We'll see you in a minute. Kent online news. News you can trust. This is the Kent online podcast. Kate Faulkner. Hello. Hope you're okay. Happy Friday. Thank you for downloading today's podcast on July 19th. Coming up today, we've spoken to a child line counselor around the impact of leaving a child at home alone over the summer school holidays. We'll also hear from a jilling amid fielder as their pre-season update. We'll hear from a couple of people who have been here to buy an IT outage, which is causing major disruption. There are delays at airports. Some broadcasters have been taken off air and it's impacting southern and Thameslink trains. There have also been delays at the port of Dover. Let's catch up now with Kent online's business editor Chris Britcher. Chris, thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. First of all, what do we know about the IT outage? Hi there. Well, the situation appears to have started overnight and it appears to be linked to Microsoft software. Although the fault may be connected to US cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which is common to many Microsoft machines. What we do know is that it's having an impact worldwide. Airports have been hit. Broadcast has taken off air. Sky News, for example, was knocked out for several hours in the UK this morning and banks have encountered issues. While Microsoft says it is taking action, it's not clear quite yet exactly what has gone wrong. That, I assume, will emerge when systems are restored to full working order. The tried and tested method of simply turning it off and back on again isn't an option in this situation, exactly. And how is it impacting businesses and travel in Kent? Well, if you're planning to travel by train on Southern services, the rail company is warning some services may be disrupted as a result of the problems. South Eastern appears to be unaffected at this stage, same for Eurostar and Eurotunnel. Meanwhile, GPs have had issues with their booking systems and supermarkets' self-service tools have been affected too. But it's a fluid situation and I would expect the problems to be ironed out sooner rather than later. And should people be worried about the pandemic? And should people be worried about their data and their safety? At this point, there doesn't appear to be any breach of data security that we're aware of. But obviously, once Microsoft reveal the details, we'll have a better idea. But at the moment, I wouldn't worry too much. Thanks, Chris. Taking a look at another of our most red stories today, a waste company is set to be fined after issues with bins being collected in swale. Suez took over the contract in March, but since then, residents have complained of missed collections and rubbish piling up, it comes as the leader of Maidstone Council met with the boss of the firm to call for improvements. I caught up with Stuart Jeffrey. We really wanted to get across the impact that the change of provider and the new Suez team had had on residence, making sure that their voice was heard at the highest level within Suez. That was the key, the key message that we wanted to deliver. But we also wanted to hear what was Suez doing in response. And we had a good conversation about the changes they had made at that point and the future changes that were coming in. So, for example, when we met, I think it was a couple of weeks ago, and a lot of the changes had already been made. They'd made changes to rounds. They'd updated databases and so forth. But going forward, we can expect two new rounds, two new lorries with crews coming in in a couple of weeks time, just waiting for the letters to go out to properties to let them know about the changes that are coming in. But that should really solidify the improvements we've seen and hopefully continue at a very high performance rate. So, you satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, you're confident that they understood the sort of the urgency of the situation and that they put enough in place to have it resolved? I hope so. They were very open with us. I wrote to -- we wrote to them and said, can we meet with the Chief Executive? They came back immediately. They said yes. The meeting happened a week or so later. They were very willing to engage with us. They wanted this to work as much as we did. It is bad publicity for them if they've got a contract that doesn't work and clearly -- well, not clearly, but as we've moved out of the penalty-free zone into the full implementation of the contract, they don't want to trigger contract penalties. So, they've got a bit of an interest in making sure that the service delivers what it's supposed to. So, you know, the goals are the same even if we come from different angles. And they were sort of happy to admit that they had been short comings? Yeah, I mean, I don't think they would -- they would have had an incredibility if they had said it was all perfect. No, they were not happy with -- they did say -- the Chief Executive did say he was unhappy with the level of service and the impacts that it had. So, again, an honest and open conversation which, you know, I did welcome. So, good news is that there are going to be changes, changes have been made, more changes are coming for residents. If people still feel that the service isn't good enough, what would your advice to them be? Tell us, absolutely tell us. You know, we can only make improvements if we know where the problems are. And a lot of the improvements or the corrections we've made have been through emails to the service, to myself, to local councillors, and obviously through the telephones and reporting systems. So, you know, just keep telling us because we can't -- we won't know what's wrong unless we hear from you. But absolutely contact us when there are problems. All right, that's great. Those are all of my questions, Stuart. Was there anything else you wanted to include this morning? Just to really say, you know, it's been a rough period for a lot of people across the borough and clearly, you know, that is deeply regrettable. We are sorry for the impact that it's had on people. And it has -- we have managed to resolve most of the problems. And there are still problems, a few problems out there. So we want to make sure the service is absolutely as good as it can possibly be. So, you know, let's work together and really make it make it the best it can be. Twail Council refused to confirm the scale of the fine. Suez also covers being collections in Ashford. Kent Online News. A man's been charged with murder following the death of a baby from Ramsgate. Everly Stroud was taken to hospital in April 2021 and died just over a year later at the age of 14 months. 24-year-old Thomas Holford from Peddler's Close in Danbury in Essex is due at Maidstone Crown Court. Two people have been treated for the effects of breathing in smoke, following a house fire in Maidstone. Six fire engines were called to Tunbridge Road in bombing yesterday evening and crews were still tackling the blaze nine hours later. It's unclear how it started. A heat health alert is in force across Kent as temperatures are expected to top 30 degrees today. It follows a disappointing start to the summer. Dr Sonia Adesara is urging us to keep an eye on those who are vulnerable. People who are aged over 65, but also babies and young children's children age under five are at more at increased risk. And then also if you have chronic health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes. The yellow alert lasts until 11 p.m. tomorrow. A school in Swanscombe has confirmed an investigation is underway, following safe guarding concerns. Parents have had a letter from the head of Kralen's primary, following rumors about an incident and an after-school club. They've not got into detail about what it relates to. Its vid Ashford could become the most gridlocked part of Kent this summer with seven road work projects taking place. Electricity works already taking place. These sains breeze, while gas repairs are happening in part of Kennington, UK power networks will also be shutting Newtown Road. The County Council say all of the works are essential. Kettle Lion has been hearing from a gambling support charity about how there's been a spike in calls for help following England's run in the Euros. Gamke says they saw a 10% increase in calls during this tournament, compared to 2021. Matt Burgess is from Chatham. He's a football fan whose gambling habits spiraled into addiction. He now works for Gamke. He's caught up with Nicola. I think it's really important to highlight that, you know, when tournaments like the Euros or the World Cup are on, there's opportunity for people to gamble, you know, almost every day for a month. And that's not really, you know, the normal thing that happens all year. So, yeah, we do see lots more people gambling. I think the worry, personally, for me, but also at Gamke is that people then take that gambling over that sporting kind of moment and then take it into different types of gambling after that as well. And that's when it can become really risky. And obviously, you know, you pose the risk of developing an addiction. What do you think it is about sporting events that people do like to gamble on them? When you were gambling, did you used to bet on results and things like that? Yeah, I think I'd say gambling on football was one of the first things that I ever did. You know, something I'm a big football fan and, you know, something that I had an interest in, something that a lot of my mates did. And then for me, you know, I wouldn't actually say that the football betting was the problematic betting for me, actually. It was when it moved on to more casino style games that I started gambling for more and more time and spending more money than I could afford. So, yeah, I think the thing with football is it, you know, football is something that brings people together. It's a community kind of event, especially things like, you know, tournaments, international tournaments. It tends to get a lot of people watching football that wouldn't normally watch like the Premier League or other leagues. So, I think you can just get caught up in the emotion of it a little bit and you can get caught up in the kind of social side of things as well. Would you say it's quite easy then to get caught up in that adrenaline rush with it? And once a tournament's over, you want to keep that adrenaline rush going and you find something else that you can bet on instead. That's absolutely correct. Yeah, I think, you know, having the feeling of winning a bet or even a near miss, you know, where someone doesn't quite win, but it was close. I think that's the feeling that people can become addicted to. So, I think people will can potentially seek that out post tournament. I think if you imagine you're getting that sometimes four or five times a day for a whole month and then all of a sudden it's completely kind of ripped away. People may look at other types of gambling to fulfill that kind of emotional want if you like. There's always during tournaments loads of adverts, isn't there about where you can place a bit and what have you. And they do always have those warnings that come with them, but do you think that's enough? Or do we do you think there needs to be more of a warning about betting? From my personal view, you know, I try to focus on, you know, someone that's had a gambling addiction. I try to focus on what I can control because that's what helps me through recovery. So, I try not to take too much of an opinion on those. One thing we do hear from service users is that they can be quite triggering. You know, as you mentioned there's lots of different ways you can advertise gambling at football, whether it be on the boards around the pitch or, you know, on the telly. I think at the end of the day, you know, people should recognise that advertising is there for a reason, is there to try and pull you in. But, you know, they should also recognise that if things become difficult or if, you know, they feel that gambling is becoming a bit uncomfortable for them, but there is also support out there as well. Matt is urging anyone who's been struggling to reach out for help. Kent Online News. A family from Hyundai who was still shielding from COVID say they feel forgotten by society. Rob Boxle's wife Mandy is in remission from blood cancer while his daughter Molly has cerebral palsy, which puts her at higher risk from the virus. They've spoken out as we mark three years since freedom date when most COVID restrictions were lifted by the government. Hundreds of students have had to be evacuated from a school in Canterbury after an unexploded wartime bomb was found in the roof. Emergency services, including military personnel, were called to St John's Church of England primary yesterday afternoon. The bomb has been removed and taken for disposal. Parents were contacted and asked to collect their children early, but were told they were kept safe. We've been hearing about how being left at home alone can impact a child as Kent families prepare for the summer school holidays. Figures from the NSPCC show there's been a 74% increase in the number of referrals about children being left on their own in the southeast in the last 12 months. While there's no legal age limit, the NSPCC say they would not recommend leaving any child under the age of 12 unsupervised. I've been speaking to Rebecca Hipkiss, who is a child-lined counsellor. She says he can have wide reaching consequences. Our first response is about are they safe? Will they boil the kettle? Will they do any of those things that could actually physically endanger them? But then there is also the emotional impact of perhaps feeling neglected and feeling that actually you don't matter enough. There's nobody there that will make arrangements for you to do anything or be there to support you. And actually, that can just be quite frightening. From the, and obviously, you know, not commenting on any specific phone calls or cases or anything like that. But from your experience, what do children understand about why they've been left at home? Do they understand it's because mum and dad have gone to work or because there's no one else that can look after them? Yeah, I think a lot of it is about telling two working parents. And in this kind of economic situation that we're at the moment, people are working longer hours and doing more work and more extra jobs. And I think that we are in a situation where childcare is so expensive in this country that actually there aren't that many alternatives. And so to me, what I would say is that you have to kind of look outside your immediate, immediate household and think about how you can use it. And think about how you can maybe swap with friends and maybe look after their children one day and vice versa. And I think that, again, grandparents, aunts and uncles, anybody who's a responsible adult, if they can help out a little bit, then it just means that, therefore, young people aren't alone so much. You touched before on, you know, the economic climate, you know, cost of living is making a lot of people having to work longer hours. It sort of kind of goes against the grain of these days. A lot of people are working from home. You would think that there would be a bit more flexibility that people could stay home a bit more. Why do you think we're not seeing that reflected in a number of cases of people being left on their own? I think it depends on what your employment is. There are lots of people who are working jobs where they actually have to go out to work, where they're working in shops or doing deliveries or that kind of job where you actually have to be there. And I think those are the ones where they really struggle to kind of make that overlap work. No, this might seem like a silly question, but is there a legal age requirement so our children allowed to be left on their own after a certain age? Or is there no legal guidance? There's no legal specification about what age you can leave a child alone. I think that you really need to talk to the young person in your family because they're the ones that can tell you how they feel about being left home alone and whether it has an impact on them or not. And what I'm saying, you know, an eight-year-old might say, "Actually, I'm absolutely fine. I'm not saying to take them at base value." But it's worth certainly, I think, to be young people around the age of 11, 12, to kind of think about what other independent things that they're doing. So, for example, at that point, they kind of be transitioning to high age, and that quite often means getting themselves to school-on-school transport. So, it's a lot about talking about what they feel capable of managing themselves and what they feel they still need to board with. Kent Online News. The mum of a three-year-old girlfriend Beth is done, who died from cancerous thanks to the local community for their fundraising, including Paul Hollywood. The celebrity-maker shared a message on socials, encouraging people to support a football tournament in aid of sarcoma UK. A soft tissue sarcoma at just seven months old and died in January. We're being warned of more travel disruption as the Kingsbury Bridge on Sheppy is closing again from tonight. Network rail are carrying out vital repair work for the next eight days. It'll shut at 10 p.m. and reopen at 5 a.m. on July 28. A headteacher has been reflecting on her 25 years at a secondary school as she prepares to retire. Linda Weibar started in the role at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School and officially standing down at the end of August, she says a lot has changed in her time. When I first arrived, the buildings were in quite a decrepit state. We had a huge number of mobile classrooms, we had leaking roofs, we had a bit of boiler that didn't work, so something that we've worked on as a staff and it's a governing body over those 25 years is to try and improve the facilities. So we've now got fabulous, much newer buildings. These lovely old buildings have been renovated and you know a much more fit for purpose now. So I think the infrastructure of the school has changed enormously. The school has grown. So when I first arrived, there was just over 800, about 850 pupils. We're now 1100 and growing, so we now are a six form entry score from year seven upwards, although that's just started, so the first years of that will be in the year eight next year. We've had several off-site inspections, the last two of which have both been outstanding. But I think what's really important about the school is that the values haven't changed. So the school's motto is give your best and that's remained the same throughout all of that time. And right from the very beginning, we really prided ourselves on being a strong community. And I'd say that's still the most important thing to us. I think the standard moments are often lots of small things rather than one big one. And yes, the off-site outstandings are fabulous. But actually we often get far more pleasure out of seeing individuals really excel against the odds. So a child who's maybe had a difficult background or a difficult time doing really well, surprising themselves often. And I think a lot of that seeing young people achieve or show confidence in something that they didn't have before, those are the standout moments. So rather than one or two big ones, we celebrate those year and year out. SeaSight towns in Kent have been ranked as part of a national list by consumer group, which deal is 28th with a destination score of 74% based on things like hotel prices, beaches, and shopping. Duntaness and Broadstairs are also in the top 50. Ken's online sport. Football now, and it's another pre-season friendly for drilling him tomorrow afternoon. They take on championship side Watford at Priestfield. It follows their new, new draw against Millwall last weekend. Here's Jill's midfielder Ethan Coleman. As much as pre-season, we want to get into a momentum state where you're winning games about getting your fitness in. And especially as it being a first game fitness and also I guess building relationships on the pitch. Yeah, you're not 100%. We're the new players, especially as well. So, yeah, that's important. Millwall's the first time to kind of try any relationships. And I suppose you evolved during pre-season and even marks it to us on the first day of the record season. You're not going to be 100% involved. No, of course. Every game you hope to get better and that's what we're setting out to do. As I said, it's more about getting minutes in and not getting injured. But that's what the focus is. And we'll go out and hopefully do that. We've had a lot of internal meetings. What's been the main kind of messages, not just from the management, but from the capture these days and what's been the main message. I think consistency, perhaps? Yeah, consistency, I think, as well, we've had good meetings about words, key words that we're using as a team. And I think that's important because we've got to get an understanding as a team of how we want to play. And not only that is how we want to be off the pitch as well, I think that's massively important and I think that will help you as a team. Build that structure of success and build that structure of being generally good people. Kenny Jacket, you played with Kenny, under Kenny rather at late in Auburn. Yeah. And I think he probably had the saying you come into Jinningham, when he was here with his director of football, did you consider it a bit of a no-brainer? Yeah, of course, yeah. As soon as Kenny called me, I was straight away wanting to come and join. And especially at that time as well, when I did come in, we had, I think, 10 transfers in that January. It was around that, weren't it? We had to have a busy window good luck. Yeah, yeah. We would travel. Yeah. And that was really good because at that time as well, everyone was, spirits were so high and we were going into games thinking which is going to win. And that's the attitude that we would want to bring into this season as well. But yeah, it was definitely definitely a good time to come in to a winning and a happy squad. You won the players play the award. Players play the year award at the end of last season. Yeah. How nice was that for you? Of course, you won the award, any award to Captain, but it's come from your fellow pro. How much? And what was that for you? Yeah, I think, for me, that coming from them, I mean so much because you're with them all the time. You're with them then. They are out training, playing matches. And if they think of me like that, then that's fantastic. That's all I need to kick on and do well. If they've, I feel like it's all well and good. The gap for having confidence in you and trusting you, of course you need that. But I think as well, the main thing is the players trusting you and having that opinion of you because they're the ones you're playing with, they're the ones you're walking out with. And yeah, that's definitely one of the main things. Kickoff is at three. That's all from us today. And for the week, thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget you can follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and Threads. You can also get the details on the top stories direct to your email each morning via the briefing to sign up. Just head to kentonline.co.uk news you can trust. This is the Kent Online Podcast. [MUSIC]
