A videographer has hit back after complaints from several couples who were let down on their wedding day.
KentOnline has spoken to dozens of brides who've had issues with services provided by Wallflower Weddings, based in Tonbridge. We've also got their response.
Also in today's podcast, staff at a family hub in Margate say plans to cut more than half of their funding will be a huge blow for the community.
The Milmead site employs 27 paid workers as well as seven volunteers, providing support for parents, people with mental health issues and domestic abuse victims.
A motorcyclist who died in a crash near Canterbury has been described as a 'true gentleman'.
Russell Brown passed away in hospital seven days after being involved in a collision with a Range Rover on the A257.
A developer's been criticised by parents as a children's play area in Dartford remains fenced off for the second consecutive summer.
People living in Baker Crescent are now calling on the local council to take action.
A Rainham mum's urging us all to be safe in the sun after being diagnosed with skin cancer.
Natasha Eaton noticed a new mole on her tummy that started to get bigger. We've also been speaking to Cancer Research UK on the symptoms to look out for.
A food van run by volunteers at a youth football club in Medway has been broken into and vandalised.
Ketchup and mayo was smeared up the walls of Peckish at Woodpecker FC in Strood.
At the Olympics - Kent's Dina Asher-Smith goes in the semi-finals of the women's 200 metres later.
She made it through comfortably after finishing second in her heat.
And in football, Gillingham's pre-season friendlies finished with a 1-all draw at Woking over the weekend.
New loan signing Jacob Wakeling scored his first goal for the club.
We're going to start off with news that staff at a family hub in Margate say plans to cut more than half of their funding will be a huge blow for the community. The Millmeade site employs 27 paid workers as well as seven volunteers, but the most important thing is, you know, if you're not going to start off with your job, you are going to start off with news that staff at a family hub in Margate say plans to cut more than half of their funding will be a huge blow for the community. I think we're going to start off with the community. I think we're going to start off with the community. Providing support for parents, people with mental health issues and domestic abuse victims. Now Ken County Council fund more than 50% of its operations, but they've launched a consultation on plans not to renew the agreement. Local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has been speaking to Chloe Matthews. She got support from Millmeade family hub during her teenage pregnancy and now works in the pantry. I just come the heart of Millmeade. Like, Millmeade has been a big area that's always looked down upon. It's always judged and it's really not as bad as anyone says it is. But here makes it warm. It makes it welcoming. It makes out homely. And how did you feel when you heard about this consultation? Yeah, I cried to my line manager. I think it would have a massive impact. There is so many families in this community that do rely on this and offer so many different reasons. Now Council bosses say they desperately need to save money. And there's another site nearby that provides similar support. Jan Collins works at Millmeade family hub and says it's too far away for local parents. I think one is 1.5 miles. I think that people misunderstand what poverty does very often. They won't be able to do that because they're looking after their children and their tired. Very few people have cars and the bus services are pooling here now. KCC insist they will continue to provide essential services for families and young people in the area. But Labor Council at Barry Lewis says they're making a mistake by closing the family hub. Yeah, they give 225,000 pounds. And that's a bargain because if this shuts, it's going to cost much more than that in safeguarding issues. It's going to cost the NHS millions of pounds because people, this is our first protocol if there's a problem. Or keep you updated on that story. You can also watch Gabriel's report by clicking on the KMTV pages of Kent Online. Kent Online News. Kent teenager faces more time behind bars after being found to have downloaded and shared child abuse images. Jack Usher is already serving a sentence for a sex attack on a woman in Woodland on Romney Marsh. The 19 year old who used to live at Marsh Crescent admitted possessing the pictures. He's due to be sentenced later this month. Two men have been arrested following reports of an armed robbery at a post office in Fannett. Staff at the store on Ramsgate Road in Broadstairs were allegedly threatened with a knife before cash was stolen. The suspects left the scene on a moped and Ashford man who crashed into a parked car after going out for birthday drinks has been given a driving ban. Stefan Radcliffe was found to be over the limit when police were called to the collision in January. The 51 year old from Beaver Lane won't be able to get behind the wheel for two years. He's also been told to do unpaid work. A motorcyclist who died in a crash near Canterbury has been described as a true gentleman. Russell Brown passed away in hospital seven days after being involved in a collision with a Range Rover on the A257. The 58 year old sister-in-law is Natalie Newbury. He was kind. He was loving. He was full of life. He loved to sing. He loved to dance. He was the love of my sister's life. And they had a true love for each other that nothing can ever, ever take away. We're all truly, truly heart broken. And we feel like we've all got a hole in our heart at the minute. We really appreciate Natalie taking time to speak to the podcast. Crash investigators do still want to hear from any witnesses. Now, a developer has been criticized by parents as a child. And the children's play area in Darford remains fenced off for the second consecutive summer. People living in Baker Crescent are now calling on the local Council to take action. While our reporter Keeley Greenwood has been chatting to Mums, Louise Bonnello, and Jasmine Jackson. It's just disgraceful, really. Chris have had so much time to be able to fix the park and haven't done anything about it after constantly being chased and spoken to. They're happy to take the money when they build the houses. Why the hell aren't they? They resolve in the problem. Like we've got a park that's been unaccessible to our children for the best part. Well, it's actually been longer than two years, so probably about three, four years now because it was broken beforehand. It just needs to be resolved. And then when you first moved here, you were one of the first people here, you said, and they said there was going to be a park. So were you sort of pleased about that having little children? Yes, absolutely thrilled. And when my children were younger, we spent so much time here. It's not fair on their residents that have young children that can't access the park. Also, my children are older but they would still like to play in here. They come down and play football with their friends. They can't access it. It's just disgraceful. And it's just somewhere to just meet up and chat like one of the moms will say and sometimes the moms can come and chat while their kids are late. And you mentioned as well that it is a criteria that companies have to put a park in. And then they're not fulfilling it. No, no. And I think now's the time that like daf of barre camps will push crest and make an example of them. So they don't do this to anyone else because it can just keep going on and on in all different areas. If they build the house, houses, and then they're done, they've had their money, they've left the park, they've left it to get in the state. So now it's the time to cancel, need to push them as hard as they can and just show them that they can't get away with it. Gary Turner is the West Hill neighbourhood coordinator. Unfortunately, we've been brought here again to raise the awareness that this park is still closed after 15 months. And what we're learning is there's actually an accountability of cross Nicholas and the developer. Section 106, I believe, is the notice, which means that they have a obligation to the local residents to keep this park maintained and fit for purpose. And we just can't believe, to be honest, we're still here. After challenging them, you know, trying to work them. I know the council's been trying to speak to them, but how are they allowed to get away with kicking this can down the road? I just don't understand. Chris Nicholson have apologised for the delay in reopening the play area and works underway to replace some equipment. Kent Online reports. This is our most read story on the website today. A videographer has hit back after complaints from several couples who were let down on their wedding day where Lucy joins me now with more on this for the podcast. So Lucy, what exactly are people saying? Well, Kent Online has spoken to dozens of brides who have had issues with services provided by Wallflower weddings based in Tumbridge. One of the couples, Janaya and Jake, paid £600 to the woman who runs the company, Sarah Stanton, only to receive an email on the morning of their wedding saying she couldn't make it. Jason Conner also received a cancellation message on their big day, which they described as very flaky. Another bride who didn't want to be named says she and her husband have been waiting over a year for her wedding video to be edited and sent over. And what impact has this had on people, Lucy? Well, as you can imagine, it's caused a lot of stress for couples who are celebrating such an important day. Some of them received the messages in the early hours of the morning, leaving them rushing to find a replacement when they should have been enjoying getting ready to get married. Others were uncertain if Sarah was going to turn up. Some of the reasons she gave included family emergencies and issues with pets. And I understand we've spoken to Sarah to get her side of things. Yes, that's right. She hasn't exactly explained why she left it until the day of the weddings to cancel, but says she has refunded everyone she let down. She started her business in 2021 and says she wanted to provide beautiful, high-quality wedding videos that fit within any budget, but was left struggling to cover the costs. Sarah now claims to be suffering from abuse and slander from couples, which has affected her mental health. She's increased her prices so she can outsource the editing to try and get videos back to people more quickly. Lucy, thank you ever so much. A teenage boy's died after his thought. He inhaled deodorant at his home in Canterbury. 13-year-old Nikki Lauver, who went to Canterbury Academy, has been described as happy and cheeky by his family. A petition's been started calling for an age restriction on the sale of aerosols. It's been signed by more than 2,000 people. There are calls for a review of a busy road in D. L. Mids concerns for the safety of pedestrians. People living near the A258 London road have reported badly parked cars, narrow pavements and a lack of places to cross. Data shows 15 incidents over the last five years. Roadsposters say they'll work with the town council to discuss and design solutions. There are calls again for dog owners to keep pets on leads near sheep following yet another fatal attack in Kent. One animal died in the most recent incident at Wolverton Farm near Dover. The farmer there is calling for anyone using the footpath on the edge of his field to show more respect. Ken's online reports. Now, a rainer mum's urging us all to be safe in the sun after being diagnosed with skin cancer. Natasha Eaton noticed a new mole on her tummy that started to get bigger. Tess later revealed it was a melanoma and had spread and that left her needing a mastectomy. I've been chatting to Natasha about her story. It was pretty much two years ago. It was the year I was 20-40 and it was our 10th different anniversary as well. And I noticed the mole had come up on my tummy. I didn't really think too much of it. I think I didn't vaguely towards the end of August. I thought, oh, it's got a lot, it changed quite a bit. And because of the celebrations and things that were happening that year, I'd been sort of tracking myself by taking photos to see progress. So I could look back and see that the mole had actually changed quite a bit since maybe sort of April time. And so I when they had it checked, they weren't too concerned, but they kind of thought, you know, until it's removed, can't tell. And when it was removed, it was, I got had a phone call to say, can you bring someone with you when you come to get your results? And as soon as you get that phone call you just think, this is not going to be good news. So it was stage 2B melanoma. I then had to have a sentinel infamid biopsy, which tracks where that piece of skin drowns to in your lymphatic system. And when they did that biopsy, they found that it actually grants my lymph nodes. So it becomes stage three. So I was off of this, there's a new form of treatment that they're filing called immunotherapy. And I had six months of immunotherapy. But unfortunately, in November 2023, one morning getting ready for school, my daughter noticed a tiny little lump that had come up on my nipple. Just randomly, she said, Mommy, what's that? What's that? And I was like, I don't know. Panic setting, afraid my team. And they were amazing. Had me up there that day. Got the results of that biopsy. And it was the melanoma had come back. And when they'd also done a full body scan, they noticed there was a pocket in my breast that they weren't sure about. So we biopsied that. And on the second of January, I found out that I had melanoma in my breast as well. So they're forced into me to tumor of melanoma in my breast. So I had a single side mistake to me on the 15th of January. Is that quite unusual, Natasha? Because I'd not heard before that, you know, that the cancer could spread like that or be found in raw, particularly within the breast. It sounds quite unusual. It is quite unusual. But I think the thing that we all sort of forget is that it's on skin. And our skin is our biggest organ. So I think that's also one of the things about melanoma is that it can just, I think they say the symbol of melanoma is one of those. Dandy, do you know like the fairies that kids chase? Because you know when you blow them, they just go everywhere, don't they? And you never know where the seeds are going to pop up. And I think that's what happens with melanoma. It just, it can just appear anywhere. So while it's unusual to spread to the breast, it does happen. Obviously, it's happy to me. I'm not the first person it's happened to. So, yeah, it's not something you hear about on a daily basis, because obviously we will see or we generally associate mastectomy breast cancer, which I haven't had. I've actually had skin cancer in my breast. And obviously, it's great that you're raising awareness. We've had some really hot weather at the moment. We always associate melanomas with sun and exposure to the sun. Is that something that you had done when you were younger? Have you always liked being out in the sun or were you normally quite, quite careful? As a child of the 80s, we didn't, you know, we weren't as aware or there wasn't as much information as we've got now. So, you know, I remember going to the beach with my brother, I've been in on holiday. I wouldn't say I've ever been a sunworship. I can't sit in the sun, especially since having children. I mean, there's no, I just, I get too touchy sitting in the sun. I'll be, you know, I did do some beds. I had a course of some beds before I got married. And I think I, I now look back, I think I was really naive because I thought it's never going to happen to me. I could probably give you a list of maybe 50 other people that I would have thought would have ended up in a situation and not me. We really appreciate Natasha sharing all that information with us to raise awareness. Well, Beth Vincent is from Cancer Research UK and she's been telling us specifically what to look out for. There are a few different signs and symptoms of skin cancer. Lots of us are familiar with a new or a changing mole or something that could be a sign of skin cancer, but it's not just that. It's actually any unusual change to a patch of your skin. That could be a patch of skin that changes color. It could be a new mark or a freckle. It could be an ulcer, a sore that doesn't heal or is very itchy or scabbing over for a really long time or even a lump. Basically, anything unusual for you when it comes to your skin, please talk to your doctor. It probably won't be cancer, but if it is, spotting it early can make all the difference. I suppose it can be tempting to put things off, can't it? If we're sort of worried about something, we're in denial a little bit or we think, oh, this isn't going to be anything. I'll just ignore it. But how dangerous can that be? Yeah, you're absolutely right. It can be really easy for us to kind of hope for the best. And I really do understand that. But when it comes to cancer, the earlier we spotted it, the more likely treatment is to be successful. And in lots of times, most cases, in fact, it probably isn't going to be cancer, but spotting it early really can make a huge, huge difference. So you know your body best. You know if something's not right for you, if that happens, please do talk to your doctor. And is there a specific type of person who's more at risk of skin cancer? I mean, is it just people who love to get out and sunbathe or should we all be thinking about it? Everybody needs to be thinking about sun safety. So melanoma, which I'm talking about today and is the most serious type of skin cancer, actually around nine in 10 cases of melanoma could be prevented by staying safe in the sun. And that goes for everybody. And when I say staying safe in the sun, what I mean is spending time in the shade, especially in the middle of the day, covering up with clothes that happen, sunglasses, and also applying sunscreen generously and regularly. And we actually need to be thinking about that from mid-March right the way through to mid-October, not just on those really hot sunny days. So everybody, please think about it. But you are correct. Some people are at an especially high risk. And those people are people with a lighter skin tone, light coloured hair or eyes, lots of moles or freckles, a personal history of sunburn and a family history of skin cancer. So those people, please do take extra care, but everybody should be doing those three steps to sun safety. Kent Online News. The police helicopters been used to search for suspects after a man was attacked by two men on motorbikes. It happened in Lodge Hill Lane in Chathamdon yesterday afternoon, so far. It happened in Lodge Hill Lane in Chathamdon over the weekend, so far no one's been arrested. The people behind a huge housing development in Faversham say it'll be one of the most environmentally friendly net zero neighbourhoods in the UK. Prince William's Dutchy of Cornwall have come up with the plans for land near Brenley Corner. They also claim there'll be 20 percent fewer car trips compared to similar-sized estates by encouraging the use of public transport or walking. A made stone office block is set to be converted into flats. Priori Gate on Union Street was built in the early 90s, but several units have been vacant for the past couple of years. The owners say the site could be turned into 15 apartments. Next, and a food van, run by volunteers in a youth football club in Medway has been broken into and vandalised. Ketchup and mayo was made up the walls of Peckish at Woodpecker FC in Strewd. Hot dogs, buns and around 70 cans of drink were also stolen. Well, our reporter Ellie Hodgson has been speaking to the chairman of Woodpecker FC, Michael Winfield and Carly Loden, who's the Peckish manager. Just a devastation, you know, you work so hard and you're doing it for, you know, none of us getting paid for it. We're doing it just to put something back into our community, et cetera, and then you see that devastation on there. It just breaks your heart when you do it. I took it personally. I'm not going to lie. I took it really personally. I felt like it had happened. It was mine and it happened to me, really. It made me cry, if I'm honest. Yeah. It was just the pointless, the pointlessness of it. Do you know what I mean? Just for fun. What, five minutes of fun? But what they, but the damage they've caused, you know, it will take a lot longer than five minutes to put right. I think it's just that now it's made us so aware, you know, I'm coming down here on a regular basis almost daily. Just checking the site, which is hard when you've got your own full time job as well. And I'm coming down here and just checking, make sure the site's safe and secure. You know, they try to obviously break into our stories container. And it's now just got to a point where we've always had the trespass before and during the school holidays. And whilst it's just a bit of an irritation, they've never really caused a problem because they've not been causing any damage, just lots of litter everywhere, etc, which we end up tidying up, which is fine. But now that we're experiencing or on the wrong end of criminal damage now, it's taking things to a different level now. And when we're just, we just can't be comfortable with these people coming over into the field, if that's how they're going to treat it. What is your sort of intentional message through doing this story? If there are the people out there that hear about this on a different level, you know, what would that you like them to think or do? Or what would you like to come from this story? I'd just like to think about, I'd just like them to think about their actions, really. You know, for every action, there's a consequence. And you know, what they may have seen as a bit of fun, the consequences to us are massive. And that's what they don't realise. You know, they might have been in there for five, ten, fifteen minutes trashing the place and thinking it's a great laugh. But they don't have an idea of the impact it has on us as a football club. And the wider community that come and support the football club. A lorry park off the M20 is set to double in size. Plans have been submitted to increase capacity at the Road Chef Services near Maidstone and Hollingbourne from 55 lorries to 106. It's hoped it will reduce the number of HGVs parking in unsuitable locations. A rare bird that used to be extinct in Kent has hatched for the first time in 200 years. The nest of red-billed chuffs was found at Dover Castle in May, a year after they were introduced as part of a rewilding project. The birth is being seen as a major milestone. And a Kent beach has been named today as one of the best in the world. Dungeness is on a list of the 50 greatest beaches in the telegraph. It's been praised for its unique landscapes and wildlife. Ken's online sport. We're starting off at the Olympics and Ken's Dina Asher Smith goes in the semi-finals of the women's 200 metres later. She made it through comfortably after finishing second in her heat yesterday. It was after a disappointing 100 though for the sprinter who failed to make the final. Meantime, Pembroz Emily Craig has been speaking after winning gold. She narrowly missed out on a medal with partner imaging grant in Tokyo, but there was no doubt with Friday's win in the double lightweight skulls. I'm not sure if a leather fully sink in. It just feels too unbelievable that we did it. We were unbeaten for three years and finished it off with the quite an epic final. Emily, what have the past three years been like for you mentally just bouncing back from that? I think it's been a really interesting journey. I think at some point last year when we kind of had gone through a year unbeaten and then another half of a year unbeaten and we were coming up to Worlds and I suddenly had this realisation of like, oh my god, I'm the athlete. I had always dreamed of being. Oh god, it doesn't get any easier. Oh no. Luckily, I think we've kind of moved past that this year and really kind of just leaned into enjoying it a lot more and that final was really satisfying because I think it was just us at our best. What do you mean by it doesn't get any easier? Well, you kind of think like, you look at crews who, you know, win consistently like in the past, you know, watching their Heather and Helen race, watching like Eric and, um, yeah, Paymish race and the Kiwi pair and you kind of think they make it look so easy and then you get there and you realise there's so much hard work to stay there on top. Emily, it's been such an incredible time. These past few weeks for the Rowan team. What has kind of sparked that do you think? Um, I think it's really been the culmination of a great three years as a team. Um, we, you know, we had our new performance director, Louise, come in, new head coach for the women's team, Andrew Randall and, you know, it's just being up and up and up and, you know, Tokyo, we came away with no medals on the women's side and now we have two gold medals, a silver and a bronze and God, I, God, I hope that women's eight comes home with a medal because it will just be incredible. As you mentioned there, the women's eight. They did go on to win a medal. They got bronze while the men took gold onto football now. Angelingham's preseason friendly is finished with the one or draw at Woking over the weekend. New loan signing Jacob Wakeling scored his first goal for the club and manager Mark Bonner spoke to our reporter Luke Cordell after the final whistle. You have two different kind of games, haven't you? You're at Southampton in the weekend and this one, the weekend and very different games with it. Are you really different, like really different? I think Southampton might have 11 entries into the final third, 90 minutes and they probably have 11 in the first 15 minutes because it's like a much more direct game. But I think that's what we set preseason for really. You try and get lots of different types of game in. You don't want the same thing lots of time. You try and mirror that you're going to play against different things throughout the year, different types of teams, different styles and it allows us to work on many different things and I think I've said all the way through five weeks in without full availability of players as well, we're going to end up keep developing and improving in lots of situations. So we've got to try and make sure that at best level we can be to get a good result next week and then same again and rinse repeat for every three days for about nine months. So yeah, I like the fact that we've played different types of game. I like that this one was today because it's more like a league game will look, I think and we've got to make it the best version of us in a game like that from next week. Are we just trying to assess the whole of preseason? Difficult to yeah, if you were dangerous to to be honest, I think some people some people can go into the season feeling really happy about themselves and some really desperate about more goodness. Where are we as a team? Like you see that across the board. I mean, in the end, we've done five weeks of really good work building some partnerships, building some understanding in our style, loads of improvements still to make. I'm really happy with the lads. I've really enjoyed working with them and I'm really looking forward to see the behavioural shift that happens now because the pressure starts and we've got to be fearless and go for games in the right way and we've got to show real real personality and our performances. Players will start to not make teams and maybe not come on and the fairness and the equal preseason time that's there goes and then you start to see that's where the spirit of the team gets built. Yeah, we've got a great first month to look forward to. So really looking forward to a busy week and to prepare for that and then for that being the first in many games. As you heard the Jules get their league two campaign underway against Carlisle next Saturday. Cricket and Kent have lost their latest one day cut match against Middlesex. The Spitfires will bowled out for 204 at Beckinham. The visitors beat that target within 32 over as next up is a trip to Worcestershire on Wednesday and Ken Zack Crawley has been ruled out of the upcoming test series between England and Sri Lanka. Googling batters got a fractured finger, but that's all from us for today. Thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget, you can follow us on Facebook X Instagram, TikTok and threads. You can also get details on the top stories, direct your email each morning via the briefing to sign up to that you just need to head to kentonline.co.uk News you can trust. This is the Kent Online Podcast.
