12/01/2017 South East Today

Today's main headlines in the South East:

Heavy snow and bad weather bring disruption across Kent and Sussex,

We're live with the latest in Crowborough.

A new strike's announced on Southern rail by the RMT union as the main

parties hit out at each other over the dispute.

And after tonight's snowfall and freezing temperatures,

Heavy snow and bad weather is sweeping across Kent,

Sussex and Surrey, bringing major disruption to roads and leading

to flights being cancelled at Gatwick Airport.

The Environment Agency has flood warnings in place -

and the railway line between Eastbourne and Lewes

Services between Tonbridge and Hastings have been delayed

after a tree fell onto the line at Wadhurst.

Slushy streets, stranded cars, slow moving traffic.

The scenes across the South East this evening as the

These gritters left the depot earlier than planned

because of the severity of the weather.

With temperatures set to fall as low as -5, they will cover

no less than 900 miles in East Sussex tonight alone

If mother nature conspires against us with strong

wind, which we expect tonight, and significant snowfall, we will

prioritise the roads we keep open, but rest assured we are working all

night to make sure the roads are safe.

Staff at the County Council Highways HQ have monitored the

current state of the road using predictive technology to work out

where gritters need to be dispatched.

We will have cars transporting medical staff around

They will try and get to vulnerable people who might live in

rural Sussex and cannot get there because of snow or icy conditions.

We will also be on call in case of incidents on the road and maybe

We want to keep the main roads in Sussex

It is four years since the last major

It saw treacherous driving conditions and

With icy conditions predicted tomorrow, and yet more snow forecast

our roads will face another test of resilience.

Peter Whittlesea is in Crowborough, the highest point in the Weald.

People were caught out by the volume of snow that fell earlier. That is

right. Although it was forecast it was the volume. In 45 minutes over

1.5 inches Dell. Meaning this road was turned into an ice rink. -- had

fallen. Slipping and sliding all over the road, the vehicles. It was

not until the critters came that it started to flow as normal. -- the

gritting. It is the same in other parts of Kent. The gritting teams

will be out tonight and also tomorrow morning. The wind has

picked up but the chill in the air is very cold. The fear is this slush

will turn into eyes and create treacherous conditions when people

go to work tomorrow morning. Peter, thank you.

Rachel will have a full weather report later in the programme

and we'll have updates on travel and weather conditions on our local

live pages at bbc.co.uk/kent and bbc.co.uk/sussex from 6am.

You can send us your pictures on twitter, Facebook or by emailing

Another 24-hour strike on the Southern rail network

by the RMT Union has been announced for Monday the 23rd of January.

It comes as the government and the opposition once

again attacked each other for their position

New talks had seemed possible earlier this week but Southern now

claims the union hasn't given it any times or dates for talks.

The drivers may be back to work today, but a mix of an overtime ban,

trains in the wrong places after yesterday's action

and a problem with the line means it is still

anything but a smooth ride for passengers.

The chances of this being solved in Westminster are about

In an interview with South East Today Jeremy Corbyn once again

accused the government of pulling Southern Rail's strings.

It is about train safety and I think an awful

lot of passengers would think the same.

Why can't Southern Rail get round the table and negotiate this

with the unions rather than the government

pulling the strings and

heading to court at every opportunity?

In the Commons today in transport questions, this from the

Today we have not heard one word from the other

side of the house of regret, of condemnation, of a call

A strike about who closes the train doors is becoming

When you've got a big public sector union

like the rail unions, which are very political

if you like with Southern Rail, the biggest rail franchise, with the

government behind it, it was bound to be political.

It always has been but now that politicisation is coming to

the surface and we can see actually this is bigger

This is about the future of our railways.

We can go out the back now and cut a deal...

After Monday's BBC debate the RMT and Southern

Those hopes were dashed today with the union announcing not a

This dispute has been to the High Court and been battered around

Parliament and to ACAS, but it's still hard to imagine where the

Sara - we heard Jeremy Corbyn say earlier in the week

Is that something we're going to see?

We asked him directly about that today. While he was happy to list

the failings of Southern Rail as he saw it, we could not pin him down on

any dates when he would be on the picket lines. I'm not sure either if

it is an image his advisers would like to see. It would alienate some

passengers and voters as well. But it is that political line, these

lines are becoming entrenched. The government is making it clear that

it thinks the unions are totally to blame. The Labour leader taking the

exact opposite view. They need to find a compromise. Without that

there is no way of finding a swift resolution. OK, thank you.

The Government has agreed to hold talks over controversial plans

If given the go ahead, around 3,500 vehicles will be able

to use the site at Stanford West near Folkestone in order to keep

traffic flowing on the M20 and surrounding roads

The Transport Minister John Hayes has agreed to meet the Conservative

MP for Folkestone and Hythe Damian Collins.

A school in West Sussex has taken the unusual measure of buying a body

worn video camera for its lollipop lady - because of concerns

about dangerous driving when children are trying

Harlands Primary School in Haywards Heath is only the second

Our Education Correspondent Bryony MacKenzie has more.

You'll notice something different about this

She is wearing a camera recording video and audio.

And rarely, but it does happen, driving straight

They come into contact with your car?

They just skimmed the side of my coat.

Dangerous driving outside school gates is not uncommon.

Finding inconsiderate drivers has led to angry scenes

and an Ashford headteacher warned parents dangerous driving could kill

And cars driving on pavement outside of

People use it as a rat race was -- rat race.

I think it will make things much safer

because at the moment people are just driving out of control.

It would record footage of drivers and

and kept are then handed to Sussex Police.

I wholeheartedly believe it will make

Two incidents a week were being reported to Sussex Police.

It is hoped it will persuade drivers to

The National weather in one moment. First, the forecast with Rachel. We

have seen widespread snow this evening. 4-5 centimetres widely,

moving from the West throughout today. Initially falling as rain and

sleet and eventually mostly as snow. Much of this is clearing East. But

we still have a bitterly cold north-westerly winds gusting on the

south coast at 40-50 mph. Look at these temperatures, going down to

minus two or -3 in rural spots. A bitterly cold starts tomorrow. That

means problems with ice, especially on the road first thing tomorrow

morning. Initially it will be dry but falling onto the frozen ground

eventually we will have more sleet and some snow and rain as well.

Initially dry but problematic on the road first thing. As we can tell

more outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow. That clears up and behind that

some bright conditions but it will stay bitterly cold. Look at the

temperature, highs of two or three degrees with north-westerly wind and

the wind-chill makes it feel like subzero. The outlook in the

note. If that's not your sort of thing, Sunday will be cloudier and