KentOnline

New figures seen by the Kent Online Podcast show there's been a significant drop in the number of children wanting to go to some schools in Kent after they received poor Ofsted reports.

The figures highlight the impact a 'poor' grading given to a school by the watchdog can have on admission numbers.

Also in today's podcast, three Kent men who were involved in a so-called 'clocking' scam involving second-hand cars and vans have avoided jail sentences.

The group from Broadstairs and Chartham wiped two million miles off 23 vehicles before selling them online.

Signs are going to be put up outside play areas and schools in parts of Kent to try and encourage people not to smoke.

Areas including Ashford, Thanet and Maidstone have been awarded funding for the scheme.

Plans to close a Kent leisure centre for a £20 million revamp are going to be reviewed at a meeting later.

Tides in Deal is set to shut this April before reopening under a new operator in January 2026.

East Kent Acro Gymnastics club uses the sports hall for their training sessions.

Football, and Gillingham's run of games without a win has continued.

They came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Tranmere Rovers at the weekend.

And, congratulations to everyone who took part in the Canterbury 10-mile road race over the weekend.

The winner crossed the line in 51 minutes and 10 seconds.

A 20-year-old from Sheppey who died following complications caused by diabetes has been described by his family as 'wonderful, kind, creative and loving'.

Jake Chapman from Minster suffered a cardiac event which is thought to have been caused by a lack of insulin.

Also in today's podcast, a Dartford shop owner's spoken of his devastation after a lorry containing all of his stock went up in flames.

Crews were called to the blaze near the Orchards Shopping Centre last Saturday night.

A weather warning for strong wind is in force across Kent as Storm Eowyn hits.

Forecasters are predicting gusts of up to 70 miles per hour in coastal areas. Hear from the RNLI who are advising us to stay away from the coast.

There are calls for a new youth centre to be built on derelict land near Dover.

The site in Aylesham used to house a leisure facility but has been vacant since a fire there almost 10 years ago.

We're being asked to count the number of birds we see in our gardens in Kent this weekend as part of the biggest survey of its kind.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is organised by the RSPB so they can keep a track of populations.

In sport, Gillingham will be looking to end a run of five games without a win this weekend.

They're travelling to take on Tranmere Rovers in league two.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for a dog to be returned to its Cranbrook owner after it was seized and declared a banned XL bully.

Police took the animal away following an anonymous tip off, but owner Zakh Green adopted the pet believing it to be a mastiff cross.

Also in today's podcast, a Marden man who tried to stop a child reporting the abuse they'd suffered has been jailed.

Michael Numan, 58 from Seymour Drive, told his victim they were in a 'special relationship' after targeting them in April 2023.

Bosses of a Kent gymnastics club fear they could be made homeless if plans to close a sports centre go ahead.

East Kent Acro Gymnastics use the sports hall at Tides Leisure Centre in Deal three times a week.

A Medway PE teacher is preparing for an epic challenge to run more than 40 miles and do a full days work in memory of his brother.

Jon Cooper wants to encourage all of us to be more active after his brother died from a heart attack at just 43.

Children in Dover and Deal are being encouraged to read for fun so they don't miss out on opportunities when they're older.

Schools are being visited for special half hour lessons that get youngsters reading theatrically out loud. It's the brainchild of the area's MP Mike Tapp.

A warning letter's been sent out by a school in Margate as a number of pupils have fallen ill.

There's been an outbreak of respiratory and gastrointestinal sickness at Hartsdown Academy.

Also on today's podcast, plans for a major transformation of Folkestone harbour have been rejected.

The shock decision came at a meeting last night with councillors on the planning committee raising concerns about the proposals for new homes and commercial units on the seafront.

The ideas had been submitted by Sir Roger De Haan’s Folkestone Harbour & Seafront Development Company.

People living on an estate near Maidstone say they've had to pay out £50,000 of their own money to try and sort a sewage issue.

Blockages, leaks and overspills have been affecting Castor Park in Allington over the past year.

Southern Water bosses have been grilled by MPs after deciding to bills by more than any other firm in the UK.

Customers in Kent will be among those paying 53% more over the next five years.

A Gravesend mum who's been diagnosed with stage four brain cancer is calling for better access to scans.

Kelly Heather had initially been told she had a non-spreadable melanoma in 2017.

And, Firefighters in Kent have unveiled their latest piece of kit, a robot.

It's one of the first of its kind in the UK and will help keep crews safe as well as reduce the amount of time spent at incidents.

The idea of a multi-billion pound theme park in north Kent is officially over after the company behind it went into liquidation.

We were told London Resort on the Swanscombe peninsula would attract millions of visitors and create thousands of jobs.

But it faced several challenges, including from wildlife campaigners. We've been getting reaction from Buglife.

Also in today's podcast, and in a rare move, a planning officer has stepped in to stop councillors rejecting plans for a 52 home estate in East Malling.

The Tonbridge and Malling council committee were due to refuse the plans for Ivy Farm after receiving more than 200 objections.

Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President yesterday, a Kent campaigner says his second term in office feels like a 'step backwards'.

Sara Fox organised a march in Canterbury last weekend to express concerns about women's rights.

An electric vehicle owner says he's been treated "unfairly" by the council - after being fined for leaving his car at a charging station in Deal.

Tony Nagle pulled up at the West Street Car Park only to find his phone had gone flat, and he couldn't recharge his car without it.

Also on today's episode you can hear from a Kent mum who's been telling us how she fought to make her local football club more accessible for disabled people.

It's after she struggled to find toilet facilities for her son, who's in a wheelchair.

A B&B in Harrietsham that appeared on TVs Four in a Bed has revealed plans for expansion.

Stable Oak Cottages has applied to convert a redundant barn into a tearoom and café for its guests.  

And in sport, Ashford United manager Danny Kedwell has left the club after eight months in charge.

The former Gillingham player goes after a run of three defeats and the side 10th in the Isthmian South East league.

A Thanet teenager is facing prison time after she threatened to kill her parents.

18-year-old Zoe Dunn from Fairfield Road, Broadstairs,  had only just been released from court on a suspended sentence for beating them up at their home in Thanet on January 6th.

Ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, we've been hearing what his second presidency could mean for us here in Kent.

Trump will be sworn into office - becoming the 47th President of the United States.

From today, if you're driving around Medway you could be fined for breaking traffic rules at 17 locations across the Towns.

ANPR cameras have been installed to catch motorists who do things like stopping in a yellow box junction or doing an illegal turn.

Hotpots include Chatham High Street and Station Road in Strood.

The recent budget has been blamed for the closure of a Medway restaurant within a distillery.

Copper Rivet has been making gin since 2016 and opened The Pumproom in their converted Victorian building just over four years ago.

Bosses at the site in Chatham Maritime say a hike in National Insurance contributions and rise in the minimum wage mean it's no longer financially viable.

Police are investigating after £500 was stolen from a 90-year-old woman in Folkestone.

Maria Lenko had withdrawn the cash from her bank and put it in a zip up pocket in her trolley.

Football, and Gillingham have dropped to 16th in league two following a disappointing start in charge for new manager John Coleman.

They were beaten 1-0 by Doncaster Rovers at Priestfield on Saturday.

A Tenterden family have been left with a hefty bill after vandals armed with a catapult smashed a window of their home.

It happened at Matt Sendall-King's home in Rogersmead earlier this month. Hear from reporter Louis Walker who has been following the story.

A Maidstone dad has been telling the KentOnline Podcast what it was like to find a World War Two hand grenade while magnet fishing with his son.

Chris Homden and 10-year-old Leyton made the discovery in the River Medway at Aylesford and took it back to their home in Allington before realising what it was.

There are concerns elderly and vulnerable people in Kent could face isolation when landline telephones are axed.

More than half of households still use their home phone, with a fifth of people living in rural areas always using it. 

But in January 2027, the old copper network's being switched off and it's moving to Digital Voice technology.

The man who heads up Medway Council has been explaining how AI could be used by the authority.

Earlier this week the Prime Minister revealed how he wants the country to be at the forefront of developing artificial intelligence.

Richard Hicks is the chief exec of the unitary authority covering the Towns and has been on the latest episode of the Kent Politics Podcast.

Football, and new boss John Coleman should finally get to take charge of Gillingham for the first time this weekend.

They welcome Doncaster Rovers to Priestfield in league two.

The Gills are currently 14th in the table with tomorrow's visitors in 7th.

A secondary school in Maidstone has been unable to use its new £700k sports pitch – after falling foul of a ban on noise from referees’ whistles.

Cornwallis Academy has a brand new 3G artificial grass pitch which it has been forbidden from using since August.

Also in today’s podcast, there's been an increase in the number of reports of online child grooming in Kent. 

The NSPCC say 264 cases were recorded last year - we’ve spoken to Kent Police about what they’re doing, and what we can do, to keep children safe. 

The co-owner of a burger van says he was left “shocked” after it was broken into just a week before opening.

The Sheerness men had spent more than £1,500 on their new business venture, which was ransacked earlier this month. 

Work on a controversial one-way system branded “absolutely ridiculous” could finally start this year, having been delayed twice already.

The £3 million transformation of the A28 in Wincheap is seen as a way of “considerably easing congestion” and improving “quality of life in the area”.

And a Kent animal park has given a new lease of life to a pair of big cats previously living under the care of a man dubbed the “UK Tiger King”.

You can hear from The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden who have taken on two of the rescues, including the UK’s only Asian Golden Cat. 

A disabled pensioner has had to abandon his housing association home for the over 55s after a large chunk of the ceiling in his living room collapsed.

The KentOnline podcast has heard the disaster is only the latest in a long line of maintenance failures at his flat near Maidstone by his social housing landlord, Anchor Hanover Housing.

Also in today’s podcast, a screw head, a throat pack and swabs are some of the 37 items reportedly left behind in patients after surgery at Kent’s hospitals.

The new data reveals the number of clinical claims and incidents at the county’s hospitals relating to a “retained instrument post-operation” or a “foreign body left in situ”.

A hygiene inspector who discovered a “completely dry” hand basin at an all-you-can-eat buffet told staff they must wash their hands after using the toilet.

The environmental health expert also found unsealed raw meat in a fridge, mouldy walls, and a grease build-up during an inspection at the Ashford restaurant. 

You can also hear about a loft insulation surveyor who stole highly valuable jewellery from the homes of elderly and vulnerable customers out of "heartless greed".

The thief’s been branded a "disgrace" by a judge for his "mean and callous" crimes committed over three months last year.

And it’s crunch time for the most significant transformation of a Kent town in decades with a planning decision set to be made next week.

Councillors will determine whether controversial plans for Folkestone harbour can go ahead.

Statistics seen by the KentOnline Podcast show five towns in Kent have topped a list of where property prices dropped in 2024.

Broadstairs, Herne Bay, Westgate, Birchington and Deal experienced slumps in the cost of a house according to Zoopla. We've go some analysis from an estate agent in the county.

Also in today's episode, a mum and her three daughters who fled to Kent from Colombia have been told their asylum claim has been rejected.

Luisa Rodriguez came here in 2023 after receiving threats from a violent drugs cartel and shots were even fired at their home. The 37-year-old has been sharing her story.

The MP for Tunbridge Wells is urging the government to invest more money in defence to help deter war across Europe.

Mike Martin says he's worried the UK could be directly involved in conflict within the next 10 years because of instability in Ukraine and Middle East. He's been on the latest episode of the Kent Politics Podcast.

We've been hearing from a Kent based company who have gone from cleaning for friends and neighbours, to taking on a castle .

Sophie Brown started Capable Cleaners out of Lordswood 12 years ago and since then, the business has grown and she now has 150 clients and employs 25 people.

And finally, a host of West End stars will be taking to the stage in Gravesend to help support creative youth services in Kent.

Performers from shows such as Hamilton, Les Misérables and Hairspray will join up with Gifted Young Gravesham for a one-off night of music and entertainment.