KentOnline

An inquest has heard a dad-of-two with an agonising back injury was found dead in bed after unintentionally overdosing on painkillers. 

The 31-year-old was discovered unresponsive by his heartbroken partner at their home in Birchington last November. 

Also in today's podcast, one year on from a landslide which closed a major road, residents and businesses have been left counting the financial, emotional and physical costs.

The A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe collapsed and people living nearby are desperately demanding action.

An alarming survey has revealed more than half of staff at a Kent NHS trust would not be happy for a loved one to be treated there.

In what bosses admit is a “shocking indictment” of the organisation, just 45% of workers at East Kent Hospitals are content with the “standard of care”.

Controversial ventilation units ruining one of the most iconic views in Britain are set to be moved.

The rooftop equipment was installed as part of a new medical school run by Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) in the city’s North Holmes Road.

And hear from a 75-year-old glass merchant from Rainham celebrating 60 years in the glazing business. 

He's worked for the same company since he left school and says he has no plans to retire. 

The family of a "kind-hearted and much-loved” man who died after a town centre assault have said they will fight for justice.

The 33-year-old was put on life-support after being attacked twice within the space of two days in Chatham. 

Also in today's podcast, fire crews have been called out to a number of blazes in Kent in the last 24 hours. 

Sadly a cat has died in one house fire in Canterbury which is believed to have been started accidentally. 

A decade-long battle to get a landowner to clear up his farmland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is facing yet another delay.

Maidstone council first started enforcement action  over the 14-hectare plot  after it found the land littered with broken vehicles and waste. 

The KentOnline Podcast has been told more companies should employ people with learning difficulties - after a social media post of a Sheppey woman went viral.

Shelley Harris has Down's syndrome and was pictured learning her role at Asda in Sittingbourne.

And damning comments about one of Kent’s up-and-coming towns have sparked debate - after visitors called it dirty and run-down.

It comes less than a month after The Sunday Times described the seaside town as the best place to live in the south east of England.

Parents in part of Kent are demanding a new non-selective secondary school to save their children a 10-mile commute.

Currently there isn't a non-grammar in Cranbrook, so pupils are faced with long journeys every day. That's led to mums and dads setting up a campaign group.

Also in today's podcast, there's major disruption to rail services in Kent today as train drivers are out on strike.

Members of the ASLEF union have been in a dispute with employers over pay since July 2022. We've been getting reaction from Southeastern.

The man who wants to be the next Labour MP in Dover says the government has left it too late to avoid chaos at the town's Port when new biometric checks come in.

The EU digital border controls are due to be introduced this Autumn and would see manual passport stamps replaced with facial imaging and fingerprinting.

Today marks four weeks since the start of controversial road works in Medway - and local bosses have told the podcast they're pleased with how traffic's coping.

The A228 in the Strood-bound direction from the Sans Pareil roundabout has been closed since March 11 and won't reopen until June so the entrance to a new school can be built.

Parking charges are going up in another part of Kent as bosses look to create more revenue to avoid cutting services elsewhere.

Tonbridge and Malling councillors have voted in favour of introducing a fee at sites in Aylesford and Larkfield to bring them in line with the rest of the borough.

Residents in Stodmarsh say a stretch of road leading into their village could be one of the worst in Kent.

Drivers say years of neglect have left Stodmarsh Road full of potholes, with uneven surfaces and water retention. 

In sport, Gillingham's hopes of reaching the league two play-offs are all but over after they suffered another defeat at the weekend.

They were beaten 1-0 at Bradford City to drop to 11th in the table. We've been getting reaction from head coach Stephen Clemence and player Connor Mahoney.

A dad-of-five who suspected his long-term girlfriend was cheating on him swapped her medication for laxatives.

He was caught creeping into the kitchen on a CCTV camera the couple had installed at their Dover home.

Also in today's podcast, a Marden dad shares his near-death experience as part of the Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex Buy if for Life appeal. 

Warren Porritt had just minutes to live after he was involved in a near-fatal crash on Father’s Day in 2016. 

Commuters have expressed their delight at the return of a “priceless" park and ride - although critics still believe it is a waste of money.

The KentOnline Podcast has spoken to some of the people who have been using the service since it was reinstated. 

A traffic-free zone is to be set up around another school as part of a trial aimed at making streets safer for children.

It follows “volatile and aggressive” exchanges outside the primary school in Dartford. 

And in football you can hear from the Gillingham boss ahead of their make-or-break match against Bradford City. 

The Gills need to win all of their remaining fixtures to have any hope of making it to the League 2 play offs. 

A coroner has revealed a soldier whose body was found in the River Medway after a night out may have suffered a “violent or unnatural death”.

25-year-old Charlie Saywell was discovered trapped under a boat last month, and had rope around his legs and torso.

A Medway mum says more needs to be done to improve services for children with special education needs.

A report by Ofsted this week has found many are still waiting too long to be assessed, with inconsistent experiences and outcomes.

Campaigners are celebrating after Folkestone flats they branded “horrendous” were snubbed following 300 comments of opposition.

The proposals for 20 flats were rejected by council bosses but the firm behind the bid tried to do it anyway.

The owners of The Pet Shop in Sittingbourne have been telling us how they have managed to stay open for thirty years.

Victor Brobyn has been in business since 1994 and has sold all sorts of animals from bearded dragons to rabbits and birds.

JB Gill from JLS has been on our sister radio station kmfm ahead of their concert at Dreamland in Margate.

The boy band will be playing on July 6th as part of the Summer series.

And in cricket, Kent’s head coach Matt Walker has been telling us about his plans for the new season.

Their first county championship match against Somerset gets underway tomorrow.

A heartbroken family has paid tribute to their “adventurous” dad and husband after a fatal cycling accident near Tenterden. 

The 65-year-old was knocked off his bike by a car door and died in hospital just days later. 

Also in today's podcast, eyewitnesses have described the “scary” moment a huge shed blaze destroyed their neighbour’s garden and threatened to engulf their homes too.

Firefighters now believe the blaze started accidentally due to an electrical fault within a shed.

Hear from residents who are calling for action to be taken to improve a “dangerous” zebra crossing close to three schools.

Drivers have been accused of constantly ignoring people attempting to cross the road in Dartford. 

We're being warned to expect disruption on a key route through Kent, ahead of three weeks’ worth of closures.

The link between Faversham and Ashford is set to be intermittently closed later this month for maintenance work. 

And McDonald’s could return to a Kent town as bosses have earmarked a former leisure centre site for a new drive-thru.

Burger giant bosses there is now a “long-standing need” for one of its venues in the area.

Plans for a state-of-the-art medical centre in Sittingbourne are up in the air after concerns were raised over the cost of the rent.

The new facility in the Bell Road development would serve an additional 6,000 patients, but NHS bosses say the scheme needs further work.

Also in today’s episode, official figures show a record number of asylum seekers have crossed the Channel in small boats during the first quarter of this year.

791 people made the dangerous journey over the Easter weekend, taking the total for 2024 so far to 5,435.

There has been a rise in vehicle thefts across Kent, with police data showing which makes and models are stolen the most.

An expert has been telling us why certain vehicles are more popular with thieves, and why recovery rates have gone down.

An appeal has been launched to raise £1 million to buy the air ambulance that covers Kent.

The charity that runs the life-saving service say they need the cash by the end of May.

A mum who was left bed-bound after being collapsing at Disneyland says her medical detection dog has helped her enjoy life again.

Candy Adams from Istead Rise started fainting while on a family holiday in 2016 and was eventually diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome.

And in football, the Gillingham boss has apologised to fans after yesterday's 5-1 defeat.

Their chances of reaching the leage 2 play-offs have been badly damaged after they lost to Harrogate Town away from home.

People behind a multi-million pound seafront development in Folkestone are using hawks to scare away seagulls.

We're told it's to prevent them from nesting when they can become territorial and aggressive.

Also in today's podcast, we're bring warned to expect delays this long weekend as millions of people get away for the Easter holidays.

Figures from the AA show travel is set to peak on Saturday - with more than 18 million of us taking to the roads. We've been speaking to  the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum to find out how they're preparing.

There are also concerns a new entry exit system due to come into force this Autumn will cause further delays at the Port of Dover.

Bosses have been meeting with local traders to explain what measures they're putting in place.

As council tax bills start to land on doormats across Kent, residents in two areas might be shocked to see a significant increase.

Bobbing and Hartlip parish councils have upped their part of the payment by as much as 173% - we've been getting reaction.

Chatham's MP is taking on a cycle ride later to raise money for the Kent Air Ambulance.

Tracey Crouch is joining the dad of a young woman from her constituency who died in a crash two years ago.

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the closure of Chatham Dockyard.

For more than 400 years it was the heart of north Kent, employing generations of skilled workers.

In sport, Gillingham start the long Easter weekend with a game at Priestfield tomorrow afternoon.

They'll hope to make it a run of three games without a defeat as they welcome Crewe Alexandra. We've been catching up with head coach Stephen Clemence and owner Brad Galinson.

People living in Sittingbourne say they feel trapped in their homes as roads works and new housing developments cause daily congestion. 

They're caught in the crossfire as the government set housing targets leaving local authorities to deal with the consequences.

Also in today's podcast, thousands of NHS dental procedures have been cancelled in Medway over the last two years with more than 1.1 million not performed.

It comes as half of all dentists based in the Towns say they won’t do any more NHS work due to financial pressures, “too much bureaucracy” and difficulty with recruiting and retaining staff.

A dead rat has been found decomposing in the kitchen of a popular sushi restaurant in Canterbury. 

They were forced to stop service immediately and given a damning one-star food hygiene rating. 

Swalecliffe has been named as one of the places in the county most affected by sewage spills in the last 12 months. 

New figures from the Environment Agency show there were more than 11 spills there - you can hear from Sally Burtt-Jones from SOS Whitstable. 

And a Kent couple who are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary share their secrets to a long and happy marriage. 

Ron and Phyllis Wills say they've barely spent a day apart since they met in 1953. 

Police have been called to a school twice in one week amid concerns over a group of young people intimidating pupils in the area.

The secondary’s head teacher has now written to parents saying it is not the only local school that the group is targeting.

Also in today's podcast, activists have blockaded access points into a Kent weapons factory by lying across the road and locking themselves to gates.

Eight pro-Palestine protestors claim they have “successfully shutdown” the site in Sandwich they say is sending military equipment to Gaza. 

More than 5,000 fare-dodgers a month are being hit with bumped-up £100 fines by Southeastern for not buying a rail ticket.

The train company revealed it received nearly £2.5m last year from penalty fares given to commuters who failed to purchase a valid ticket.

The boss of a barber shop destroyed just days before it was set to open says he is more determined than ever to make the business a success. 

The business  in Hythe High Street was left with its windows smashed in and frames knocked down after a car reportedly hit the front of the property.

And Papa Johns is to shut 43 restaurants across the UK including two in Kent.

The takeaway business confirmed plans to axe the “underperforming” locations after launching a review at the start of the year.