Summary

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

  1. A27 hit by two serious accidentspublished at 08:22 Greenwich Mean Time 20 February 2018

    Bob Dale
    BBC Live reporter

    The A27 at Falmer is badly affected by two accidents this morning.

    A four-vehicle crash involving a Vauxhall Combo van and a Transit van happened on the westbound carriageway at 06:55 GMT.

    There were no injuries. At 07:55 an accident involving a single car happened on the opposite eastbound carriageway.

    It's not clear if anyone was injured in that incident.

  2. Kent hospital under inspectionpublished at 07:25 Greenwich Mean Time 20 February 2018

    A comprehensive inspection by health officials of a Kent hospital is due to get underway later.

    Last year the Care Quality Commission carried out three urgent inspections at the Cygnet Hospital near Sevenoaks, saying at the time that they suspected criminal offences may have been committed.

    Cygnet Hospital, Sevenoaks
  3. Council meets to set budgetpublished at 07:20 Greenwich Mean Time 20 February 2018

    Kent County Council meets today to set its budget for the coming year.

    It needs to make savings of more than £53m and could cut some subsidies to bus services and reduce spending on maintaining roads.

    Councillors are due to vote on increasing council tax for a band D property by almost £60.

    County Hall, Maidstone
  4. Rhino birth at wildlife parkpublished at 07:12 Greenwich Mean Time 20 February 2018

    Stuart Maisner
    BBC Live reporter

    A wild animal park in Kent is celebrating the birth of an endangered black rhino.

    It's the 40th successful birth of the critically-endangered species at Port Lympne and the second one born there this year.

    There are only around 5,000 black rhinos left in the wild and the park, which is located near Ashford, says its captive breeding programme is vital for the species' survival.

    Baby RhinoImage source, Port Lympne
    Quote Message

    Obviously we’re all absolutely delighted to welcome another calf to our black rhino herd. She’s healthy, strong and already keen to play and explore. Her mother, Solio, is a first time mum and she is doing a fantastic job.

    Quote Message

    It’s still a little too cold for them to venture out into the paddocks, but as soon as the weather warms up, I have no doubt that the little one will be out and about exploring and playing every day."

    Paul Beer, Head of Rhino Section, Port Lympne Reserve

  5. Tummy bloating can be ovarian cancerpublished at 01:30 Greenwich Mean Time 20 February 2018

    Only a third of women would see a doctor despite it being a major symptom, a survey suggests.

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  6. Footballer 'gambled £16k of stolen money'published at 20:32 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    A former Premier League footballer gambled using a card stolen from a pensioner, a court hears.

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  7. Anger at stalker's potential releasepublished at 20:22 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Stuart Maisner
    BBC Live reporter

    A Sussex woman says she's distressed her convicted stalker could be let out on day release after only six months in prison.

  8. New Thameslink seats 'like ironing boards'published at 20:09 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Passengers have voiced concerns about how comfortable the seats are on the new Thameslink trains.

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  9. Stolen dogs 'on increase' in Kentpublished at 19:15 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Yasmine Djadoudi
    BBC Live reporter

    A charity which tries to trace missing dogs says that more than a quarter of dog thefts in the UK have taken place in Kent in the last two years.

  10. Council's UKIP leader to step downpublished at 18:50 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Fourteen UKIP councillors and Henry Bolton, the national party's ex-leader, had wanted Chris Wells to go.

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  11. Train crash victim, 15, was 'role model'published at 18:47 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    "Universally popular" Will Hallett died beside his grandfather Barry Hearnshaw, 71, when a train hit their car.

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  12. Woking bring in striker Theophanouspublished at 18:46 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Woking sign striker Louie Theophanous from Billericay Town on a deal to the end of the season.

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  13. #thisisme: Robert's storypublished at 17:32 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Stuart Maisner
    BBC Live reporter

    Pilot Robert, 23, describes flying as "pure magic."

    #thisisme

  14. New Thameslink seats described as 'ironing boards'published at 17:31 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Media caption,

    Seats on new Thameslink trains likened to 'ironing boards'.

    Passengers have been venting concerns about uncomfortable seats on the brand new Thameslink trains.

    The train-operating company says the new designs - which commuters have compared to "ironing boards" - are down to fire safety rules and preventing the seats from being vandalised.

  15. 'Massively rare' snowy owl on Isles of Scillypublished at 17:20 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Amy Gladwell
    BBC News Online

    A sighting of a snowy owl on the Isles of Scilly has been described as "probably the best birding ever" by the man who managed to photograph it.

    The bird of prey, which is native to Arctic regions, was previously spotted in west Cornwall in December, the RSPB says.

    Mark Leitch from Woking was on a special mission to see it on the island of Tresco.

    Snowy owl flyingImage source, Mark Leitch
    Snowy owl flyingImage source, Mark Leitch
    Quote Message

    These birds are massively rare here. They are turning up more regularly but we don't know why.

    Tony Whitehead, RSPB

    The charity said the last sighting of the species in the region was in Penwith, west Cornwall, in April 2016 and it is understood the one before that was in a similar area in 2009.

  16. Ferrari crash death driver 'lost control'published at 16:54 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Matthew Cobden is accused of causing the death by careless driving of 13-year-old Alexander Worth.

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  17. Liberal Democrats slate Tory council for 'neglecting' Kent roadspublished at 16:51 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Liberal Democrat councillors have criticised the Conservatives at Kent County Council for “years of neglecting” roads in the county.

    Conservative cabinet member for highways, councillor Mike Whiting, admitted last month the maintenance backlog of roads is about £630m and could rise to £1bn in a decade.

    But the opposition claims Tory councillors “ignored successive warnings” and the budget, set to be debated tomorrow, does not cover the shortfall.

    Ian Chittenden, Lib Dem spokesperson for transport, said: “The sums allocated by the Conservatives for the upkeep of KCC maintained roads are pitifully small."

    Mr Whiting declined to comment ahead of the budget council meeting on Tuesday, however, in January, he appealed to Westminster for extra cash to fix potholes, protect bridges, unclog drains and maintain Kent’s 125,000 street lights.

    He said at the time there was a huge disparity in funding between councils across the country, and the current formula was unsustainable.

  18. Bottled student returns to universitypublished at 16:39 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    Yehsung Kim was left with broken teeth and returned to South Korea for dental treatment.

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  19. Amputee baby's parents jailed for decadepublished at 15:26 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    The parents of a baby boy who lost his legs due to near-fatal injuries are jailed for 10 years.

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  20. Mental health care for young 'disgusting'published at 14:41 Greenwich Mean Time 19 February 2018

    A patient said her treatment at a mental health service was wrong, after the hospital was criticised by inspectors.

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