Summary

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

  1. Child refugees heading to the UKpublished at 15:09 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    After President Macron's visit to the UK, the British government makes a renewed pledge to allow more child refugees to come to Britain.

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  2. M23 closure postponedpublished at 12:55 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Lizzie Massey
    BBC Live reporter

    Works to the M23 have been delayed because of bad weather.

    The closure of the motorway - for the road to be relaid - was scheduled for 20 and 21 January.

    Highways England has confirmed this is not going ahead as while workers are to get the old carriageway up, the new one would not set as heavy rain is forecast.

  3. Horse trampling woman's face rebuiltpublished at 12:25 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Libby Keating's face was repaired by experts at St George's Hospital in Tooting.

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  4. No-one knows where Shepway is, leader sayspublished at 11:29 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    The district council is spending £10,000 on a name change to Folkestone and Hythe.

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  5. Parsons Green: Teen denies terror chargepublished at 10:26 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Ahmed Hassan has been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey.

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  6. 'Hyper-acute' stroke units plannedpublished at 09:27 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Stroke patients may face longer ambulance journeys but will receive better care, health bosses say.

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  7. Missing: Where is Debbie?published at 09:06 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Bob Dale
    BBC Live reporter

    Police say they're worried for the safety of a teenage girl who's gone missing from Newhaven.

    Debbie Sales, who's 17, hasn't been seen since 10:00 GMT on 16 January.

    It's thought she may have gone to London.

    missing person Debbie SalesImage source, Sussex Police
  8. Thanet local plan voted downpublished at 08:26 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Stuart Maisner
    BBC Live reporter

    Thanet District Councillors voted last night against the proposed local plan which included 2,500 new homes to be built on the site of Manston Airport.

    Chris Wells, UKIP leader of the council, came to power on a pledge to reopen Manston as an airport, but he's now backing proposals to build on the site.

    Chris Wells

    Mr Wells said it was "disgraceful" that councillors voted against the proposals.

    He said: "It means the government will step in to take over the local plan and Thanet will have to take even more new homes."

    Craig Mackinlay, the Conservative South Thanet MP, said: "It shows the tide is going out for UKIP in Thanet."

  9. Teenager loves being a lifeboat volunteerpublished at 01:47 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    Keisha Strain, a 19-year-old student from Littlestone-on-Sea, carries out on-shore duties for the RNLI.

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  10. UK and France sign Calais migrant treatypublished at 01:21 Greenwich Mean Time 19 January 2018

    But French president indicates he will not bow to demands to include financial services in Brexit deal.

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  11. Macron pledges 'cooperation' after Brexitpublished at 20:20 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    Theresa May and the French President discussed their commitment to the "Le Touquet" border agreement in Calais.

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  12. Work starts on Emmeline Pankhurst statuepublished at 20:07 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    The 8ft-tall bronze monument is being created in West Sussex, but will be located in Manchester.

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  13. Firefighters save person trapped in house in Dartfordpublished at 17:45 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    A person was trapped inside their house when a tree fell onto the roof after high winds caused widespread chaos across London.

    A team from London Fire Brigade (LFB) freed the person, in Dartford, Kent, after being called out at 06:46 GMT.

    It was one of 16 weather-related incidents the LFB had to respond to today.

    Others include unstable scaffolding in Orpington, south-east London, and a boat partially breaking away from its mooring in Lambeth Pier, south London.

  14. Londoners spend 37% of salary on rent, study revealspublished at 17:10 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    Houses in West HampsteadImage source, Getty

    Renters in London are spending an average of 37% of their earnings on rent, according to a new study.

    The average monthly rent in the capital is now £836 while average monthly earnings are just less than £2,300, said jobs site CV-Library.

    Other cities with high rents included Brighton at £623 a month, 32% of average wages, Edinburgh (£463, over 23%), Bristol (£458, almost 22%) and Southampton (£418, around 21.8%).

    People living in such cities could be heading towards "debt levels" each month, the report said.

    The city with the highest monthly pay was Aberdeen at £2,300.

    Lee Biggins, managing director of CV-Library, added: "While some cities offer manageable living costs and generous pay packets, others could be pushing workers to breaking point."

  15. Consultant guilty of military sex assaultspublished at 16:14 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    Former cardiologist Neil Ineson carried out the assaults at Frimley Park Hospital over six years.

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  16. University boss payouts 'need scrutiny'published at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    University of Kent vice-chancellor Dame Julia Goodfellow receives an extra £45,000 in her final salary.

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  17. Bogus council handyman burglar jailedpublished at 14:23 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    Ambrose Treeby stole hundreds of pounds from women in their 80s and 90s.

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  18. Pupil premium 'bonkers' says schools bosspublished at 13:42 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    School pupil

    The man in charge of five schools in east Kent has claimed head teachers are using funds aimed at disadvantaged pupils to subsidise their budgets, labeling the scheme "bonkers".

    Paul Luxmoore, executive head teacher at Coastal Academies Trust in Thanet, said without pupil premium "we wouldn’t be able to run our schools for all pupils".

    He also claimed the system, which gives schools up to £1,900 per pupil from a disadvantaged background, is “patronising for some families”.

    Mr Luxmoore oversees the running Cliftonville Primary School and Hartsdown Academy in Margate, Dane Court Grammar School in Broadstairs, Hartsdown Academy, King Ethelbert School in Westgate-on-Sea and The Royal Harbour Academy in Ramsgate.

    Speaking during a Kent County Council select committee meeing on Monday, he said: “It is not the case that you have the money that you literally spend on those students – it doesn’t happen.

    “As a national policy - I think it’s bonkers."

    A Department of Education spokesman said: “All schools are held to account for how they use pupil premium through performance tables and Ofsted inspections.”

  19. Second digger theft foiled in Farnhampublished at 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    Bob Dale
    BBC Live reporter

    Police in Farnham have stopped second attempt in a week to steal a digger in the town.

    Just before 20:00 GMT on 16 January, a tracker installed on a machine at a building site in Compton Way, lead officers to nearby woods, where a dog was used in the search for the thief.

    A 26-year-old man has been arrested.

    On Monday a helicopter and dog teams were used to stop the theft of a digger and transit van in Boundstone Road.

    Compton Way, FarnhamImage source, Google
    Image caption,

    The latest attempted digger theft happened in Compton Way in Farnham

  20. Downton named Kent director of cricketpublished at 12:49 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January 2018

    Kent appoint Paul Downton, who spent 18 months as managing director of the ECB, as their new director of cricket.

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