13/02/2017 South East Today

Today's main headlines in the South East...

Jail for the Bulgarian trafficking gang who smuggled dozens of illegal

On the eve of fresh talks, a fresh war of words between the RMT

And after a great, called weekend, the sunshine was back again today

and it is turning milder this week. Six Bulgarian people-traffickers

have been jailed for a total of 35 years for bringing dozens of illegal

migrants, including several The gang used vans fitted out

with hidden compartments, in what the judge called

a "well-organised Look in the side of this van

and all appears to be in order, but the doors at the back

are actually fake. In this narrow gap

between the genuine doors and the pretend ones,

migrants had to sit One of the drivers putting garlic

bulbs in the floor of his van to try to put sniffer dogs

off the scent. It is fair to say this is a highly

sophisticated concealment from a well organised organised

crime group with capacity However, the nature

of the concealment is I think, on these occasions,

we are lucky we are not Today, cousins Yordan Donchev

and Sashko Georgiev were each given prison sentences of three

and a half years. On Friday, Ivan Georgiev

was jailed for nine years, Veselin Denikov for seven years,

Iliyan Marinov and Georgi Stankov The court heard the smuggling trips

were made from Calais and Dunkirk into Dover,

and from Hook in Well, this case shows the very

extreme lengths that people-traffickers will go

to to help people break into the country and that is why

it is so important that we work with France to ensure that we tackle

the people-traffickers, end their evil trade of modern

slavery, and that we make sure that the Calais Jungle does

not return this spring. Last year, two men were jailed

for smuggling 18 Albanian migrants into the UK when their inflatable

boat started sinking. The Home Office insists

it is stepping up the battle against the people smugglers,

but as we showed last week, many migrants remain in France

and are still desperate to get What do we know about the people

smuggled into Britain by the gang? Well, 37 in total are mainly from

Afghanistan, including several women and children. We have heard from a

Home Office 's evening and they have said all are trying to claim asylum

in the UK, but it is not yet clear whether any of those claims have

been successful. In relation to the two men sentenced today, they were

told they received 3000 euros for driving the van but we know that the

illegal immigrants will pay a lot more to people smugglers to get

across the channel, so these men were quite low down the chain, yet,

the judge says nevertheless these men have played an important role.

Thank you for that. A police helicopter has been

searching tonight for a 55-year-old man who's gone missing

from his home near Tonbridge. Charles Young left Brenchley at six

o'clock this morning. He was due back by 10am

but hasn't been seen since. His car has been found nearby

and police say they're increasingly Campaigners calling for lifeguards

at Camber Sands during the summer season are a step closer to victory

after Rother District Council's cabinet approved funding

of ?51,000 for the service. Seven men drowned off

the East Sussex beach last summer, The funding proposal

will be put to the full Brighton and Hove Albion footballer

Rohan Ince attacked a nightclub bouncer with a bottle,

leaving him with a head injury requiring seven

staples, a court has heard. The 24-year-old denies wounding

with intent outside the nightclub in Windsor in the early hours

of Christmas Day in 2015 Southern rail and the RMT union

are set to hold fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute over

driver-only operation which has been Today the union claimed that 1,000

services a year are already running without a second crew member

on board, which they claim puts passengers at risk in the event

of a crime or an accident. Officials are defiant ahead

of tomorrow's talks. What we're trying to do is go

there tomorrow in good faith and ensure that there's a second

safety-critical person If that doesn't happen,

I'm afraid we're back in dispute. Southern managers deny passenger

safety is being put at risk. Our reporter John Young

is at Haywards Heath Station now... Southern did broker a deal

with Aslef recently, how likely is a breakthrough

with the RMT tomorrow? It looks as if it could possibly be,

rock, for two reasons. Firstly, Dieke announcement on Thursday from

Aslef, the other unions involved, more on that shortly. Firstly, the

talks tomorrow involving RMT. Nobody I think it is a busy expect a big

breakthrough, we heard the call they are from Mr Hedley, very defined.

Passengers that I spoke to when I told them the union was meeting for

the seventh set of talks, none expected much either.

I don't think anything is going to be sorted.

Nothing has been sorted so far, so what is to say anything

I can't miss my train because I've got lessons.

I think it may well do in the end but it will need

So, all eyes and then on Thursday. Aslef the other drivers union will

announce whether or not they have reached an agreement and other

members have voted to approve an agreement with Southern rail. If

they have, Southern rail will think they are on to victory. The RMT will

hold them below the water line because the drivers in this dispute

are so important. In the past, over 100 years, I understand, only twice

have Aslef members actually disagreed with their leadership,

that is good news for Southern rail but my understanding is that on

Thursday meeting is good because, it is expected to be a very tight

ballot result coming up. So the dispute is clearly not over yet.

Thank you. Biggin Hill has been celebrating 100

years of involvement in aviation today with a very special fly-past,

involving a 100-year-old The 13th of February

1917 saw Biggin selected as the site for an experimental

wireless communications station. During the Battle of Britain,

it was a key strategic base for Hurricanes and Spitfires,

protecting the skies over Kent In 1974 it became a commercial

airport for private Biggin Hill's past and its present

flying wing to wing. A Learjet for transporting today's

wealthy clientele and a Spitfire, for many, the emblem

of Britain's World War II victory. And this airport played a crucial

role in that victory It was guarding the southern

approaches to London and therefore, it was the first to meet

the Luftwaffe and, of course, the Luftwaffe came over this place

25 times until there was hardly anything left standing,

but it was always operational. Among those celebrating

the airport's 100th year, And today he got to fly

again in a Spitfire, the aircraft he had been learning

to fly in 1940, before an accident The aircraft caught fire

and I had to bail out, my parachute did not open properly

and I was injured, my right Today's flight alongside a Learjet,

a very different scene to that of 1940 when the Battle

of Britain raged here. Fighter planes like this one based

here at Biggin Hill brought down It was at a heavy price,

though, 453 airmen based The role they played has

never been forgotten. Neither for Ray has

the joy of flying. The RAF has long gone,

stopping its last operations The airport's future much

more gloss than grit. Sara Smith, BBC South

East Today, Biggin Hill. Now let's take a look

at the weather for the South East Rachel - it's going to warm

up a bit this week? Yes, that is correct. After a cold,

cloudy and snowy weekend, all James Nesbitt. We had a bright start but

we still have these bitterly cold easterly winds. It is going back in

a westerly direction as we speak. Some rain around, particularly for

Wednesday, decent spells of sunshine. By Wednesday, highs of 12.

Tonight, overnight, because of the winds and despite clear skies,

temperatures only dropping to two or three degrees. Again, lots of

sunshine during the morning. We lose some of that during the afternoon,

more cloud, temperatures creeping up, highs of around 10 degrees. The

winds are moving to a South-Easterly direction, still breezy but nothing

like the blog North-Easterly winds we had today. Tuesday and Wednesday,

very mild. Lots of cloud and potentially some rain at times, just

look at these overnight temperatures, seven or 8 degrees and

on Saturday, we struggled during the afternoon to reach to days or three

degrees. Gary Mabbutt on Wednesday, mostly gyre -- bride during the

morning but by the afternoon some light and patchy rain. Temperatures

could potentially reach 1112 degrees, wider reaching nine or ten.

For Thursday and Friday, this area of high pressure is going to be

building in so we should see some spells of whether and a decent

sunshine. Temperatures around nine or 10 degrees. Mild overnight.

at the weekend it will be mild. Largely dry, perhaps a wind -- windy