A Canterbury man says he's faced a seven-month battle after receiving a water bill for more than £3,200.
It's because of a leak outside his Airbnb property in Whitstable.
A leading Kent charity is again calling for safe and legal routes for refugees after a seven-year-old girl died while trying to cross from northern France.
The boat she was in capsized with 16 people in board.
A Kent campaigner is calling for paid leave for parents who lose a baby in early pregnancy.
Keeley Lengthorn suffered three miscarriages in three years, but she wasn't entitled to any time off after her son George was stillborn at 23 weeks.
As we mark 200 years of the RNLI, volunteers in Kent say not everyone understands what they do.
Lifeboat crews are called out to emergencies at sea - but they're not paid for their work.
A couple from West Malling have been left without their pension for a month after an error by Royal Mail.
Trevor and Christine Wells paid for their post to be kept in a secure place while they were on holiday, but some if it was accidentally returned to the sender.
A florist in Headcorn is celebrating 25 years of business.
Sweet William was set up by Julia Archer in 1999.
And in football, Gillingham are back in the League Two play-off places after beating Salford City away from home.
Goals from Shad Ogie and Tim Dieng gave the Gills a 2-0 lead in torrential rain and hailstones at the Peninsula Stadium.
10. Kent Online News News you can trust. This is the Kent Online Podcast. Lucy Hickmott Hello, hope you're okay and had a good weekend. Thanks ever so much for downloading today's podcast on Monday the 4th of March. A leading charity in Kent is calling for safe and legal routes for refugees. After a 7-year-old girl died while trying to cross from northern France, the boat she was in capsized with 16 people on board. Earlier I spoke to Kay Marsh from Samfyre in Dover. This will be the second loss of life, actually, in the last week. I believe it's four people now on two separate occasions, obviously after the incident on Wednesday. This one being a small child, it just makes it that more traumatic and horrendous, really. Yeah, absolutely. It doesn't bear thinking about that family because she was with her mom who I think was pregnant, her dad and three siblings as well. Yeah, it really does hit home though, doesn't it? How desperate somebody has to be to bring their entire family, their children, their pregnant wife and put them in that situation. Nobody would do that unless there was no other choice, basically. This just goes to show that these people really don't have any other choice. The threat of Rwanda or the other various deterrent strategies that we've offered as a country really aren't doing the job, we know that. We need to start. We need compassion. This is children losing their lives and this really needs to be a turning point. I've said it so many times before, but it does. Yeah, and as you say, this is the second fatal incident in the channel in the space of a week, which seems really shocking. Yes, it does. It just goes to show how unpredictable this crossing is. Do you know what I mean? It's cold and I was on a ferry in the middle of the night, a few days ago myself actually from France to Dover and to see the conditions, it is pitch black. There is no light. It is freezing cold, windy, wet. It's terrifying. It's absolutely terrifying the thought that people are out there on these little boats risking their lives. Do you think maybe it has hit home with people a little bit more, hearing about this little girl who was only seven years old for someone so young to lose their life trying to get to the UK? I would certainly hope so. Very often when things like this happen released in the past, we have seen people perhaps acting and speaking a little more compassionately about people in these situations. However, I think it happens so often now that people with, say, anti-myron views in this country are just becoming used to it and even these circumstances aren't bringing that compassion up, if you will, for people anymore. When something like this happens, we always say, we hope this is going to be a catalyst for change. We hope this is going to change the way that the government looks at migration and migration policy. Of course, it doesn't. The more desensitized people become, especially policymakers, the less chance that there is of that happening. Figures show 327 people in eight other boats made the dangerous journey across the channel. Yesterday, the government insist their Rwanda bill will help tackle the problem. It's been debated again in The House of Lords this evening. Three people have been arrested after a man was stabbed in Ramsgate. Armed officers were called following the attack in Hearst Grove early yesterday morning. The victims being treated in hospital for injuries that aren't thought to be life-threatening. Three men and a woman from Gravesend have been arrested after a fight at a bar in Maidstone. Violence broke out at Moo Moo in the town centre on Saturday evening. Police are also hunting another man. Now, a fundraising page has been set up to help pay for the funeral of a 16-year-old girl who died in a crash on the A249 near Sittingborne. Alicia Marie Ponte was a passenger in a vehicle that hit a road barrier and overturned near the stock we round about last month. Family and friends want to raise £7,000 to give her a good send-off. This is one of our most read stories today. A Canterbury man says he's faced a seven-month battle after receiving a water bill for more than £3,000. It's because of a leak outside his Airbnb property in Wistable. Lauren joins me now with more details. So how did this all come about? Well, Ian Shearer says he only noticed the issue when his monthly direct debit went up from £50 to £1,800. He went to check the reading and find water pouring out of a meter and into a drain near the property on Victoria Street. He tried to get in touch with the company in charge of supplies - business stream last July - but says he heard nothing back for weeks as his bill rose to more than £3,200. The 57-year-old teacher insists he shouldn't have to pay it as the leak was not his fault and did not occur on his property. And I understand the situation escalated even further. Yes, that's right. Ian says when he refused to pay the money, he started receiving demanding texts and calls from a debt collection agency. It weighed heavily on his mental health and also caused a lot of stress for his family. When Kent Online contacted business stream, they agreed to pay him a leak alliance of just under a thousand pines. But after further inquiries, a customer service representative said an additional credit in the region of 1600 pines would be applied to his account. So what happened to the leak? Well, apparently Southeast Water, who are the wholesale provider, had issues gaining access due to the location of the meter. They eventually had to get a road closure permit in order to fix the leak. It's now been repaired and business stream have apologized to Mr Shearer for the delays. Thanks Lauren. Head over to the website to see a video of a tree falling down a cliff during a landslide in Folkestone. It landed just meters away from people walking along a path that sunny Sands Beach. Residents say they're worried after a number of landslips in the town recently. Council bosses have been approached for a comment. A cat said to have her eye removed after being dumped in an alleyway in a Kent village. Freya was found in a poor condition off the high streets in hauling. The RSPCA say her injury could have been caused by deliberate cruelty. She's getting treatment to their site in labone. A Kent campaigner is calling for paid leave for parents who lose a baby in early pregnancy. Keeley Langthorne suffered three miscarriages in three years, but she wasn't entitled to any time off after her son George was still born at 23 weeks. She's been chatting to Kate about her experience. I've had three miscarriages today. So my first miscarriage was at six weeks and then I had an ectopic pregnancy which ruptured. Shortly after my ectopic pregnancy, I discovered that there was no paid leave from work. I was very lucky in that my employer paid for me to be away from work, but it was quite topical at the time. There was legislation that was introduced in New Zealand, which the prime minister as she then was, was introducing paid statuary leave for men and women in the event of a loss under 24 weeks and that's three days paid leave. So I produced a baby loss policy and I presented it to my director of HR at Taylor Rose Listers and that was implemented as a firm white policy in December 2021. Unfortunately, I was the first person to use the baby loss policy when I lost my son George in March 2022. And with the policy that was implemented where you were, was it just the paper and to leave or were there other things involved? So we have the paper and so the document in its current stance means that employees get three days paid leave, but it's discretionary. So for instance, when George died my employer were really good, that had six weeks of paid leave. Additionally, I have implemented within the firm the role of a fertility officer, which is me. So a fertility officer is someone that you can approach in the firm in the event of a loss, because when you have a loss, the last one you want to be doing is looking around on the internet looking for the policies, etc. So now there's a dedicated fertility officer. So if someone is having fertility treatment or has a loss or is pregnant and doesn't want to be pregnant, they can contact me separate from HR, separate from their line manager, and we can talk it through, and we can put things in their diary in terms of where they are, because people don't always want to put in their diary for instance, having a IVF. Okay, so we we saw out between us what kind of leave they have. And then I am liaison with HR separately. So according to that employees, which is in feelings. I want to ask you, so you develop George's law based around your growing experiences, can you talk me through how it felt when after you lost George to suddenly find out that you were expected by law to sort of just pick up and go back to work? What was that like for you? Well, I had a six hour birth of George and then a six hour penicental delivery with him. So I left him at the mortuary at nine o'clock, and then I had a midwife come around the next day to stop my milk. And the law says I should be back at work. So after George died, I was supported by Abigail's footsteps, who are a huge baby lost charity in Kent. And we did some fundraising for a cold cop for George. We raised about 30,000 pounds. And it was at that juncture that I decided that I needed to do something. I'm a lawyer, and I thought I had to do something nationally. So it was in the June that I started a national campaign calling on all employers in the country to implement George's law. Kent Online News. More than 150 people have objected to plans for 23 new homes near Deal. A planning application has been submitted to develop the site off St Edmunds Road in Great Mungem. Residents say it's disappointing to see more green space being taken over by houses, and the project poses a threat to wildlife. Meantime residents in another part of Deal are concerned about potential noise coming from a new wedding venue. The owners behind Ripple Court Estate have been allowed to put up a marquee provided it's taken down between October and April. They now want to keep it up all year round and have applied to change their planning permission. Neighbors say it's only going to cause more problems. As we mark 200 years of the R&LI volunteers in Kent say not everyone understands what they do. Lifeboat crews are called out to emergencies at sea, but they're not paid for their work. Jack's Medley has been part of the Sheeness crew for seven years. In general, if the page is going off, you're going to the worst moments in someone's life. So I think that personal touch and that commitment is what makes it all the more special for people that don't get paid to do it. It shows that willingness that we're there. We just want to help. There's still quite a few people that I've known for years and family and things like that. I think we're lifeguards or this is a full-time job. I think where we're behind closed doors in the port, that doesn't help us as a station. The charity was set up in 1824 and has saved nearly 150,000 lives at sea. Rachel Collie is also on the Sheeness crew and says they get a wide range of callouts. We can be going to a broken down yacht that needs time back in to someone who's in a mental health crisis. In the summer, we're dealing with inflatables off the beach. Sometimes we're kids in, sometimes without. My first sort of memory of going out and thinking, you know, this is for real is like, you know, you go out at night when I was inexperienced and you're having to put all your trust in fellow crew members and that was, you know, that was quite an eye opener at times when it's pitch black and you're trusting everybody on board. She runs a pub on Sheppy and says sometimes the callouts can be disruptive. It's usually when you've got a lot to do and you've got a big to-do list and the page goes off. It's not happened actually that often when I've been out socialising, but it has happened when I've been in supermarkets and I've had to leave a shopping trolley and say, oh, I'll be back. Just can you keep my shopping for me? A service of Thanksgiving was held at Westminster Abbey earlier today to celebrate the charity's 200th anniversary. There have been calls to reinstate a speed camera in Maidstone as residents raise concerns over safety. The camera on Lou's road on the northbound carriage wages before the junction with Schills Crescent was switched off without explanation five years ago. Locals say the stretch, which is close to several schools and a dangerous bend, is being used like a racetrack. A bid to stop the introduction of controversial charges at three coastal car parks has been rejected. Swale Council will to bring in paid parking at the Little Oyster site in Minster as well as the library and park road in Queenborough to raise much-needed revenue. Proposals to fill gaps in the budget by other means were voted down. A final decision on parking charges will be made on Wednesday. A public landlord near Faversham says business has never been better. Despite the tough conditions the industry's facing, Lisa Burton runs the Red Lion in Baddlesmere. She says taking six-fold compared to when she took over six years ago. She puts the success down to hard work and a fun atmosphere and being the only pub in Kent with a fully gluten-free menu. Kent Online News. A couple from Westmoreling have been left without their pension for a month after an error by Royal Mail. Trevor and Christine Wells went on a three-month cruise in November and paid £90 for their post to be kept in a secure place until they returned. But some of the letters were accidentally sent back, meaning their money didn't go into their accounts. Our reporter Ellie's been chatting to Trevor. They had a driver. He was not an experienced driver. He took it upon himself to see a big pile of posts. He took it upon himself to decide that he will send back anything that had an address on the back of the envelope and the rest goes to Belfast. He took that decision upon himself, offered his own back, probably didn't have the autonomy to do it, but he did. Can you explain the sort of customer service you've received since dodging your complaint? That has been probably my most frustrating part. To actually phone in the way I did and I explained, I spent 20 minutes explaining to the gentleman, I asked him for a reference number for his name. He gave me three initials. I left it with him and thought he would sold it out. Two days later, nothing had been solded out. I phoned in a game. Having gone over the whole situation, having explained to him the problems that it was caused me, I got no idea of sympathy. I wasn't after sympathy. I just wanted him to understand what had happened. But on the contrary, far from not understanding what happened, he said, you'll get your £90 back and no, you're not getting any compensation and put the phone down on me. That was not quite what I would have expected from what a services department was supposed to be there to help you, but they certainly he was of no help at all. So now you have sent a letter off to hire powers in the company. What response are you hoping to get from? I hope no more than people to admit that was, in fact, an oversight. Obviously we want our £90 back and I would expect some compensation for it. I'm not talking about a lot of compensation, but I want somebody to know, realise and understand the problems that's caused us, which is a massive amount. Royal Mail have apologised and say trainings been provided to staff. Can't online reports? The launch of a fast track bus service between Whitfield and Dover has been delayed. The Zero Mission Service, which is set to cost £23 million, was meant to be up and running early this year. Kent County Council say the project's been held up and they're hoping to have it ready by the summer. The railway line between Sittingborne and Rainham is back open today after a land slip. No trains were running last week because of emergency repair work at Newington. Network rails say heavy rain caused by climate change was to blame for the 40 metre crack in the embankment. Truck stops in Kent are getting more than £2 million to upgrade their facilities. Government cash will be used to create more parking spaces and improve welfare sites for drivers in Ashford, Sandwich, Cherryton and Medway is hoped it'll attract more people to the industry. And a florist in Headcorn is celebrating 25 years of business. Sweet William was set up by Julia Archer in 1999. She's been telling our reporter Cara Simmons how she started it. I had a family friend who had her own florist shop, so she took me under a wing of it. Then I studied at Haddlow College, fortunately I was able to get in there, studied for three years full-time there and then my dad was very, he wanted me to get some commercial experience. So I went and worked in a florist shop on the High Street and then Natalie had my own business, which is my dream. Studying at Haddlow, what was that like? Was that just learning sort of the ins and outs of, I mean, what do you learn about in a floristry? So I always remember my lecturer saying to me on my interview, she said, "I hope you don't mind hard work." And of course, at 16 years old, I just thought, "No, I don't mind hard work." And that is a massive understatement because floristry is one of the hardest professions. It really is physically hard as well with the cold weather and hands in water, etc. But yeah, so obviously it was flowers, arranging flowers was one of the main things. But it's also about the plant science, so learning how the plant drinks and takes its food up. There was financial to do so all the running of the business, because I did the advanced floristry. So marketing, I mean, every element you can imagine, accountancy, every element from running my own business had to be incorporated into the course. What do you like personally? What do you like about floristry then and having this business? I mean, I think the seasons of the flowers is just amazing. And I think that keeps it all alive because you've got me now in springtime. So we've got then that's very special season, one of my favourites. And of course, you'll go into the summertime and it'll be a different selection of flowers, which just brings the freshness to it all the time. And I think it's meeting people as well. And I think with people on a bit of a journey, like with weddings, you know, they may be, you're working with them for a year or two years on the build up to their wedding and also on the other end of the scale with funerals. And, you know, so that was one thing we had to cover at college was the council inside of things because you get bereaved people coming in. So it's quite, you're dealing with people at their most emotional times. She's also hoping for a big boost in sales for Mother's Day. Ken's online, sports. Football and Gillingham are back in the league two playoff places after beating Salford City away from home. Goals from Shadowgee and Tim Dean gave the duels a two-nil lead in torrential rain and hailstones at the Peninsula Stadium. Manager Stephen Klemens spoke to reporters after the match. Well, I certainly didn't want it off. I know that because we've travelled up here and we've travelled up half way up to Barrow before and got the game pulled off. So, but it's a typical some sort of league two fixture. I think remember playing on many a pitch like this back in a day. So it's, you might have enjoyed it, might you? Yeah. You're a midfield player, have a slide around, try and win the ball back, make sure you've rolled your sleeves up, get yourself dirty and yeah, it's like the good old days. I didn't mind it. And as a whole, you must feel like you're really going on a bit of a role now. You must think things are starting to click. Yeah, look, I felt good about things for a while. To be honest, you get a tricky result or you draw or you get beat, which I say we've only been beat twice in 12. And then you know, there's a lot of noise around the place. But as I said to you, after the game last weekend, was that we only ever achieved anything we're together. And yeah, there will still be tricky results between now and the end of the season, but we all stay together. All is one and we'll have a chance of being successful at this football club. They're back on the road to face Barrow tomorrow. That's all from us for now. 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.
