Episodes
A Chatham woman who hid a sawn-off shotgun in her garden has avoided being sent to prison - after waiting eight years for the case to come to court.Police were called to 47-year-old Wendy Allen's home on Weeds Wood Road in April 2016 after an anonymous tip-off.Also in today's podcast, figures seen by the KentOnline podcast show a 45% rise in drug offences in Kent over the last four years.Around 3,600 were were recorded in the county in 2019 - that went up to more than 5,200 in 2022. Reporter Louis Walker speaks to a former addict who says cocaine is a particular problem in the county.With l...
A man has been left needing six stiches following an unprovoked attack while visiting Canterbury.Sergio Pagliarini was walking back to his car after dinner when a man punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.Also in today's episode, a horse rider has spoken out about the moment her pony was attacked while she was riding with her family in Medway.Shannon Edwards had taken her seven-year-old son Alfie for his first ride at Riverside Country Park on Tuesday when a dog rushed at them.After a hustings in Canterbury earlier this week, we have been chatting to a first-time voter to see ...
Dog walkers have been wrongly accused of flouting new restrictions and threatened with fines near Whitstable.Officials have been approaching pet owners along Tankerton slopes and insisting the area is covered by a new Public Spaces Protection Order, which bans owners from letting dogs off their leads.Aldo in today’s episode, election candidates have been taking part in a hustings in Canterbury as they try to build support from voters.Representatives from most of the major parties took part, but Labour's Rosie Duffield was not there.A bird of prey centre has launched an urgent fundraiser for...
An inquest has heard a popular workman described by loved ones as “the greatest partner and father” died after falling down a manhole in a tragic accident.The specialist labourer from Deal fell into the opening after being distracted by a passing road-sweeping vehicle while working at a new housing estate.Also in today’s podcast, we bring you an update after arsonists decimated a Forest School created for children in Sevenoaks. The vandals destroyed hours of work by dedicated volunteers from the Kent Wildlife Trust at Sevenoaks Nature Reserve, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Yo...
An Ashford dad who hit rock bottom after divorce and redundancy says he was drinking two bottles of vodka a day before he was saved by a Kent charity. He’s turned his life around and is preparing to open his own gym in Dover to help others through their struggles. Also in today’s podcast, residents in Gravesend are furious after they were “kept in the dark” over plans to house unaccompanied asylum seeking children in their street.Dozens of protestors gathered outside the building yesterday – they say they fear for their safety. A father with multiple sclerosis says he is missing his daughte...
Seven people have been arrested after protestors stormed a Kent factory that's used to make equipment for the Israeli military.Video at KentOnline shows people from Palestine Action breaking into the Instro Precision site in Sandwich and smashing computers and machinery.Also in today's podcast, as we mark Refugee Week, a woman who came to Kent from Eritrea is urging politicians not to treat asylum seekers as criminals.Rishan Tsegay was just 17 when she made the dangerous journey through Sudan, Libya and mainland Europe.KentOnline's been told a service designed to ease pressure on GPs is lea...
Upset residents say they were horrified after watching a group of boys “torture” and kill birds with catapults.The teenagers also allegedly kicked and threw a duck against a wall by the River Medway near Fremlin Walk in Maidstone. Also in today's podcast, you can hear from a first-time voter who says politicians should be consulting young people more about their election policies.The 18-year-old from Canterbury says it's been a tough few years for people his age, but is encouraging more people his age to have their say. Angry residents are planning to boycott a garden waste collection servi...
A carer is being investigated after she was caught on camera apparently spitting on her patient’s doorstep following a row over a damaged wall.The patient, who lives in Strood, says the incident has left her feeling “disrespected” and as if she was “disgusting”.Also in today’s podcast, a desperate appeal has been issued to pregnant women in Kent and Medway urging them to come forward for a whooping cough jab following the deaths of eight babies.You can hear from the Deputy Director of Public Health at Kent County Council who says infants who are too young to get their own vaccinations are a...
Neighbours have spoken of their shock after a woman died in a house fire in Chatham.Crews were called to Sharon Crescent in Walderslade on Monday evening - a cat also died in the blaze.Also in the podcast, a Fawkham man is locked in a battle with his local church over the headstone he's chosen for his wife's grave.Dave Clarke wants a pink-tinted marble headstone for the site in St Mary's Church in Small Grains, which he says matches his wife Janet's personality. Find out what the diocese has said in response.A Canterbury café boss has published CCTV of an alleged dine and dash which she say...
The Kent candidates for the general election have been confirmed.Nominations had be in by Friday and they've now been checked and verified and published for each constituency.This time around there are 18 seats up for grabs in the county - hear from our local democracy reporter Dan Esson.Also in today's podcast, the head teacher of a Kent grammar school has branded Ofsted inspections "tick-box exercises" after it was stripped of its 'outstanding' status.Folkestone School for Girls has held the top rating for the last 12 years - but has now been downgraded to 'good' by the education watchdog...
People living in a new-build block of flats in Ashford say its “inefficient” green energy system is making their bills much higher than they should be.Residents say the building is always boiling hot and they would never have moved in had they known how much they would have been forking out for heating - including covering payments missed by their neighbours.Also in today’s podcast, residents fear their village between Ashford and Canterbury could be turned into a “concrete jungle” after swathes of land were put forward for new homes in the area.They’ve launched a campaign to save the site ...
A Medway mum says she'll fight to keep her swimming pool after being ordered to remove it from a communal yard outside flats in Chatham.Chelsea Davidson was contacted by management company MHS Homes last week, and told to get rid of the 12-foot paddling pool in Silverweed Road.Also in today's podcast, a Gravesend man who set up a funding group after his step-son took his own life says young people don't have enough access to counselling.Figures from Childline show more than 500 sessions were delivered across the country every day last year.The Elliott Holmes Memorial Fund has offered free c...
Podcast: Rescue mission in the Channel to save 84 people, including six-month-old-baby, from the sea
A major rescue mission has been launched in the English Channel as 84 people - including a six-month-old baby and two other children - ended up in the water.British and French vessels took part in the operation halfway between Calais and Dover.Also in today’s podcast, you can hear from a Whitstable veteran as we mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.The military operation was a decisive turning point in the Second World War which saw thousands of Allied troops launch the invasion of Normandy.We’re being warned ongoing road works will cause chaos for motorists and bus routes when the Kingsferry...
On the 80th anniversary of D Day, a Whitstable veteran has revealed how the operation remained a secret until the very last moment.Allied forces had tricked the German army into thinking they would cross from Dover to Calais.The largest ever seaborn invasion was actually launched from Portsmouth and landed in Normandy.John Roberts, who is now 100, was on board a navy destroyer. He's been speaking to reporter Rhys Griffiths.
A Sittingbourne mum has been left frustrated after being contacted by debt collectors due to an unpaid swimming membership she claims she cancelled months ago. She’s in an ongoing dispute with the centre who say she still owes them more than £75. Also in today’s podcast, you can find out why more than 80 pupils who passed Kent Test have been left without a grammar place. Experts say the figures show children have been “badly let down by the system” and fear the numbers will only increase in the coming years.A woman from Maidstone has criticised the support from doctors after her daughter ha...
A lorry driver has appeared in court after pushing over a pensioner during a road rage incident on a major Kent road.You can hear the moment the driver steps down from the lorry to confront the 78-year-old after he pulled into the lane in front of him on the A2.Also in today’s podcast, a mum from Hythe says she was labelled a “drug seeker” by medical staff despite being in “debilitating” pain because of endometriosis. She was diagnosed with the condition - which affects one in 10 women - when she was 17 but was refused care when she went to A&E. An “immature” thug who barged into a Ramsgat...
A mum from Deal has hit out at a London hospital after receiving a letter booking her son in for an appointment - more than a year after he died.Imogen Holliday was sent an email inviting three-year-old Raffy for a visit to Great Ormond Street exactly 14 months after he'd passed away there.Also in today's podcast, a leading Kent charity is calling on whoever forms the next government to ban so-called no-fault evictions.It was part of the renters reform bill that was going through parliament before the election was called. We've been speaking to Canterbury based Porchlight.A business owner i...
Traders and residents fear rising rents and anti-social behaviour is putting off customers from visiting an out-of-town shopping centre.Shop owners in New Ash Green say a volatile group of youths who intimidate customers in the car park and hurl verbal abuse at them in the street are deterring visits.Also in today’s podcast, five men have faced court after a meeting arranged on Facebook exploded into a street brawl in Folkestone. One person was stabbed and another suffered serious head injuries in the fight, which included wooden poles, a crowbar and chains. Just as the weather starts to wa...
A Yalding woman who stole more than £8,000 from a pensioner in her care has avoided being sent to prison.A court heard the victim had been left disabled after suffering a suspected mini-stroke and the 43 year-old who was meant to be looking after him, used his debit card to pay for clothes, food and music.Also in today's podcast, people in Ashford say their road has turned into a slum as rubbish piles up.Disruption to bin collections is continuing in several parts of the county after a new contractor took over.A small business owner from Tunbridge Wells is urging whoever wins the election t...
A Sittingbourne teacher who had a cocaine addiction and posted about his drug use on socials has been banned from the profession.Austin Whiting was the head of Year 13 at Borden Grammar School and taught geography.As election campaigning continues, Nigel Farage has been in Dover to announce the town's Reform candidate.We've also been finding out what people in the town want from the next government.And, a farmer from Maidstone has been telling the podcast what he would like to see from whoever is leading the country.A Kent dog welfare charity have revealed some of the cruel techniques owner...
A Whitstable woman is refusing to pay her housing estate service charge despite being threatened with legal action.Christine Curtis has been withholding the charge for four years, because of a lack of maintenance and repairs.Eight chicks have died near Canterbury after a roadworks notice was posted into a letterbox despite clear warnings the birds were nesting inside.Residents in Staple taped up the letterbox slot and wrote "birds nesting" so post would be left elsewhere.A farmer near Maidstone says more and more landowners are having to sell to developers as the industry is in decline.Clim...
A secondary school has confirmed an email containing information about its students was “inadvertently” sent to parents.The Leigh Academies Trust, which runs The Hundred of Hoo Academy, is investigating how the “mishap” happened.Also in today’s podcast, jurors have returned a conclusion of misadventure at an inquest into the death of a little boy who choked on food at an Ashford nursery.You can hear from his parents who say the case has shone a light on loopholes in the way nurseries are allowed to care for young children.Former sports minister and Kent MP Tracey Crouch has expressed her di...
A complaint has been made about the arrest of a teenage boy in Margate after footage emerged of an officer appearing to knee them in the stomach.Police had been called to Dane Park following reports a group possibly had weapons.Sir Keir Starmer has been in Medway to launch Labour's general election campaign.Rishi Sunak announced yesterday that we will go to the polls on July 4th.Figures show more drivers are being caught speeding around the Dartford Crossing than anywhere else in the county.More than 64,000 notices and fixed penalties have been issued on the approach road and through the tu...
A Queenborough mum has been slapped with a £200 fine for littering after seagulls ate a few McDonald’s chips she accidentally dropped on the floor.She'd been tucking into her quarter-pounder meal next to a seaside Tesco when an environment warden “hidden between the cars” approached her.Also in today's podcast, a Kent MP has revealed he had to have his arms and legs amputated following a devastating battle with sepsis.Speaking publicly for the first time about the “extreme surgery”, South Thanet Conservative Craig Mackinlay has told how doctors were forced to operate because of the effects ...
An exotic animal is on the loose after escaping from its zoo enclosure - and we're being warned not to approach her. The Tayra - a weasel-like mammal from Central America - was discovered missing from the Hemsley Conservation Centre on Sunday. Also in today's podcast, drivers have had their say on a new £650k turbo roundabout as work comes to an end.Some claim the redesign of the Running Horse Roundabout in Maidstone is a waste of money, while others believe it has significantly reduced queues.The KentOnline Podcast has heard from an Ashford man who lost his father and uncles after they wer...
A group of residents in Maidstone claim a parking company is trying to charge them from parking on their own land.Half a dozen signs were put up in a private car park just off Northumberland Road by UK Car Park Management. Hear from one of the residents and what the housing association have said.Also on today's podcast, a Whitstable man who was infected with hepatitis and HIV as a child has spoken about how it's affected his life.Roger Newman is one of the victims of the worst treatment disaster in NHS history - known as the infected blood scandal.A report following a public inquiry into th...
The petrolhead behind Kent’s first car ‘drifting’ school says he will continue to operate the new track - despite being advised to slam on the brakes by local bosses. It's after complaints about the noise of revving engines and screeching tyres at the Skidz Advanced Driving School set up at Manston Airport. Also in today’s podcast, a secure school designed to turn around the lives of some of Britain’s most violent young offenders is set to open in Kent.The Oasis Restore school in Rochester is the first of its kind and will see young offenders receiving vocational training and one-to-one lea...
Several staff from a Kent prison have been taken to hospital after their canteen food was spiked with drugs.Paramedics were called to HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey last Thursday. Hear from Andy Hamlin from the Criminal Justice Workers Union.A childcare worker has described the moment a baby boy started choking on his food at an Ashford nursery.Nine-month-old Oliver Steeper was being fed penne Bolognese by Nazia Begum when he started to gag and gasp in September 2021.The price of a bus pass to help children get to school in Kent is set to increase by £100.The Kent Travel Saver curren...
A serial conman from Maidstone has been jailed for defrauding two companies straight after leaving prison for the same offence.Darren Carvill was locked up in 2019 for taking £260,000 from his work in Strood and changed his surname when he was released.More food parcels have been handed out in Medway than any other part of Kent according to new figures given to KentOnline.The Trussell Trust say they delivered over 15,000 parcels in the year to the end of March - up from 5,800 just 6 years ago. We've been speaking to the campaigns manager at Medway Foodbank.It's now illegal to export live an...
A Dymchurch woman who stabbed her husband when he fell asleep as she told him about her life problems, has avoided being sent to prison.He needed emergency treatment but pleaded with a judge not to jail his wife - blaming the outburst on menopausal symptoms.Also in today’s episode, a Kent MP says she hopes measures will be put in place urgently to ensure women receive better care when giving birth.Canterbury’s Rosie Duffield has co-chaired a parliamentary inquiry into maternity services, which heard evidence from 1,300 mums about the trauma they have suffered.Businesses in part of Medway ar...