It has been revealed 12-hour corridor waits at East Kent Hospitals are now the third worst in England.
Figures show the trust that runs A&E departments in Margate and Ashford is struggling with the persistent strain on its services.
A man in his 40s has died in a house fire in Faversham.
There was a huge emergency response when the blaze broke out on Salters Lane in the early hours of Saturday.
A charity worker from Herne Bay says she has been assaulted by people who were accusing her of being a 'dirty immigrant'.
Maya runs a community support centre and free shop in the town, and has also been abused online after a video was shared on social media.
A disabled man has criticised Ashford Borough Council after being told he cannot live in his dead dad's bungalow.
Rob Pollock has osteoarthritis, and wanted to move into his father's house in Charing because of his mobility issues and the memories attached.
The new Labour MP for Ashford, Sojan Joseph, has joined a campaign for Eurostar trains to stop in Kent again.
The service stopped calling at Ashford and Ebbsfleet International stations during Covid, but thousands of people have signed a petition for it to resume.
New speed restrictions are set to come into force in parts of Sevenoaks.
A number of roads are being reduced to 20 miles per hour in a bid to improve safety and reduce pollution.
And in football, Gillingham got off to a great start in the new league two season with a 4-1 win over Carlisle United.
Hear from manager Mark Bonner, who took charge of his first game for the Gills at the weekend.
Head on line news news you can trust this is the Kent online podcast Lucy Hickmott hello hope you're okay and had a lovely weekend in the sunshine thanks ever so much for downloading today's podcast on Monday the 12th of August. Our top story 12 hour corridor weights at East Kent hospitals are now the third worst in England figures show the trust that runs any departments in Margate and Ashford is struggling with the persistent strain on its services Kate's been looking at the data last month 1,085 patients were left waiting 12 hours or more to be admitted to award only Birmingham and Sussex Hospital Trust recorded a higher number the figure for East Kent is up 34% on July last year and has been above a thousand every month since November elsewhere at Medway maritime 661 patients were left waiting for at least 12 hours it was 149 for dartford engravesham NHS trust and just 35 for maids donut and tumbrid wells. So why does there seem to be a particular problem in East Kent? Well a major factor is thought to be so called bed blocking that's when patients who no longer need treatment are kept in hospital because there's no suitable place for them to go such as a care home or specially adapted accommodation it means others who need to be admitted to a water force to endure long weights and corridor care which has been described as dehumanizing by leading medics recruitment and retention of staff is also believed to be an issue MPs in the area have met with the trust CEO to discuss their concerns and have we had a response from the trust yes a spokesperson says their performance is improving with 12 hour corridor weights falling two months in a row but they admit there is much more that they can do to tackle the ongoing issues the statement goes on to say more than three quarters of all patients in our urgent and emergency care department are currently being seen treated and discharged or admitted within four hours they're also increasing their same day emergency care service and supporting patients at home. Thanks Kate and you can read some of the first hand accounts from people who've had long weights in A&E in our story on the main page of our website Kent online reports two people have died in the channel in what the government's described as a tragic incident involving a small boat around 50 others were rescued from the vessel which got into trouble in French waters yesterday morning another 703 asylum seekers successfully crossed to the UK the government say they're doing everything they can to stop people smugglers a jury's founder serving Kent police officer not guilty of misconduct 47 year old Matthew Peel who's based in Canterbury was accused of pursuing an inappropriate relationship with a witness as part of a burglary investigation he was suspended from duty when he was charged a man in his 40s has died in a house fire in favisium it broke out on Salters Lane in the early hours of Saturday Ellie Hodgson's been speaking to Tom Edwards who's an area manager for Kent fire and rescue we remain aware of a large fire a residential property attended and at the height of the fire we had ten fire engines a height vehicle and various other support vehicles at the scene that also included our volunteer response team who were there sporting local residents from the impacts of the fire so you had sort of ten vehicles at its height how many crew approximately do you think were sort of attending so if we had 10 10 fire engines plus the others there I would estimate between 50 and 65 fighters were there at the height of the fire yes so I imagine you don't know exactly what the cause was at the moment no the purpose of the investigation is to find out the cause we earlier had a warning informed for the local community to remain indoors and keep their doors and windows shut you to the smoke and this has now been lifted so residents don't know where it's going to be needed to do that police say a report will be prepared for the coroner Kent online news a 14 year old boy from Tumbridge Wells has been charged in relation to disorder following the Southport stabbings he's due in court along with a 41 year old man also from Tumbridge Wells they're accused of being involved in riots in Whitehall in London on July 31 meantime a man arrested at a demonstration in Chatham last Wednesday has been jailed for 14 weeks it comes as the Archbishop of Canterbury's condemned the use of religious imagery during riots and labeled the far right on Christian writing in the Guardian Justin Welby says violence unrest has been racist and anti Muslim he says Christian iconography's been exploited by the far right which is an offense to the faith an inquest is her details about the death of a retired GP and his wife in sandwich Brian and dillis Richards who were in their 90s were found dead at their home in the butchery last month a post mortems revealed he died from a gunshot wound while she suffered chemical poisoning a full inquest will be held in October at the time police said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious now a charity worker from her base as she's been assaulted by people who were accusing her of being a dirty immigrant Maya runs a community support centre in free shop in the town she says it all started a couple of weeks ago when she and her husband were verbally abused and threatened near the sea front a video was then apparently posted online and they got hateful comments on social media Maya says it got even worse a few days later when she was targeted at work they were driving by on the cars telling me that I'm a dirty foreign immigrant I have to take about constant abuse and threats in the food bank I'm still like holding on I'm still working regardless as I know I can't close the food banks along Monday one of them attended where I am I was outside packing some bread for the food bank and you threatened me he abused me but and each time they do something I thought like it can't get any worse it can get any worse than this my kids like we leave here we leave on top of the food bank and what happened Monday night it was at 10 p.m. as usual I finished the food bank I'd gone to my spot it's just three minutes walk it's a sea I love the sea and I was walking it was 10 p.m. there is a place just in front of the cap it's like a garden I realized someone is following me it was three of them standing behind me with like black what you call them Balaklava or what they are I've seen their eyes but I try not to look in there because it's obviously doesn't matter how strong I am I'm on my own there and it's three of them and it's my town why I have to be scared to go at 10 p.m. to my favorite bench just to watch the sea and then they literally in front of me is like garden and the sea I can't go anywhere they behind me three of them so they came down the stairs they were they pushed me to the ground and one of them was standing up watching the area looking to the right left and the two of them was crouching down leaning on me telling me that sea is right there and I have to take the boat they said you are dirty foreign immigrant you're gonna take the boat I learned is that if you're not going to take it we're going to come and finish it off and it was a lot of dirty abuse they were kicking me they were pushing me it was about 10 minutes they were abusing me but what also was Sunday night they broke the door off my flat on top of the food bank there is glass panel door they broke the glass panels and I was only lucky because I have locks at the bottom at the top they broke the glass panels but they reached the middle log but they couldn't reach the top and the bottom through that panels and then my fire alarm gone off my kids still scared they said mom are they gonna burn us alive are they gonna burn us alive they like my middle one she couldn't sleep they invaded my privacy they invited my home they invaded they abused my body they abused me mentally physically I feel sick and disgust and they were saying it's because I'm from Muslim country yes I'm from Muslim country I mean UK for 15 years I don't claim benefit when I didn't have money when all this cost of living started I didn't claim benefits I opened the food banks I was working all this time I didn't come here on the boat I have British passport police say they're investigating and providing support to the victims the suspected arson attack has also been reported to officers can't online reports and investigations underway after a suspicious fire at a housing development in Folkestone firefighters were called to tackle a blaze at a building site in Pondhill roads near the Shoncliffe Heights estate on Saturday night we're told construction materials had caught a light okra from she and s is avoided jail after stealing 12,000 pounds from an elderly couple with dementia 29 year old Jodi Percival from Bramley way was charged with fraud by abusive position another woman had previously been ordered to pay back just one pound elsewhere today a disabled man has criticized Ashford Barra council after being told he can't live in his dead dad's bungalow Rob Pollock has austere arthritis and wanted to move into his father's house in charring because of his mobility issues and the memories attached he suggested buying it or swapping with his current council home and described bosses as heartless for not allowing it I met other people who spoke to me and they've been in the same situation and I don't see if there's a problem if it's life to like and I don't see what the problem is because they've still got it's like mine I've got two bedroom bungalow and this is two bedroom bungalow I've just been updated since I've been updated for years and I've offered to pay to update this fine and pay so my one redecorated so that what I've got to do is to get it out I haven't got to spend my money whatsoever they just not in between in it so they won't even sit down well they haven't even sat down and spoke to us about it they just said it's got to go back up again but it's better for me and there's a lot of family history and I'm here so I'm here with that woman allowed because when I'm here he's still with me the council say there's high demand for accommodation and they must offer it using their letting's policy to ensure fairness and transparency there are currently more than 400 eligible people on the waiting list for a bungalow Kent Online News a memorial tree planted in memory of a preschool volunteer has been stolen as his family pays tribute to him dimpool's day nursery near Darkford planted the apple tree for the 89 year old who'd volunteer there since it opened in 2022 the school and family say they couldn't believe it had been taken leaving his plaque behind residents and businesses are preparing for a two month road closure as gas works on the 8251 start today the road near favisum is closing in phases meaning drivers will have to take a 21 mile diversion between Canterbury this summer. The first phase has seen the stretch shut from the motorway slip road towards Ashford. The new labour MP for Ashford has joined a campaign for Eurostar trains to stop in Kent again. The service stopped calling at Ashford and EBS fleet international stations during Covid nearly 60,000 people have signed a petition urging the company to restore it his MP so jon joseph. During the pandemic the number of travels gone down but that's changed now it's what I understand is the service is back in profit now and also and I believe the new government is attempting to improve the relationship with the europe which was damaged after the Brexit. It's going to help as well so we may get more travel between the UK and Europe so there is still a potential for the services to return so it's about I mean I don't know if you're aware there was a survey done among the businesses I think it was around hundreds of businesses involved in that survey support that the service to return. There's a campaign group collected signatures around 50,000 people signed that campaign supporting the Eurostar to return so it's very much supported by the public, the businesses so it is for the Eurostar to I'm sure they are aware of this. So the the economy is changing, the relationship with the europe is changing so there is a potential for the service to return. This is not just an ashford issue this is the whole of canned benefit from this travel so the first steps I think is around working together collectively with the other members of parliament from this area like Fox turn Dover and other many other MPs in this area. This is not just a Labour party issue, it's a cross party support we need to gain and we collectively have a conversation with the Eurostar meeting with the railway minister which which I had some communications already related to the Eurostar. So I think that's the first step to take and to take it from there and speak to the Eurostar for us and and look into the other options. A spokesperson for Eurostar says trains won't be stopping in Kent until at least the end of 2025. Kent's online reports. There are calls for toilets on part of the Kent coast to be upgraded after complaints about waste washing down nearby steps. The overflow reported by visitors was coming from public facilities in Botany Bay in Broadstairs which is a blue flag beach the council has been asked for a comment. Plans for a solar farm the size of 86 football pitches on high grade farmland near Sittingborne have been rejected. Developers were told it should be on roofs and car parks instead but industrious solar vego limited insist it would have created enough power for 11,500 homes. The site is very close to the boundary of the Kent Downs National Landscape. You'll start to see new signs going up if you live in Seven Oaks ahead of more roads becoming 20 miles per hour zones. Work starts this week and drivers will be given a month to get used to the change before it's enforced from October. Experts say a pedestrian is five times more likely to die if they're hit by a car traveling at 30 miles per hour rather than 20. A reporter Oliver Lieder Desacks has been speaking to Richard Street Field who's the County Council at Seven Oaks Town. It'll be safer because there will be fewer accidents and fewer serious accidents as a result of the speed restrictions. It'll be cleaner because cars will be producing less pollution less fuel will be used across the town. It'll also be a lot quieter because at 20 miles an hour you can hear the difference and town will be get back some of its calmness and its tranquility. We see a scheme like this rolled out across the country to kind of mix and reaction. What do you think will work well here in the County of Seven Oaks? They may have more of you well received from other places. I think it's going to be really well received here because we've gone through four years of consultation in order to produce the scheme. It's got cross-party support. Four years ago I promised to support the petitioners in their efforts to get a 20 mile an hour scheme and it's gone through three consultations and cross-party scrutiny on the Joint Transportation Board. So it's the town that's decided this and we're really pleased to be able to introduce it because it will make a real difference to active travel in the town, to people's feeling of security in the town and to people's safety in the town. The impetus for it came from 1800 petitioners and they, parents, they're elderly, they all saw good reason for reducing the speed across the town and politically I agree with them and therefore I used my member's grant money to provide not only the design work for the scheme but also to consult more widely because it shouldn't have been just the 1800 petitions who had the chance to have their say it was necessary for everybody to have their say and they did and had that opportunity and we got a level of response across the town that demonstrated that there was widespread support for a 20 mile an hour scheme in residential areas close to schools and one that affected the whole of the town. What will be the outcome that residents will hopefully see come October and in the next couple of months that we start to see these signs roll around. It's going to say we're going to see action beginning to happen from the middle of August with the new gateways going in, residents will see signs and lines going on to the roads in residential areas, round schools that across the town. There's a bedding in period of a month through September where residents will get used to driving at new speeds. Clearly for somebody who's been driving on the same roads for 50 years it's going to take time for them to get used to the new speed but by October the 1st we'll be ready for enforcement and that means that residents will have to drive at those speeds from October the 1st. And a yellow heat, health alerts in force across Kent as temperatures saw were being urged to keep an eye on those who are vulnerable. Kent's online sport. Football and Gillingham got off to a great start in the new league two season with a 4-1 win over Carlisle United. Tim Deans scored the first goal for the duels in the second minute with their other goals coming in the second half. It was the first match for new manager Mark Bonner who spoke to us afterwards. We're really pleased because I think it's a tough, tough team, a tough first game on a difficult afternoon in terms of weather and things like that. So you know with one or two that have played today that we've pushed into the team and had to change things around with a profile of our number nine's recently. Boys have dug in and found a really good level at times in the game. We have moments where we've found it difficult obviously against good sides but if you'd have offered us this at the start of the day we would actually chew in your arm off for it. So yeah like I've said this before the connection with the team will build. This place will be bouncing if we get it right. There'll be even more people here. The noise levels will get even better as the season goes on. But for people to come out, game one and see us score four goals three at that end I think really important. We want to break lots of myths that exist in this team. We want to build our own little records as we go. So to score four goals today excellent and I think the supporters enjoyed what they saw. Probably our best part of the game was the very beginning and then they didn't like us after we scored. I really liked how we started the second half and I thought the third goal was so important and when we got it that killed them a little bit mentally and we were excellent and we got to play with that sort of vigor when the game's a little bit more in the balance. Really really good start for us game one. Loads to get better at which is normal but yeah the lads are delighted as they should be and now 45 more to go. They're in Carabao Cup action tomorrow night as they travel to Swansea City and in cricket it's been a mixed weekend for Kent in the one day cup. They beat Derbyshire away from home on Friday but lost to Durham at Canterbury yesterday. The Spitfires finished their campaign against Northamptonshire later this week. That's all from us 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 just head to kentonline.co.uk news you can trust. This is the Kent online podcast.
