KentOnline

A complaint has been made about the arrest of a teenage boy in Margate after footage emerged of an officer appearing to knee them in the stomach.

Police had been called to Dane Park following reports a group possibly had weapons.

Sir Keir Starmer has been in Medway to launch Labour's general election campaign.

Rishi Sunak announced yesterday that we will go to the polls on July 4th.

Figures show more drivers are being caught speeding around the Dartford Crossing than anywhere else in the county.

More than 64,000 notices and fixed penalties have been issued on the approach road and through the tunnels in the last five years, generating more than £1.6 million in revenue.

Residents say plans to build an energy storage plant near Gravesend will destroy farmland and ruin the green belt landscape.

Battery units and other equipment to hold excess electricity could be installed off Foxhounds Lane in Southfleet.

And more families in Kent are being urged to consider fostering a child with additional needs, to tackle a shortage of carers.

The managing director of Credo Care Disability Fostering on Romney Marsh says there are lots of youngsters who need a loving home instead of growing up in hospital or a residential home.

A Queenborough mum has been slapped with a £200 fine for littering after seagulls ate a few McDonald’s chips she accidentally dropped on the floor.

She'd been tucking into her quarter-pounder meal next to a seaside Tesco when an environment warden “hidden between the cars” approached her.

Also in today's podcast, a Kent MP has revealed he had to have his arms and legs amputated following a devastating battle with sepsis.

Speaking publicly for the first time about the “extreme surgery”, South Thanet Conservative Craig Mackinlay has told how doctors were forced to operate because of the effects of the life-threatening condition.

You can hear from the leader of KCC over fears Kent is becoming too reliant on Operation Brock - with the contraflow system is due to come into force again. 

It's designed to queue lorries if there are delays at Dover and Folkestone - and is often used during the school holidays.

A court has heard a drunken father-of-two racially abused a man and threatened and terrorised a barmaid after downing beers with his football team.

He'd been out for a Christmas meal with his mates when he started to become rowdy at the bar in Bearsted. 

And, eye-catching plans have been unveiled to transform a long-abandoned seafront concert hall into an 89-bed hotel.

The multi-million-pound scheme is being promoted for the West Cliff Hall in Ramsgate, which has stood derelict for almost 20 years.

An exotic animal is on the loose after escaping from its zoo enclosure - and we're being warned not to approach her. 

The Tayra - a weasel-like mammal from Central America - was discovered missing from the Hemsley Conservation Centre on Sunday. 

Also in today's podcast, drivers have had their say on a new £650k turbo roundabout as work comes to an end.

Some claim the redesign of the Running Horse Roundabout in Maidstone is a waste of money, while others believe it has significantly reduced queues.

The KentOnline Podcast has heard from an Ashford man who lost his father and uncles after they were given contaminated blood products. 

He's reacted to the release of yesterday's report which found the infected blood scandal was no accident, and successive governments have tried to cover it up. 

A Walderslade dad-of-two has been told he has weeks to live following a three-year fight with cancer.

He was first diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2021 before it spread to his stomach and lungs - he's now been told the cancer is too aggressive to try further treatment. 

And an ex-convict says she has been given a “second chance” after a plant project in Cranbrook helped her get a bank account and roof over her head.

She was released this year and has since been working for The Glasshouse - they have an exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show. 

A group of residents in Maidstone claim a parking company is trying to charge them from parking on their own land.

Half a dozen signs were put up in a private car park just off Northumberland Road by UK Car Park Management. Hear from one of the residents and what the housing association have said.

Also on today's podcast, a Whitstable man who was infected with hepatitis and HIV as a child has spoken about how it's affected his life.

Roger Newman is one of the victims of the worst treatment disaster in NHS history - known as the infected blood scandal.

A report following a public inquiry into the scandal is being published today.

Libraries in Kent could be forced to employ security guards following a rise in anti-social behaviour.

Data obtained by KentOnline shows a 500% increase in incidents against staff and other library users between 2020 and last year.

Dozens of people gathered at the Kent coast over the weekend to protest about sewage spills.

It was all part of a national campaign, with demonstrations taking place in Hythe and Viking Bay in Broadstairs.

We're being urged to be on the lookout for Asian Hornets ahead of the summer season.

While they're not a threat to humans, they do prey on pollinators which can have an impact on our food security.

There are calls for two Kent MPs to do what they can to ensure fair football governance for their local communities.

Chatham and Aylesford's Tracey Crouch and Damian Collins from Folkestone and Hythe will be part of a committee looking at the Football Governance Bill line by line.  

And, former Chatham Town boss Scott Lindsey has led Crawley to promotion to league one.

They beat Crewe 2-0 in the League Two play-off final at Wembley yesterday.

The petrolhead behind Kent’s first car ‘drifting’ school says he will continue to operate the new track - despite being advised to slam on the brakes by local bosses. 

It's after complaints about the noise of revving engines and screeching tyres at the Skidz Advanced Driving School set up at Manston Airport. 

Also in today’s podcast, a secure school designed to turn around the lives of some of Britain’s most violent young offenders is set to open in Kent.

The Oasis Restore school in Rochester is the first of its kind and will see young offenders receiving vocational training and one-to-one learning support during their imprisonment.

People living across Swale say they’ve been blighted with bin-clearing problems since a new multi-million-pound contract started which has been branded “utter rubbish”.

They’ve complained of six weeks of missed collections, bin men and call staff being sworn and spat at and people paying out for private rubbish collections. 

Celebrity baker Paul Hollywood and his wife Melissa have pumped more than £80,000 of their own money into trying to save her family’s Kent pub.

The long-serving landlady of The Chequers Inn says her parents have spent even bigger sums trying to keep it afloat.

And, internet sensation and fitness coach Joe Wicks has led pupils at a Kent primary on a whole school workout this morning.

The YouTuber, also known as The Body Coach, was in Dover to give advice on how to live a happier and healthier life. 

Several staff from a Kent prison have been taken to hospital after their canteen food was spiked with drugs.

Paramedics were called to HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey last Thursday. Hear from  Andy Hamlin from the Criminal Justice Workers Union.

A childcare worker has described the moment a baby boy started choking on his food at an Ashford nursery.

Nine-month-old Oliver Steeper was being fed penne Bolognese by Nazia Begum when he started to gag and gasp in September 2021.

The price of a bus pass to help children get to school in Kent is set to increase by £100.

The Kent Travel Saver currently costs £450 a year but is likely to go up next term. Hear from councillors and a concerned parent.

Psychologists from the University of Kent are working on a new campaign to highlight the impact of social media on young people's mental health.

They've teamed up with theatre group Portrait and local secondary school students to produce a performance called Generation FOMO - which stands for Fear Of Missing Out.

A school teacher from Benenden is taking on an incredible challenge to raise money for a Kent charity.

Nick Rendall has set himself the task of running 1,000km in 100 days in support of homelessness charity Catching Lives.

And in sport, Gillingham have announced they're releasing eight players and making four available for transfer.

Three have also returned to their parent clubs following loan spells while new contracts have been offered to Glenn Morris and Dom Jefferies. Our sports reporter Luke Cawdell has the details.

A serial conman from Maidstone has been jailed for defrauding two companies straight after leaving prison for the same offence.

Darren Carvill was locked up in 2019 for taking £260,000 from his work in Strood and changed his surname when he was released.

More food parcels have been handed out in Medway than any other part of Kent according to new figures given to KentOnline.

The Trussell Trust say they delivered over 15,000 parcels in the year to the end of March - up from 5,800 just 6 years ago. We've been speaking to the campaigns manager at Medway Foodbank.

It's now illegal to export live animals from ports in Kent.

Government data shows up to 40 million farm animals have been sent from Britain for further rearing or slaughter since the 1960s. Our political editor Paul Francis has been chatting to Emma Slawinski who is director of policy at the RSPCA.

Ten years on from the closure of a Kent airport, the KentOnline Podcast has been told action must be taken to stop campaigners preventing it from re-opening.

Plans to develop a cargo hub at Manston were approved years ago, but several legal challenges have stopped any development. Hear from North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale.

We're being reminded which emergency service to call if we see someone in trouble in the water in Kent this summer.

While it's the coastguard at the beach - for rivers and lakes it's firefighters. Kent Fire and Rescue have launched a new campaign supported by Maidstone Park Run.

And, a new heated indoor pool has opened in Kent - for dogs!

The facility at Mockbeggar Business Park in Cliffe allows canines of all breeds to bond - even XL bullies.

A Dymchurch woman who stabbed her husband when he fell asleep as she told him about her life problems, has avoided being sent to prison.

He needed emergency treatment but pleaded with a judge not to jail his wife - blaming the outburst on menopausal symptoms.

Also in today’s episode, a Kent MP says she hopes measures will be put in place urgently to ensure women receive better care when giving birth.

Canterbury’s Rosie Duffield has co-chaired a parliamentary inquiry into maternity services, which heard evidence from 1,300 mums about the trauma they have suffered.

Businesses in part of Medway are worried about new red-routes coming into force.

From next week, cameras will be used to catch drivers parking on certain busy roads in the Towns.

A petition has been set up to save one of the last remaining banks on Sheppey.

TSB announced last week they're shutting their branch on Sheerness High Street, making it the fourth bank to close on the island in last couple of years.

Work has finally started on a £60 million redevelopment of part of Maidstone.

Over the next few weeks 38 homes will be demolished on Cambridge Crescent in Shepway to make way for nearly 120 new properties.

And, a group of teachers have completed a challenge to run from Maidstone to Paris ahead of the Olympics.

Six members of staff at Bower Grove took part in a relay to raise money for a summer festival for special needs pupils.

A Gravesend mum has hit out at her son's school after receiving a letter criticising his attendance, despite the fact he was having life saving treatment.

Louie Wilders missed most of Year 8 after being diagnosed with aplastic anaemia.

Also in today’s episode, an Ashford woman says she has been left unable to sleep because of the stress of living in a mould-ridden flat.

Barbara Hasiuk suffers from leukemia and says issues with damp at her home in Downland Court have made her poor health even worse.

As Rishi Sunak gives a speech to try and win over voters, we have been taking a look at how a general election could play out in Kent.

A polling analyst has been on the Kent Politics Podcast following a poor set of results for the Conservatives in local council ballots.

As we mark the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, KentOnline has been finding out how a barber shop in Medway is helping men get the support they need.

No Bad Days on St Mary's Island was set up by Jake Cox as a safe place for people to talk about their emotions.

An 11-year-old girl from Sittingbourne has had life-saving surgery after being diagnosed with a rare bone cancer.

Ivie Adams was about to start her first year at Highsted Grammar School when she started experiencing symptoms.

And, bosses say they are hoping to make a six-screen cinema the "epicentre" of Ashford.

The former Picturehouse site at Elwick Place is now being run by the council and The Big Picture Limited.

The Labour leader has been in Dover to explain how his party would tackle the issue of small boat crossings.

Sir Keir Starmer described it as 'one of the greatest challenges we face' and confirmed he would scrap the government's Rwanda scheme.

He was joined by Dover MP Natalie Elphicke who defected to the party earlier this week.

Also in the podcast, a leading Kent doctor is urging mums-to-be to get the whooping cough vaccine after a huge rise in cases.

Around 2,800 infections have been reported in England in the first three months of this year - up from just 858 in 2023.

The landlord of a village pub near West Malling says he's already lost £1,000 just days into a six-week road closure.

The King's Arms on Teston Road, Offham is still open despite UK Power Networks installing underground cables between Seven Mile Lane and Aldon Lane. Find out what the power company has said in response.

A fifth generation fruit farmer in Maidstone has dug up 80% of his orchard, because his business wasn't turning a profit.

James Smith, from Loddington Farm in Boughton Monchelsea, has been telling us why he's turning away from selling apples to major retailers and opening a farm shop.

In sport, the Gillingham managing director says he's convinced the new manager is the right man for the job.

Mark Bonner was appointed little over a week after Stephen Clemence was sacked after failing to make the league two play-offs.

And, a group of teachers are setting off on a challenge to run from Maidstone to Paris ahead of the Olympics.

Six of the staff at Bower Grove School will be completing the distance as a relay, running around a marathon each.