Summary

  • An independent review into how the Church of England handled the case of a Sussex bishop accused of being a child abuser will be published later today.

  • The church has apologised to the relatives of former Bishop of Chichester George Bell for the way it investigated the claims.

  • Primary School children in Medway and East Sussex have fallen below the government's expectations with less than 65% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

  • The family of East Sussex adventurer Christian Velten - who went missing in West Africa 14 years ago - are still hoping he will make his way home after he was apparently seen begging.

  • News, sport, weather and travel updates for the South East of England

  1. 'Cowell reward' puppy turns up safepublished at 15:07 Greenwich Mean Time 14 January 2018

    The X Factor giant had offered a £10,000 reward for the safe return of nine-month-old Morse.

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  2. 'Trust your instincts like I did'published at 14:17 Greenwich Mean Time 14 January 2018

    Emma Woodland took five-month-old Bonnie to the doctor with a cough, but hours later she stopped breathing.

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  3. Man accused of Madeleine funds fraud diespublished at 11:53 Greenwich Mean Time 14 January 2018

    Kevin Halligen spent time in prison in the US for an unrelated fraud.

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  4. Crawley Town 2-0 Barnetpublished at 19:07 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    Enzio Boldewijn scores both goals as Crawley beat Barnet to extend their winning run to three matches.

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  5. Woking 0-1 Tranmere Roverspublished at 18:53 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    Andy Cook scores the only goal of the game before being sent off late on as Tranmere Rovers win at Woking.

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  6. Gillingham 2-1 Rochdalepublished at 18:45 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    Gillingham come from behind to beat Rochdale and extend their unbeaten run in League One to six matches.

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  7. West Brom 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albionpublished at 18:09 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    Goals from Jonny Evans and Craig Dawson help West Brom end a 20-match winless run in the Premier League with victory over Brighton.

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  8. Man arrested over 'Bonzo' murder bidpublished at 16:44 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    The 44-year-old man was held after a police operation in the Kent area over the attack on Steven "Bonzo" Daniel.

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  9. Boy, 10, 'seriously injured' by buspublished at 16:14 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    The collision happened at about 09:15 GMT on Singleton Hill in Ashford, police say.

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  10. Six teens held after Hove stabbingpublished at 15:36 Greenwich Mean Time 13 January 2018

    Two men in their 20s were assaulted, one of whom has serious stab wounds, police said.

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  11. New homes sought for hundreds of budgiespublished at 21:53 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    The birds were handed over to the RSPCA after their owner became ill.

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  12. Woking sign Cook and Grego-Coxpublished at 19:04 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    Woking sign Ebbsfleet winger Anthony Cook on loan until the end of the season and Reece Grego-Cox after his release by QPR.

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  13. Paralysed mum's home renovated on DIY SOSpublished at 18:37 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    Kathryn Langley
    BBC Live reporter

    A mum-of-four says she wouldn't turn the clock back, despite being paralysed in a cycling accident.

    Amanda Worne, from Yapton in West Sussex, crashed into a metal post after her brakes failed while she was travelling at 50mph.

    After six months at Stoke Mandeville spinal unit Amanda came home in a wheelchair but her house was now unsuitable.

    So DIY SOS volunteers have come to the family's rescue.

  14. Mother's grief over homeless son's murderpublished at 18:23 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    As the men responsible for murdering Razvan Sirbu are convicted, his mother speaks outside the court.

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  15. 'It's stopped my life in its tracks'published at 18:12 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    After the conviction of two men for the murder of Romanian man Razvan Sirbu in Maidstone, his mother spoke outside court through an interpreter.

  16. Port jobs at risk after contract losspublished at 17:41 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    Portsmouth's MMD Shipping Services said 58 workers are at risk of redundancy.

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  17. Attempted abduction in Rochesterpublished at 17:12 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    Officers investigating an attempted abduction in Rochester have released a computer generated image of a man they wish to speak to.

    A 12-year-old girl was approached by a man who tried to take her by the arm but she managed to push him away and run to safety.

    The incident is reported to have happened at around 15:30 GMT on 5 January in Castle Hill.

    The man got back into his car and drove off.

    He is described as being approximately 5ft 4in tall and aged between 40 and 50.

    CGI image of manImage source, Kent Police
  18. Baby seal rescued in Kentpublished at 15:24 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    Yasmine Djadoudi
    BBC Live reporter

    This baby seal was found stranded on Leysdown beach yesterday afternoon.

    Swampys Wildlife Rescue, a wildlife rescue centre in Sheerness, say they were contacted by a woman who had spotted the male seal whilst on a dog walk.

    Last night, the seal, who is thought to be one month old, was taken to Mallydams Wood, a RSPCA site in Hastings, and was seen by a vet about an ulcer on his eye.

    He is now being taken care of at the site and is expected to be released back into the sea once he makes a full recovery, which should take between two to three months.

    SealImage source, Swampys wildlife rescue
  19. Seagulls will have to fly a different routepublished at 15:09 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    Bob Dale
    BBC Live reporter

    Seagulls fans heading north for Saturday's match are being warned of a motorway closure which could cause delays.

    Resurfacing work on the M23 between junctions nine and 10 means the London-bound section of the motorway will be closed from 22:00 GMT today and 04:00 GMT on Monday 15 January.

    Diversions will be in place.

    The latest information is available on the Highways England website, external.

    M23 at CopthorneImage source, Google
    Image caption,

    The London-bound M23 will be closed between Copthorne and Gatwick all weekend

    Brighton and Hove Albion are away at West Bromwich Albion, with thousands of fans expected to make the journey to the west Midlands for Saturday's 15:00 GMT kick off.

  20. Abuse victim 'spoke out after hearing show'published at 14:09 Greenwich Mean Time 12 January 2018

    The victim contacted police after hearing a feature on a BBC radio show about sexual abuse in football.

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