Kent weekly round-up: 8 June - 14 June 2024
Ruben Harris won the junior boys doubles wheelchair event at Roland Garros
- Published
The story about a teenage wheelchair tennis player from Canterbury winning his first Grand Slam proved a popular read this week.
A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Kent and BBC South East Today.
We have picked five stories from the past week in case you missed them.
England fans turn to pedal power to follow Euros
The 600-mile route to Germany will take the group through Belgium and The Netherlands
Four football fans have got on their bikes to watch England play in the European championships in Germany.
Tony Hunt, from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, who only took up cycling at the start of the year, joined the group at Wembley as they set off to cycle through Kent and across the English Channel via Dover.
The quartet are raising money for the charity Crohn's & Colitis UK, a condition Mr Hunt has been affected by.
He said: “My first question when I was lying in hospital was, ‘Will I ever be able to play football again?' It shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Couple's viral video on moving back in with parents
Sam and Bec Bartley have had 16m hits on social media on their video
A married couple, who moved back in with their parents while saving for a deposit on a house, have had a comedy social media post they made about the experience go viral.
Bec and Sam Bartley, both in their 30s, have been living with her parents in Herne Bay, since July 2023.
The couple, both professional comedians, posted the parody video on social media where it has had 15m hits on Instagram and another 1m on TikTok.
Ms Bartley said they "didn’t expect it to blow up and go viral".
Manston Airport set for flights within four years
Owners RiverOak hope cargo and passenger services will be flying from Manston Airport by 2028
Cargo and passenger services could be operating from Manston Airport within the next four years after a judicial review into plans was not upheld.
Airlines have not flown from the site in Thanet since 2014 and owners RiverOak are now eager to begin its redevelopment after waiting for a decision from the courts.
Campaigners described the development as a "highly-polluting cargo hub" that went against the government's planning advice in the face of air pollution and climate change.
However Tony Freudmann, main board director at RiverOak, said his firm will be using the latest technology to build "the greenest airport in Europe".
'We became known as the teapot family'
The museum in Yalding is home to more than 8,500 novelty teapots
Luke Blazyes said that since the age of two "there have been teapots in my life".
The manager of Teapot Island in Kent said his family began collecting teapots in 1993.
"We became known as the teapot family," Mr Blazyes said.
His museum and cafe, in Yalding - which is thought to contain the largest collection of novelty teapots in the UK and was once visited by royalty - is now up for sale after 21 years.
Molly's festival brought comfort and closure - dad
Molly McLaren was murdered in 2017
The father of a young woman from Kent who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend has spoken about the "escape" an annual tribute festival brought to the family.
The final MollyFest, to remember 23-year-old Molly McLaren who was stabbed in Chatham in 2017, was held at Old Gravesendians Rugby Football Club in Gravesend on 25 May.
The Molly McLaren Foundation is also being closed, her father Doug McLaren said.
"It's hard to say whether it's brought closure, or comfort, or distraction. I don't know which of those is true, but it's been fun," he said.
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