A primary school teacher from Gravesend has been banned from the profession after she was caught drinking wine during her lunch break.
She was in her car at the time and was later called into the office for questioning.
Also in today's podcast, a former soldier from Canterbury has been telling KentOnline how medicinal cannabis "changed his life" after years struggling with PTSD.
Christopher Monteiro-Sharratt served in Bosnia, and found it difficult to adjust to normal life when he came home.
Thousands of people across Kent will be heading out to vote today in the general election.
There are 18 constituencies in the county - and polls are open until 10pm tonight.
Final preparations are underway for this year's Kent County Show.
There'll be animal competitions, music, food stalls and family activities at the showground in Detling from tomorrow until Sunday.
Young people are taking part in the first Teenage Market in Thanet this weekend.
There'll be stalls selling items including jewellery and clothes - as well as a performance space for musicians, comedians and poets at The Centre in Margate on Saturday.
In sport, Kent's Emma Raducanu's beaten Belgium's Elise Mertens to reach the third round of Wimbledon.
She won in straight sets - just hours after it was confirmed she'll partner Andy Murray in the mixed doubles.
And, in football, the Gillingham chairman has been speaking after the players returned to training this week.
Their fitness has been tested ahead of a series of pre-season friendlies.
find out what had happened. >> Hello, hope you're okay. Thanks for downloading today's podcast. It's Thursday, July, the fourth, and our top story today is a primary school teacher from Gravesend has been banned from the profession after she was caught drinking wine during her lunch break. Lucy joins me now with more on this story. It was spotted by other members of staff where she worked at Copperfield Academy on Dover Road East in May last year. She was in her car at the time and was later called into the office for questioning the teacher who'd started working there in September 2021, went to her car and showed colleagues a can of Coke before deciding to come clean and produce the empty bottle of wine. She was suspended immediately and referred to the local authority as well as the federal government. >> I'd like to know if you could have heard of evidence was heard by the professional conduct panel. >> So they were given witness statements as well as details from an investigation interview with Ms Atkins. She wasn't at the hearing herself but had previously said it was lunchtime and she was feeling anxious so she went to her car and had a small bottle of wine. She also admitted to drinking more than one bottle a night at home and had a large bottle of wine. She had a small bottle of wine and she had to have any major concerns regarding Ms Atkins performance or conduct before the incident. And what was the final outcome? >> Well, she was found guilty of breaching teaching standards and has been banned from the profession with the opportunity for a review in two years. The head of the panel says she had to impose a ban to make sure they uphold the high professional conduct and their employment has been terminated. The statement goes on to say whilst situations like this are extremely rare, we understand it's upsetting news for our school community. We work hard to ensure the Copperfield is a warm and nurturing environment in which every child thrives and we will always do everything in our power to protect that. >> Lucy, thank you ever so much. >> Kent Online News. >> David Poppel has avoided being sent to prison. David Poppel said he was going through a dark time in his life when police found more than 3,000 pounds of the drug in his camper van. The 63-year-old who lives in Belmarsh Crescent must do 140 hours of unpaid work. Investigations are underway after a man reportedly exposed himself to two women in Tumbridge Wells. It happened in Linden Park cricket club last year. The moment a man was arrested after racking up a 100-pound bill at a restaurant before claiming he couldn't pay. Anthony Lamont had drunk Jack Daniels and eaten a linguine at Don Vincenzo in Rochester High Street last month. Seven days later, the 43-year-old from Dorset did a dining dash from a hotel in Deal. He's been locked up for 200 days. A convicted sex offender from Ashford has been sent back to prison after he went to jail. He's been sentenced to six years in jail and another four on license once he's released. Our former soldier from Canterbury has been telling the Kent Online podcast how medicinal cannabis changed his life after years struggling with PTSD. Christopher Montiero Shahrat served in Bosnia and the United States. The former soldier from Canterbury has been telling the He served in Bosnia and found it difficult to adjust to a normal life when he came home. He turned to alcohol and illegal drugs before trying antidepressants and talking therapy, but it was only when medical marijuana became legal that he found relief from his systems. He's been sharing his story as figures show 48% of veterans suffer from mental health issues when they leave the military. It was very, very challenging and it has an impact on people on every aspect of their life. I'll be very honest, I've ostracized friends, families, I've been on the border of destroying my career because of not knowing how to deal with it, not knowing how to cope with it. And at that point it was not even understanding it. And I think even now whilst people talk about PTSD, there's not the understanding that it's the feelings of guilt, so for myself it was, I didn't feel worthy. I felt guilty for leaving my brothers and arms in various different places and you feel guilty because I don't feel, obviously deal with it a lot better now, but you don't feel as though you're worthy of needing help because you know so many people that have gone through the same, if not worse, far worse. So it's a very difficult thing to come to terms with and on top of that, you'll then you get very irritable, very quickly, you have anxiety. It's a multitude of emotions that are just clouding who you are as a person underneath and how that exhibits outwardly, you know, it's understandable that people who see it from the outside just think, oh wow, this is a really volatile and stable person, but actually it's, there needs to be more understanding about that element as well about how it's perceived. And that really is something that this prescription has, has helped with and it's subduing those things, so that I can understand it, so that I can work through it. It affects everybody's life and you'll have guys out there, and girls out there who have served, who are struggling at work, and they have an intolerance with people, they, you feel very irritable around people, you've seen things that most people day-to-day won't have seen, or you've been around people who have seen and done things that most people would never see, so you almost get irritated that they can't see how the world works. And it's, it doesn't go away. And that's the one thing that the psychologist always says, and it's a very clear message I like to repeat, that what my psychologist said to me is, it doesn't go away because you can't delete the trauma. It's not as though it's a magic cure, a wave of magic wand, and everything disappears. The trauma is still there, but it's learning how to deal with it, how to manage your emotions, et cetera. And I went through that entire process, and that's the process that everyone will go through in terms of where you say what it's like, what's coming out of the army and dealing with those kind of mental health issues. It's like a continual internal battle, and you feel like you don't fit in, and you can't actually be yourself, you feel trapped, to the extent you don't want to go out or you go out and get annihilated, you find various unhealthy roots to try and deal with it. But it's those symptoms that I found have been really subdued by the prescription that I've got now, which, like I say, there's been night and day, and I'm sure there's many people in my past and in my present life who can tell you that, you know, before prescription after prescription, it really is a night and day person. Kent Online Reports. Thousands of you across Kent will be heading out to vote today in the general election. There are 18 constituencies in the county, and polls are open until 10 o'clock tonight. Vijay Rangarajan from the Electoral Commission says there's one important thing you need to bring. But remember to take your voter ID does have to be a photo ID, which is a resemblance for you, which is on the approval list. You'll find that with a lot of other helpful tips on our website. We do head to Kent Online for a list of the acceptable forms of ID. Now we're going to have reporters at every single count across Kent Overnight. You'll be able to follow the results as they come in at Kent Online and on KMTV from 10 PM, also tune in to our sister radio station from 6 AM tomorrow to hear from the MP that's been elected where you live, and a bit later on in the day, you'll be able to download the Kent Politics podcast for further reaction and analysis. A legal challenge over plans to build a £32 million winery near Canterbury has been thrown out. Environmental campaigners weren't happy with the idea of chapel-down developing a site of the A2 nib bridge and wanted a judicial review. That's been turned down by a judge at the High Court, but opponents are now planning to appeal. There are fears a cat-killer could be on the loosing Kent after schoolchildren found remains near Margate. The discovery was made in Springfield Road in Palm Bay on Monday. That says they believe the three-year-old Count had been killed elsewhere before being left in the garden. Police are investigating, but are urging the public not to get involved over fears the killers' crimes could escalate. Elsewhere, two sheep have been injured and a duck's gone missing after an apparent break in at an animal sanctuary in Herm Bay. Volunteers arrived at retreat into Wonderland on Sunday to find the animals have been spooked. A fundraiser has been launched to pay for extra security. Some bus services around Sittingborne have been suspended as the closure of the Kings Ferry Bridge continues to cause disruption. This was one of the big stories on yesterday's episode of the podcast. Operated chalkwell say they're having to take action because of major traffic delays this week. Kent County Council brought in new measures to alleviate some of the disruption, including refusing any new non-urgent road work requests until the bridge reopens. Kent's online reports. Final preparations are underway for this year's Kent County show. There'll be animal competitions, music, food stores and family activities at the show ground in Detling from tomorrow through until Sunday. Kate's been chatting to Julian Barnes, who's chairman of the Kent County Agricultural Society. Everything's going really well. We've got lots of people coming on site, setting up their stands, bringing equipment. Getting ready for animals arriving and getting ready for the show generally. I'm sure all of those people that are getting animals ready are washing them and scrubbing them and brushing them and looking after them at home before they get them up here. Obviously it's really important to them that these animals are presented in the best possible way and create a good impression with the general public as well. And for the general public that are coming to the show and may be coming to the show for the first time, can you give me a bit of an idea of what they can expect? Well, I think it's bringing together all elements of rural life and the countryside. I mean, historically, it was very much about the animals, but there is a whole event around the outside of the show and its origins. We've been up here at Detling now for 60 years. There's a bit of a rise of questions, there's plenty of young children come up to the show ground during the course of the show, see the young farmers showing their animals, go around the main livestock areas of the horse riding and then actually end up with a job involved in rural life or agriculture. So from coming through the gate, it's very apparent that there are animals to look at, there's the machines to ask about that, there's the machinery, obviously that is used on farms, you know, if you don't know what it is, ask about it, ask the people there what does it does, why do I see it doing this, you know, it's a real educational trip and then as you go around the show ground, you know, you'll pass our education area where there's lots of free things to look at and do with information about, you know, elements of the countryside from how the soil works to, you know, what happens in orchards, round past the farriers and all the energy they put into shoeing horses, the show jumping and then this year we've got Atkinson's horses in the main, the main ring, which you can stop and watch and then you can chill out in our woodland area watching all sorts of, you know, woodland skills and this sort of thing and the steam engines and tractors and, you know, as our heritage section. So, you know, no shortage of things to do and so much of it is free. We keep our fingers crossed that the sun remains shining to have a fantastic time if you're going along, a KM FM will be at the event over the weekend, go and say hello if you're going to be there. A memorial tree planted in the grounds of Rochester Castle has been cut down, it was a tribute to people killed at work or who died of work related diseases and was a site of an annual service, but a recent inspection found it needed to come down for public safety reasons. Council bosses say they're confident, however, it will regrow. A Victorian farm complex near a busy roundabout on Shepey has been earmarked to be turned into houses, building some barns on Calsted Farm, which includes farm houses dating back to 1883, could be converted or demolished. If Swell Council approved the plans, seven homes will be built on the site. Now, young people are taking part in the first teenage market in Thanet this weekend. There'll be stalls selling items including jewellery and clothes as well as a performance space for musicians, comedians and poets at the centre in Margate on Saturday. Natalie Glover is a regeneration manager at Thanet District Council, she's been chatting to Kate. Some people think that it's a market for young people and teenagers to come along to, but it's nice for everybody, but it's about showcasing the skills and talents of local, young entrepreneurs, so it's a national initiative that was set up by a couple of brothers, I think in Stockport back in 2012, and they have a lot of young entrepreneurs in Stockport, so they thought why not hold a market, specifically dedicated to showcase those talents, and it's been a huge success since then and has gone national and now there are teenage markets, which is the sort of branded initiative across the whole country, and this is going to be the first one coming to Margate, which we're really excited about, and essentially it's a free platform for young people, so we're talking about age range from eight or nine up into early 20s and including teenagers to showcase their wares and sell products on the high street and in marketplaces that local authorities in the main set up for them. So when we're talking about selling their products, can you give me an outline of what sort of things we can see, we're looking at arts and crafts or people making their own jewelry, or what sort of stuff are we looking at? Yep, so all of the above really, so for our marketing market in Margate, we've got young jewelers that are doing a wide range of jewelry products, we've got arts and crafts, as you said photographers framing their prints for sale and artists, and then we also have performers as well, so we've got acoustic guitarist and some singers as well coming along on the day. People from Margate or teenagers coming in from other areas of Kent just to take part? Yep, so the majority of those taking part are from fanits and our local towns, quite a few are coming from Margate, which is nice, keeping it hyper local, but also we do have a few who are coming from further afield across Kent, but in the main yes, local to our towns here in the fanits. I mean the benefits I suppose for young people quite obvious, it's an opportunity for them to get hands on experience, trading and selling their wares and things like that. What are the benefits for Margate and sort of fanit in the broader sense? Yeah, we're expecting a real buzz on the day, you know, this is a great opportunity for us to showcase the town centre and all that it has to offer, you know, the businesses that are in the centre, which is where the market is taking place, are also getting involved with this, so they've got coffee shops, fantastic food and beverage offers in the town, so we're really hoping that by selling art and craft products within the stalls and not food and beverage, we're hoping that it's really going to partner well with the businesses in the town centre and encourage lots of food for, you know, we want a real vibrancy on the day and lots of us going on and people coming to visit and see what's on offer. And the creator of comic book and Netflix show Heartstopper is getting an honorary degree from the University of Kent, Alice Oseman will be made Doctor of Letters in recognition of her contribution to art and literature. Panto star Ben Roddy and former England rugby player Rachel Burford will also be awarded honorary degrees at ceremonies later this month. Kent's online sport. Starting off with cricket and Kent have suffered another defeat in the county championship. They took the match against Hampshire into the final session, but were beaten by six wickets, Kent are now bottom of the division one table. Onto tennis and better news for Kent's Emma Raji Khan, who's beaten Belgium's Elise Mertens to reach the third round of Wimbledon. She won in a convincing straight set yesterday, just hours after it was confirmed to her partner Andy Murray in the mixed doubles, the 21-year-old from Orpington's looking forward to playing a part of his farewell. It's for me a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think some things are bigger than just tennis. I think some things are a once in a lifetime memory that you're going to have for the rest of your life, you know, to play at Wimbledon with Andy Murray, it's, you know, those things don't come by and I think, you know, at the end of my life, at the end of my career, when I'm like 70 years old, I know I'm going to have that memory of playing, you know, Wimbledon with Andy Murray on our home slam, for me it was, yeah, an honour to be asked. Since you really had an understanding that there was a mixed doubles event and at Wimbledon, it's always been something that I've obviously wanted to do and then seeing him win silver here with Laura, it was, yeah, it was just, I was so far away from it at that time, it was like a far away dream and I think that the decision was for sure made as well for that kid who was like dreaming of this moment. So I think it's important to not lose sight of that and not let go of those feelings as a kid or why you started playing sport, why you want to play on these big courts and, yeah, it's just a real honour and I'm just really excited. Onto football now and the Gillingham Chairman has been speaking, after the players returned to training this week, their fitness has been tested, head of series of pre-season friendlies, the Jules will be looking for promotion from league two under new manager Mark Bonner, owner Brad Galenson's been speaking to the club's official website and he says you won't see him stepping onto the pitch until they've secured promotion. I actually made a promise that there is no owners on the pitch ever until promotion, that's the only time an owner should be on the pitch and being introduced when you buy the club I guess. So for me that's just an extremely special thing, it should be rarely used for extraordinary events. So we won't see you on the pitch until the end of the season, until the end of the season where we've gone up. Exactly. Of course, not to put too much pressure on of course but the upcoming season, top seven is that the aim? Yeah, I mean I think honestly last season I think it was the same. I definitely think our budget, I think the people behind it, the expectation is definitely not to be in league two. I do think that we're better equipped to do that this season than we were last season but like I said I mean we have to earn it, it's a drudge, it's hard, you know the season is long, the weather changes, there's luck, there's injuries, there's travel especially this season. But what we do is the northern league, so I mean everybody has to get behind Mark, work hard and we have to earn it but we should be able to earn it. And finally made stone footballer Alessia Russo features in a new top Trump's game, the Arsenal and England player is ranked 19th in the world in the football stars collection. Harry Kane, Beth Meade, Jude Bellingham and Killian and Bape are also part of the set but that's all from us for today, thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and threads, don't forget 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. (dramatic music)
