governments have done this. It's very much a thing of ldt's
:05:29. > :05:32.have somebody who is largely independent getting out
:05:33. > :05:34.there and saying, this is what we I think that would
:05:35. > :05:38.help people a lot. For Yalding, the agency
:05:39. > :05:40.has said a flood scheme is not viable and instead
:05:41. > :05:43.properties will get ?5,000 for This is our flood wall
:05:44. > :05:47.which we are trying to The Government is proposing giving
:05:48. > :05:55.us, perhaps if we are eligible, This is obviously not enough
:05:56. > :06:04.to cover the cost of the wall. In New Haven, in contrast,
:06:05. > :06:06.a ?30 million project is just The MPs think the Environment
:06:07. > :06:10.Agency is overreliant on such so-called hard
:06:11. > :06:11.schemes and should use Something like what Farmer Peter
:06:12. > :06:16.Hall is planning on his land. A wetland to help slow
:06:17. > :06:20.down the flow of water. Our 8,000 cubic metre piece
:06:21. > :06:22.will not stop the flooding. But if you had a dozen of them,
:06:23. > :06:25.we're talking about only ?7,000 to do this projdct,
:06:26. > :06:28.so we're not talking about There is very little
:06:29. > :06:32.maintenance on it Ultimately, the MPs want a radical
:06:33. > :06:37.new approach to prevent flooding like this with a ndw flood
:06:38. > :06:40.Commissioner delivering a more holistic solution, looking `t river
:06:41. > :06:42.catchments as a whole. Something that people
:06:43. > :06:43.of Yalding argue Our reporter Jon Hunt has
:06:44. > :06:53.been following the story Jon, what are the Government
:06:54. > :07:06.and Environment Agency The Government says it sees no need
:07:07. > :07:11.for structural change. The Department for the Environmdnt, food
:07:12. > :07:14.and rural affairs says it is a red implementing measures such `s
:07:15. > :07:20.managing watercourses across entire catchment areas and investing ? .5
:07:21. > :07:25.billion building new flood defence schemes across the country `nd
:07:26. > :07:29.protecting more homes over the next few years. The Environment @gency
:07:30. > :07:31.says more than half a million homes are more protected now than they
:07:32. > :07:36.were in 2003. He calls himself the "oldest gay
:07:37. > :07:39.in the village" and is a prominent He's fighting Government pl`ns
:07:40. > :07:45.to grant pardons for gay men unfairly given criminal
:07:46. > :07:47.convictions in the past, saying pardons are an insult
:07:48. > :07:49.and the Government Now in his nineties and married
:07:50. > :08:00.to his partner of 20 years, George Montague says he's
:08:01. > :08:04.a lucky man. But he, like thousands of other
:08:05. > :08:06.older gay men, remains a But in my day, if you did that,
:08:07. > :08:19.you were "importuning for an immoral This afternoon, he went
:08:20. > :08:25.to Downing Street to deliver a petition asking
:08:26. > :08:30.for an official apology. The law banning homosexuality
:08:31. > :08:34.was scrapped in 1967 and last month the Government
:08:35. > :08:37.announced its own Turin law, named after the famous World War HI
:08:38. > :08:39.codebreaker which will pardon gay men convicted of offences which have
:08:40. > :08:42.since been abolished. The 1967 Act only made sexu`l
:08:43. > :08:45.acts between two men With a smaller gay social scene
:08:46. > :08:49.and living a double life with a wife and family, George s`ys
:08:50. > :08:51.he and many others were forced to meet in public places
:08:52. > :08:53.and risk prosecution. The criminal justice system had
:08:54. > :08:56.plenty of laws to draw on to prosecute certainly
:08:57. > :08:58.gay and bisexual men There were plenty of
:08:59. > :09:02.case law, plain clothes police officers in sting opdrations
:09:03. > :09:05.hanging out against pubs just to The Government says it
:09:06. > :09:09.understands and supports thd intentions of the petition, but
:09:10. > :09:12.believes its pardon scheme hs the best way of righting
:09:13. > :09:14.historic wrongs for gay men. George though, is hopeful
:09:15. > :09:17.he'll get his apology for They shouldn't have ever given
:09:18. > :09:19.Alan Turing a pardon. George though, is hopeful
:09:20. > :09:27.he'll get his apology for Edenbridge Bonfire Society has
:09:28. > :09:30.revealed this year's effigy, A huge caricature of the US
:09:31. > :09:37.presidential candidate, standing more than 30 feet tall
:09:38. > :09:40.and holding the head of a somewhat startled-looking Hillary Clhnton,
:09:41. > :09:42.will be set alight on Eastbourne's Johanna Konta
:09:43. > :09:46.will finish the year her victory over former US
:09:47. > :09:52.Open champion Sam Stosur The British number one won 6-4,
:09:53. > :09:57.6-2 and will finish as high as th in the world if she wins
:09:58. > :10:04.the tournament at the weekend. That's it from me,
:10:05. > :10:06.we'll have the national First, here's the forecast
:10:07. > :10:17.for the South East with Rachel. Good evening, it has been a cold,
:10:18. > :10:21.bright day and we will hold on clearer skies as we head into
:10:22. > :10:26.tonight. Temperatures will fall away. Overnight lows of 2-3d in
:10:27. > :10:34.urban areas, but subzero in rural spots. There will be frost `nd early
:10:35. > :10:40.mist and fog. That will lift quickly. High pressure. It hs a
:10:41. > :10:46.settled picture. Perhaps a bit misty and murky at first, but by the
:10:47. > :10:50.afternoon, decent spells of sun and lighter winds, but temperattres
:10:51. > :10:57.struggling to get out of single figures. Highs of 10-11d. Hd called,
:10:58. > :11:01.bright day. All change into Friday. Outbreaks of rain, much milder. Lows
:11:02. > :11:05.of 6-7d. not stop the temperature is coming
:11:06. > :11:07.up to around 12. Mick Miller has the national picture.