:00:00. > :00:00.Today's main headlines in the South-East:
:00:00. > :00:00.A record ?2 million fine for Southern Water
:00:07. > :00:11.after a raw sewage leak closed beaches in Kent.
:00:12. > :00:14.Sussex MPs meet with the Prime Minister and Southern Rail to
:00:15. > :00:25.We'll be reporting live from Uckfield.
:00:26. > :00:33.After a settled start, the week is turning wet and windy with gale
:00:34. > :00:41.Southern Water has been fined a record ?2 million for allowing
:00:42. > :00:45.a "catastrophic" level of sewage to pollute the sea around the Kent
:00:46. > :00:49.coast, resulting in sanitary pads, condoms and other matter washing up
:00:50. > :00:53.on seven beaches around Thanet in 2012.
:00:54. > :00:56.The beaches were closed to the public for more than a week.
:00:57. > :00:59.The judge at Maidstone Crown Court slammed the company,
:01:00. > :01:01.saying it was slow to react and failed to get to grips
:01:02. > :01:06.Southern Water has "apologised unreservedly".
:01:07. > :01:09.Our Environment Correspondent, Yvette Austin, reports.
:01:10. > :01:13.Cleaning up the beaches of Thanet back in 2012.
:01:14. > :01:16.Today the court heard how there were two major incidents
:01:17. > :01:20.within days of each other, leading to catastrophic pollution.
:01:21. > :01:23.And since months before, the pumps at the Foreness Point
:01:24. > :01:27.plant at Broadstairs hadn't been functioning properly.
:01:28. > :01:31.When the heavy rain and storms came, the pumping station was overwhelmed
:01:32. > :01:35.and vast quantities of raw and semi-treated sewage spilled
:01:36. > :01:43.4th June, 2012 was a busy Bank Holiday time for Thanet's
:01:44. > :01:47.beaches, but people reported feeling nauseous at the sight of sewage
:01:48. > :01:51.There were dead fish and numerous water activities
:01:52. > :01:56.The impacts of the pollution incidents were really serious
:01:57. > :01:59.for the local environment and for the local economy,
:02:00. > :02:03.so the signal to water companies more generally is that they need
:02:04. > :02:07.to continue to make investments in sewage infrastructure.
:02:08. > :02:11.Judge Adele Williams said the court found it hard to understand how
:02:12. > :02:14.the directors and shareholders of the company could be
:02:15. > :02:18.satisfied with its record - 160 convictions over the past 16
:02:19. > :02:23.years, including a ?200,000 fine after discharging sewage
:02:24. > :02:29.After three pumps failed in East Worthing, ten miles
:02:30. > :02:33.of beaches were closed for four days in September 2012.
:02:34. > :02:37.And a half a million pound fine for discharging untreated sewage
:02:38. > :02:42.into Swalecliff Brook in July 2013, killing local wildlife.
:02:43. > :02:46.I would like to apologise unreservedly for the multiple
:02:47. > :02:48.failures of the waste water pumping station at Foreness
:02:49. > :02:54.We will continue to invest in our network and our pumping
:02:55. > :02:57.stations to ensure that the bathing waters remain amongst
:02:58. > :03:07.They've made ?120 million profit, they have consistently damaged
:03:08. > :03:10.the tourism industry in Thanet over the last few years by the inadequacy
:03:11. > :03:13.of their maintenance, and nobody seems to realise
:03:14. > :03:18.The company says it has now minimised the risk.
:03:19. > :03:26.Winter will no doubt test the system.
:03:27. > :03:28.Our reporter Ian Palmer has been following this story.
:03:29. > :03:30.Ian, what has Southern Water done to minimise the risk
:03:31. > :03:45.They say they have invested ?4 million in equipment, and there is
:03:46. > :03:49.another ?6 million of investment is further down the line. It was that
:03:50. > :03:53.commitment to water quality that helped the presiding judge decide
:03:54. > :03:58.what the level of fine would be. Had they not sure on that commitment the
:03:59. > :04:03.fine would have been much more. But critics are saying tonight that a
:04:04. > :04:08.company that has delivered 120 macro him pounds worth of profits for
:04:09. > :04:09.shareholders this year, that ?2 million fines simply wasn't high
:04:10. > :04:11.million fines simply wasn't high enough.
:04:12. > :04:14.Senior Conservative Nicholas Soames, MP for mid-Sussex, has been meeting
:04:15. > :04:16.with the Prime Minister and head of Southern Rail this evening
:04:17. > :04:20.The dispute, over the use of driver-only operated trains,
:04:21. > :04:23.has led to the worst disruption on the railways for over 20 years.
:04:24. > :04:26.After today, there are still ten days of action scheduled,
:04:27. > :04:29.which could affect more than 300,000 commuters.
:04:30. > :04:30.Earlier today, the MP for Lewes called for
:04:31. > :04:38.As MPs, we've also had the letter from the independent rail operator
:04:39. > :04:40.to say driver-only operated trains are safe.
:04:41. > :04:44.There isn't a safety issue with these, so either the unions get
:04:45. > :04:47.back around the table and sort this out and deal with the issues
:04:48. > :04:50.that they have, or we bring in legislation that where your
:04:51. > :04:54.independent rail operator says there isn't a safety issue,
:04:55. > :05:01.Our reporter Lucinda Adam is at Uckfield Station now.
:05:02. > :05:05.Lucinda, the Prime Minister's Office has said that she's not
:05:06. > :05:07.considering anti-strike legislation, but there was harsh
:05:08. > :05:32.Yes, we have heard that this legislation is very much still on
:05:33. > :05:37.the table. Theresa May accused the unions of having contempt for
:05:38. > :05:40.ordinary people by launching the strikes on Christmas weeks,
:05:41. > :05:45.alongside similar industrial action by postal and airline workers.
:05:46. > :05:47.Commuters I spoke to earlier in Brighton were not impressed by the
:05:48. > :05:52.Prime Minister's temp two show that she was on the side.
:05:53. > :05:54.Theresa May has a history of showing contempt
:05:55. > :05:57.It is affecting ordinary working people, for sure.
:05:58. > :05:59.But I suppose, yeah, especially at this time
:06:00. > :06:01.of year it's unkind, with people trying to get
:06:02. > :06:05.What we are seeing now is the Government are also sticking
:06:06. > :06:07.two fingers up to us because, ultimately, the Government
:06:08. > :06:09.is footing the bill, so us taxpayers are picking up
:06:10. > :06:11.the bill and we are the people who are suffering.
:06:12. > :06:14.The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton,
:06:15. > :06:16.is bringing forward a Rail Ombudsman Bill to be debated
:06:17. > :06:31.Currently compensation relies on passengers claiming. Tim Loughton
:06:32. > :06:35.says that isn't good enough and he wants to create a fund that
:06:36. > :06:39.effectively finds real operators every time a train is the later
:06:40. > :06:46.cancelled and passengers would claim from that. He says that real
:06:47. > :06:49.operators currently don't have any incentive to bring this dispute to
:06:50. > :06:52.an end because it is not hitting them where it hurts most, in the
:06:53. > :06:54.them where it hurts most, in the pocket.
:06:55. > :06:57.A court has heard how a 'human cannonball' stuntman died
:06:58. > :07:00.at a daredevil show in Kent, due to what prosecutors described
:07:01. > :07:02.as a "flagrant disregard" for health and duty law.
:07:03. > :07:05.Matthew Cranch was killed when a safety net failed to catch
:07:06. > :07:09.Scott May and his company, Stunts UK Ltd, are due
:07:10. > :07:17.The number of migrants in a camp in Dunkirk
:07:18. > :07:19.Six people have now come forward to allege they were victims
:07:20. > :07:21.of sexual abuse at football clubs in Sussex.
:07:22. > :07:24.Sussex Police has revealed that the reports of historical
:07:25. > :07:25.sexual abuse relate to six different coaches.
:07:26. > :07:28.None of them relate to either of the county's highest-profile
:07:29. > :07:30.teams, Brighton Hove Albion or Crawley Town.
:07:31. > :07:38.The investigation into allegations of historical child sex abuse
:07:39. > :07:40.in football has spread to Sussex, with the police confirming
:07:41. > :07:42.they are looking at six separate reports of sex offences
:07:43. > :07:45.The claims are being investigated by the force's
:07:46. > :07:54.It is always very complex if it's a non-recent
:07:55. > :07:57.case of child abuse, as these cases are, so they take not
:07:58. > :08:00.just weeks and months, but often years to put cases
:08:01. > :08:07.together as well, but the police take them incredibly seriously.
:08:08. > :08:10.The FA and NSPCC have already launched this
:08:11. > :08:13.video about child safety, as allegations have surfaced
:08:14. > :08:21.The issue was raised at a recent meeting about policing in Sussex.
:08:22. > :08:24.So even though it might have occurred ten or 20 years ago,
:08:25. > :08:26.it's really important we find out who the offender is that
:08:27. > :08:28.the allegations are made against, are they still working
:08:29. > :08:30.with children, and we take any here-and-now action
:08:31. > :08:34.And today another victim spoke about being abused.
:08:35. > :08:36.Paul Collins, who played briefly for Charlton Athletic,
:08:37. > :08:39.was groomed by former Chelsea scout Eddie Heath.
:08:40. > :08:43.Paul had kept the secret from his family for more than three decades.
:08:44. > :08:46.I was so frightened to speak out because I never had
:08:47. > :08:55.Eddie was like a father figure, and I just felt so alone
:08:56. > :08:58.and trapped, but I say to people now, no matter what sport
:08:59. > :09:01.No-one can stop you doing what you are doing.
:09:02. > :09:05.Paul Collins' story is just one of many emerging
:09:06. > :09:17.Now let s see what s on the cards for the weather in the coming week,
:09:18. > :09:34.The weather looks to be turning rather wet and windy. December so
:09:35. > :09:38.far has been mostly dry and very mild. As we head to the week,
:09:39. > :09:43.particularly by Wednesday, we will see heavy rain at times and strong
:09:44. > :09:47.winds as we look towards Christmas. Through tonight by contrast it is a
:09:48. > :09:52.settled picture. Still quite a bit of low cloud and relatively mild.
:09:53. > :09:56.Overnight temperatures dropping to three or 4 degrees. Quite a damp
:09:57. > :10:02.start to the day first thing. But it is an improving picture. By the
:10:03. > :10:07.afternoon we will see bricks on the cloud and temperatures will get up
:10:08. > :10:11.to eight or 9 degrees. Cooler than last week, but still pretty decent
:10:12. > :10:15.for the time of year. Gentle Southeast would lead breezes. Into
:10:16. > :10:22.Wednesday, outbreaks of rain for a time again during the tail end of
:10:23. > :10:27.the afternoon. Temperatures slightly milder at nine or 10 degrees. The
:10:28. > :10:32.winds will start the pick-up. Into the estate, we hold onto the rain
:10:33. > :10:37.for a time. We will save high pressure from Thursday into Friday,
:10:38. > :10:41.then that eases away and once again we will see strong winds and
:10:42. > :10:45.outbreaks of heavy rain as we look towards Christmas Eve and Christmas
:10:46. > :10:49.Day itself. This is the picture but Thursday. Summary rain around with
:10:50. > :10:54.the morning, improving during the afternoon with temperatures reaching
:10:55. > :10:59.of seven or eight degrees. Friday should be settled with the winds
:11:00. > :11:00.easing off at the time, highs of 9 degrees. Here is the
:11:01. > :11:02.The rest of the weekend, some rain around, windy, but with dry and
:11:03. > :11:14.bright spells. Heavy weather is brewing, it will
:11:15. > :11:19.not reach us just yet. It will take a good few days before the stormy
:11:20. > :11:23.weather reaches us. At the moment, it's just potential, nothing is
:11:24. > :11:28.certain, but it will be different to what we've had over the last few
:11:29. > :11:35.weeks, it's been so calm. We have a jet stream raging out of North
:11:36. > :11:36.America making a beeline for the UK. It has peaked at jet level