KentOnline

A hearing's been told how a young man died in a tragic accident on a railway line in Kent as he attempted to leave the UK.

An inquest was told the 25-year-old Albanian national was trying to cross the tracks near the Motis Lorry Park last September.

Also in today's podcast, There's been a mixed reaction to new bus fares that've come into force in parts of Kent.

Stagecoach have increased their prices by 10p for short or medium-length journeys. We've been hearing what people in Maidstone think while Stagecoach have told us why the price hike is necessary.

Plans for 100 new homes and sports facilities in a village near Maidstone have been delayed again.

Residents in Lenham have been waiting six years for a decision on the development off Old Ashford Road. Hear from the chairman of the parish council.

Kent Fire and Rescue are praising the work of their volunteer unit, as it celebrates its tenth anniversary.

The Volunteer Response Team is on call 365 days a year and works with crews at the scene of fires and floods.

Drivers have helped rescue three dogs after they were dumped by a roadside in Sittingbourne.

The animals were seen being left by a van driver on Ruins Barn Road before the vehicle sped off.

In sport, hear from the Gillingham manager who has revealed he will be undergoing planned heart surgery this week.

Meantime, Gillingham's unbeaten run under Gareth Ainsworth has come to an end. We've got reaction from midfielder Bradley Dack.

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A "greedy and manipulative" gambler who fleeced family, friends and teammates out of life-changing sums of money as he blew more than £4 million on betting sites has been sent to prison. 

Kenny Sanders convinced some of those closest to him to part with their savings, inheritances and pension pots, assuring them he was investing their cash in a thriving IT company.

Also in today’s podcast, the family of a British couple detained in Iran have said they have “no clear information” on their upcoming court appearance, claiming UK officials are also “in the dark”.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were taken into custody in January during a motorcycle tour around the world and were later charged with espionage.

Council leaders, MPs and local business bosses will meet in Ashford today, calling for international rail services to return to Kent. 

The event is being hosted by Kent County Council who say the move could boost the visitor economy by 300-million pounds a year. 

In sport, Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth is looking forward to the club making a statement to the rest of the division this weekend.

Priestfield will be near to capacity for the visit of Harrogate Town, with the Rainham End sold out, and all available tickets for the bottom section of the Town End also snapped up in the week.

And in the women’s game you can hear from the managing director of London City Lionesses who have approval to completely overhaul their Kent training ground. 

The rebuild of facilities at Cobdown Park in Aylesford will cost tens of millions of pounds and rivals those built for men’s teams. 

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The need for yet more restrictions on a “rollercoaster” stretch of the New Thanet Way has been branded an “absolute disgrace” – with highways bosses unable to say how long a reduced 50mph speed limit will stay in place.

Kent County Council says “urgent” action was needed because dangerous bumps in the dual-carriageway between Faversham and Herne Bay are putting drivers at risk.

Also in today’s podcast, a pensioner who drove his car into another man at a gated residential park, which was caught on camera, had previously attacked another resident . 

The 70-year-old deliberately drove into the man in Hoo after wrongly believing the victim was trying to harass him just months after being charged with assault by beating. 

Residents whose road has been turned into a ‘dangerous’ rat run after a major landslip more than two years ago fear someone will be killed.

People living in Stanhope Road in Swanscombe say life has become intolerable since nearby Galley Hill Road was shut after the collapse in April 2023. 

A primary school in Gravesend is trying to raise £20,000 to fix their pool, which has fallen into disrepair 

It's believed Cecil Road Primary and Nursery is the only one in the area with a swimming pool – you can hear from the school’s head and from some of the students about what it means to them. 

And you can hear from international DJ Joel Corry who’s been on kmfm’s Hit List. 

He’s taken some time out to talk to Jack about his new fitness sessions. 

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Four men are being questioned by police after another man is said to have been stabbed. 

Police were called to reports of a disturbance inside a property in Halfway Road on Sheppey last night – you can hear from one of our reports who’s been at the scene. 

Also in today’s podcast, former Gillingham FC chairman Paul Scally is being sued in the High Court over the £7 million takeover of the club by its American owners.

Brad Galinson and the club are taking legal action, alleging a whole host of financial wrongdoing concerning the League 2 side’s affairs.

A motorist says he’ll think twice about ever buying a vehicle from a used car dealer again after the stress of buying a car with a “serious underlying fault“ gave him sleepless nights.

Gary Faber bought a 2019 Jaguar E Pace online from Hippo Motor Group for £22,000 but six days later the engine management light came on. 

Management at Gillingham are backing a fan-led campaign to try and get 8000 people in Priestfield this weekend.

It follows their 3-1 win over Newport County last Saturday which set a new club record for the number of games unbeaten.

And, you can hear from a Kent singer/songwriter who wrote an original song every day, for more than 400 days.

Jasper Hodges started busking on the streets of Canterbury when he was just 13 – he's now played festival at Hyde Park and Ally Pally. 

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​A woman spared jail for lacing a bottle of coke with laxatives which left a man with severe diarrhoea boasted on Facebook she was free within hours of leaving court.

The 38-year-old poured more than half a bottle of lactulose into the fizzy drink which was then guzzled by the unsuspecting victim.

Also in today’s podcast, a rugby referee rushed to hospital after almost collapsing during a match is warning others not to ignore their body if they are not feeling right.

He was officiating a tie between Duke of York School in Dover and King’s Rochester in Medway when he began struggling just minutes after kick-off.

There are calls for more of us to have conversations about organ donation as figures reveal 120 people from Kent have died while on the transplant list over the last decade.

Numbers given to the KentOnline Podcast also show 118 people from the county received potentially life-saving surgery over the past year.

A hairdresser is cutting her losses and has transformed her salon into a private healthcare clinic in Sittingbourne - with the help of a former client.

She’s been in the hair industry for 40 years but says the salon had become unprofitable in recent years so she made the “devastating” decision to close it.

And, a “nurturing and inclusive” music school for youngsters with special needs is set to move into its new home.

Specialist college SupaJam will set up shop at the former NatWest building in Swanley next year – you can hear from their CEO about who they are and what they do. 

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An off-grid grandad says he won’t be forced out of his creekside home despite being “more or less” fenced in.

Bob Thwaites has lived off the bank of the Swanscombe Peninsula without any problems since 1991 but the new landowner have now put up a 6ft to keep people out. 

Also in today’s podcast, there are fears the government's decision to approve a second runway at Gatwick Airport could lead to more noise pollution for Kent residents.

£2.2 billion of private money is going to be spend on the expansion - which will allow for another 100-thousand flights a year.

An MP is calling for a crackdown on excessive numbers of houses of multiple occupancy in Gillingham. 

Naushabah Khan says too many HMOs are being permitted in Gillingham and warns the current system could damage community cohesion and change the character of neighbourhoods forever.

More than 130 people will carry the Baton of Hope at it travels through Kent today.

The tour aims to change the narrative around suicide and started in Medway earlier - we’ve spoken to some of the people taking part. 

And in football we’ve got plenty of reaction from what was a record breaking weekend for Gillingham. 

Their in over Notts County has seen their unbeaten run in League Two to 21 games. 

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Kent County Council have backtracked on a pledge to treat climate change as an emergency.

An official declaration was made in 2019 - but a Reform UK councillor has now led a motion to scrap the statement, describing the science behind global warming as "nonsense".

Despite a protest outside County Hall in Maidstone, the motion was voted through by 50 votes to 21 with three abstentions.

Also in today's podcast, a Kent headteacher says children are being traumatised by content they're seeing online.

Damian McBeath banned children from having phones in class last year and is now backing a national campaign calling for the digital age of consent to be raised to 16.

Anti-immigration protestors are set to rally in Kent again this weekend.

Demonstrators will march through Canterbury to a facility being used to house asylum- seeking children, while a counter demonstration is also due to take place. Hear from our local democracy reporter Dan Esson.

The final Salute to the 40s event will take place at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham this weekend.

The retro festival is expected to attract thousands of visitors but, after running for 18 years, this will be the very last one.

Hundreds of people will be taking part in a fundraising walk for a hospice charity in Gravesend this evening.

ellenor's annual Twilight Walk starts and ends at St Georges C of E School with an eight kilometre route around the town.

And in football, Gillingham have the chance to break a club record this weekend.

They're currently 20 games unbeaten in league two.

A win or draw at Newport County tomorrow would make it the longest run without a defeat in the side's history.

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Pictures have emerged of a cafe in the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford that's been turned into a makeshift ward.

Health campaigners have described it as humiliating, with the main seating area blocked off by screens and patients wheeled in on beds. 

It's as the hospital continues to struggled with demand.

Also in today's podcast, we're being encouraged to sleep rough for a night to experience what it's like for the 194 people in Kent who're currently on the streets.

Canterbury based charity Porchlight are trying to raise awareness as winter and the bad weather approaches.

Hear from a Kent councillor who's defected to a different political party.

David Knight has left the Tunbridge Wells Alliance and joined the Conservatives, saying he wants to work with a party that can deliver across the whole borough and wider Weald.

A mum from Deal has joined a celebrity-backed campaign to make bedtime stories accessible for blind and partially sighted children.

Bedtime Donations allows parents to record themselves reading a story through an app - it's then added to an online library which can be accessed by anyone.

Alison Steadman, Jon Richardson and Ralf Little are among those who've taken part.

And, researchers at the University of Kent have shown it could be possible to grow tea on the Moon.

Scientists planted saplings in soil similar to that found on the lunar surface, and we're told they flourished.

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Parents have hit out at a secondary school in Medway after their daughters were singled out over the length of their skirts.

Some pupils at Hundred of Hoo Academy have been told their hemlines fall above the knee, and have been removed from class.

Hear from one mum who has now pulled her daughter out of the school.

Also in today's podcast, protests have taken place at the start of Donald Trump's second State visit to the UK.

Earlier, giant projections showing the US president alongside disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein were beamed onto Windsor Castle.

We've been speaking to an international relations expert from Canterbury Christ Church University.

The first cohort of doctors will be graduating today from the Kent and Medway Medical School.

It opened in 2020 and is the county's first facility of its kind.

Hear from Amelia Townsend who is one of today's graduates.

A group of MPs have handed a letter in to the rail regulator, calling for changes to be made so new international trains can stop at Ashford.

Eurostar services haven't called at stations in the county since Covid, and there's a campaign to allow other operators to use the high speed route. The local democracy reporting service has spoken to Ashford's Sojan Joseph.

And Kent has had another Royal visit. Find out who's been in the county.

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A Kent mum at the centre of an online storm says she “absolutely” regrets posting a controversial TikTok video about the murder of US activist Charlie Kirk – but insists her words have been “totally misconstrued”.

She’s been bombarded with vile threats and even had her business kicked out of the county’s largest indoor market after she uploaded a clip in the wake of the 31-year-old’s death.

Also in today's podcast, a mum whose partner died in a building site accident has told how her life has “completely changed” since the tragedy - and how she stays strong for their children.

David Archer suffered fatal injuries two years ago when he fell down a manhole at an unfinished housing estate in Ramsgate.

The KentOnline Podcast has been told 200 species in Kent are at risk - and £3 million is needed to help save them.

Bosses at Kent Wildlife Trust have launched their most ambitious fundraiser as they say we're facing a nature crisis.

Handmade poppies in memory of men who lost their lives during the second world war have gone on display at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham.

The Threads of Remembrance installation also marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict.

And in football, the draw has been made for the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.

We’ve got a full list of fixtures for teams across the county. 

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