:00:00. > :00:00.Today's main headlines in the South East.
:00:00. > :00:07.Kent Police warn against vigilantism after confrontations
:00:08. > :00:17.between self-styled paedophile hunters and suspected sex offenders.
:00:18. > :00:19.We are live at Kent Police headquarters, with the latest.
:00:20. > :00:21.A grieving mother warns about the dangers of illegal highs,
:00:22. > :00:23.after her son dies from taking prescription drugs.
:00:24. > :00:39.And after a bright spring day, a lot more dry weather in the forecast.
:00:40. > :00:42.Kent Police are warning against vigilantism,
:00:43. > :00:43.after a series of confrontations between self-styled
:00:44. > :00:49.paedophile hunters and suspected sex offenders.
:00:50. > :00:51.The group, The Hunted One, has recently streamed live footage
:00:52. > :00:53.of themselves confronting an alleged sexual predator,
:00:54. > :01:00.Now, Kent Police say they have significant concerns about people
:01:01. > :01:08.taking the law into their own hands. Peter Whittlesea reports.
:01:09. > :01:11.Filmed to capture the moment the group known as The Hunted One
:01:12. > :01:14.confronted a suspected paedophile, who thought he was meeting a child
:01:15. > :01:17.for sex, this footage was streamed live to thousands on social media.
:01:18. > :01:19.It allegedly turned violent after viewers were said to have
:01:20. > :01:22.offered cash to anyone who would beat the suspect up.
:01:23. > :01:27.The Hunted One now say they will no longer stream their events live.
:01:28. > :01:30.We thought we would go live, to show people just how
:01:31. > :01:35.To show people how we do the process a little bit better.
:01:36. > :01:39.But it has not worked out and we do not want to put
:01:40. > :01:41.anyone's life at risk, whoever it is and what they
:01:42. > :01:43.Following the alleged incident at Bluewater,
:01:44. > :01:46.Kent Police are urging people not to get involved in sting operations,
:01:47. > :01:49.telling self-styled peadophile hunters that they could be acting
:01:50. > :01:56.outside the law and jeopardising ongoing police operations.
:01:57. > :01:59.They could often effectively do more harm than good,
:02:00. > :02:03.because they may gather a great deal of evidence that
:02:04. > :02:05.can then not be used. It is inadmissable.
:02:06. > :02:06.Obviously, when the police have their undercover
:02:07. > :02:08.operations and stings, they follow certain
:02:09. > :02:14.techniques and they have training, they have legal oversight.
:02:15. > :02:15.Children's charities who have campaigned to tighten laws
:02:16. > :02:18.involving online grooming and abuse say the police are best placed
:02:19. > :02:23.Investigating child sexual abuse is a complex task that
:02:24. > :02:27.requires specially trained and dedicated police officers.
:02:28. > :02:30.There is that problem and also the problem that it can also drive
:02:31. > :02:36.known or alleged offenders underground.
:02:37. > :02:38.But The Hunted One say they will continue.
:02:39. > :02:44.Do you know what it actually does to a child of that age?
:02:45. > :02:46.Citing cases like that, of paedophile Mark McKenna,
:02:47. > :02:49.who was jailed for five years following their sting operation.
:02:50. > :02:51.They also claim to have gathered evidence in more
:02:52. > :03:00.Chrissie Reidy is at Kent Police headquarters and has been
:03:01. > :03:13.Chrissie, what are the latest developments?
:03:14. > :03:25.The police have confirmed that two men have been charged with affray in
:03:26. > :03:32.connection with the incident at the soup shopping centre. They are also
:03:33. > :03:38.concerned that filming people in this week could identify wrong
:03:39. > :03:42.people. The Hunted One CV do not want to criticise the police, but
:03:43. > :03:55.they are not so confident the police have enough resources to tackle the
:03:56. > :04:04.problem online. Fire has broken out over the Perry Street in Faversham.
:04:05. > :04:08.The main road is closed. It is not yet known how the fire started.
:04:09. > :04:10.Three years ahead of schedule, we will be
:04:11. > :04:14.after MPs voted in favour today of holding a general
:04:15. > :04:16.But which constituencies will be the ones to watch
:04:17. > :04:20.South Thanet will once again be a focus.
:04:21. > :04:25.It currently has a Conservative MP in Craig Mackinlay,
:04:26. > :04:27.but has the only Ukip-run council in the country.
:04:28. > :04:30.And former Ukip leader Nigel Farage may choose to stand here again.
:04:31. > :04:32.The fight for Brighton Kemptown could also be fierce,
:04:33. > :04:35.as Conservative MP Simon Kirby has the smallest majority
:04:36. > :04:37.in the South East - just 690 votes.
:04:38. > :04:39.And Caroline Ansell in Eastbourne and Maria Caulfield in Lewes
:04:40. > :04:41.both only won their seats from the Liberal Democrats two
:04:42. > :04:52.They will be among the Lib Dems' targets to retake.
:04:53. > :04:54.As for the small majority, I would say to the good
:04:55. > :04:56.people of Eastbourne, I have a very big message
:04:57. > :05:00.and that mesaage is, Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn?
:05:01. > :05:03.If you look at the polling currently, it would take someone
:05:04. > :05:06.with a huge amount of ambition to imagine that the Labour Party
:05:07. > :05:08.is going to form the next government, with the best
:05:09. > :05:11.will in the world. But because of our electoral system,
:05:12. > :05:13.What can happen is that Theresa May can massively
:05:14. > :05:20.increase her majority at the election.
:05:21. > :05:24.I do not think that is in the best interests of the country.
:05:25. > :05:27.The grieving mother of a teenager from Deal, who died after taking
:05:28. > :05:30.a lethal dose of a powerful prescription drug, is warning others
:05:31. > :05:32.not to risk their lives looking for an illegal high.
:05:33. > :05:34.Robert Fraser died after taking fentanyl,
:05:35. > :05:37.a synthetic opiate that is 100 times more potent than heroin.
:05:38. > :05:38.In her first television interview since his death,
:05:39. > :05:41.Michelle Fraser says he was a bubbly teenager with his
:05:42. > :05:43.whole life ahead of him, who did not understand
:05:44. > :05:46.the risks he was taking. Leanne Rinne reports.
:05:47. > :05:48.Robert Fraser enjoying his 18th birthday with his brother and
:05:49. > :05:50.sister, but just a few weeks later, his family found him
:05:51. > :05:57.Our generation could not access drugs as easily as they can now.
:05:58. > :06:00.They can get it on the internet, they have got mobile phones,
:06:01. > :06:04.We were not as aware, but we need to be more aware,
:06:05. > :06:07.for our children's sake, because this drug, it was just given
:06:08. > :06:15.to my son as a buy one, have it, try it and see what it does.
:06:16. > :06:18.A toxicology report confirmed Robert died from taking too much fentanyl,
:06:19. > :06:21.a prescription drug similar to morphine and heroin, but up to
:06:22. > :06:31.100 times more powerful. Taking the wrong dose can be fatal.
:06:32. > :06:33.It is a much stronger opiate than heroin.
:06:34. > :06:37.It does not come from the opiate plant, like heroin does.
:06:38. > :06:39.It is much more intense and fast acting and, therefore,
:06:40. > :06:45.Robert had just finished studying motor mechanics
:06:46. > :06:48.His friends say they were concerned he was dabbling
:06:49. > :06:53.Everybody was getting worried and saying,
:06:54. > :06:56."You need to stop" and then, the last I heard of it,
:06:57. > :07:01.He was good at anything he tried, really, like skateboarding, bikes.
:07:02. > :07:10.Robert's family hope that, by speaking out,
:07:11. > :07:20.they will stop others experiencing the same tragedy.
:07:21. > :07:23.An East Sussex school for pupils with special needs, which was put
:07:24. > :07:26.into special measures in 2014, has today got the royal seal
:07:27. > :07:28.of approval, when the Countess of Wessex opened an innovative
:07:29. > :07:31.new project that gives teenagers the chance to get work experience
:07:32. > :07:41.Our Education Correspondent Bryony Mackenzie has more.
:07:42. > :07:46.A warm welcome for their toyal patron and then came the questions.
:07:47. > :07:55.Well, we have one downstairs and one upstairs.
:07:56. > :08:04.The first of its kind in the country, this
:08:05. > :08:11.A shopping mall at a school, with a hairdressers, bank,
:08:12. > :08:13.car wash and cafe, where students can experience real-life
:08:14. > :08:16.situations, to help them in their careers and interactions.
:08:17. > :08:24.Lewis is 18 and learning about hospitality.
:08:25. > :08:35.When I first started working in the cafe, I was nervous.
:08:36. > :08:42.From a parent's point of view there is not
:08:43. > :08:45.No, there isn't. This is inspirational and
:08:46. > :08:50.forward thinking and it has to be the way for the future.
:08:51. > :08:52.In 2014, the school was in special measures.
:08:53. > :08:58.Now "requiring improvement", it is making positive progress.
:08:59. > :09:00.It is changing the school's fortunes, but more importantly,
:09:01. > :09:04.it is changing the children's benefits and outcomes.
:09:05. > :09:07.The next step when they leave is that they can take
:09:08. > :09:13.The aim is to empower all age ranges, to take on life's challenges
:09:14. > :09:25.That is it from me. The national weather forecast coming
:09:26. > :09:27.in a moment, but first, let's get the picture
:09:28. > :09:33.here in the South East, with Rachel Mackley.
:09:34. > :09:46.Good evening. It was easy prey cast unknown, if rather cool.
:09:47. > :09:57.Temperatures on the rise, despite more cloud. Innate, clear skies mean
:09:58. > :10:08.temperature stumbling, hovering around freezing in the countryside.
:10:09. > :10:15.A bright start to the day tomorrow. High pressure still firmly in
:10:16. > :10:25.control. Into the afternoon, more in the way of cloud cover. During the
:10:26. > :10:33.afternoon, the wind south westerly. Temperatures Whately in double
:10:34. > :10:43.figures tomorrow. The best about 14 Celsius. A similar picture first in
:10:44. > :10:56.Friday. Temperatures again 13-14 C. Friday. Temperatures again 13-14 C.
:10:57. > :11:01.Cruel era as we head towards the weekend. Here is the outlook.
:11:02. > :11:03.going into the weekend as well. A similar story across the UK. Thomas
:11:04. > :11:14.matter has that story. Good evening, before we get to the
:11:15. > :11:20.forecast, I want to show you a map which depicts how dry it has been
:11:21. > :11:25.during the course of April. Brown is below average rainfall, blue is
:11:26. > :11:29.above average. You can see how Brown the map is. Some areas in the south,
:11:30. > :11:35.some counties have only seen a few percent so far in April. Not
:11:36. > :11:38.necessarily a good thing at all. The rest of the week, not an awful lot
:11:39. > :11:40.of change, a fair bit of