KentOnline

A Medway man, his wife and their four-week-old baby are in quarantine after being evacuated from the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.33-year-old Adam Bridgeman was among 11 people who arrived back in the UK from Wuhan last night.Also in today’s episode: find out how a cartoon character is helping to prevent children from being exploited, and we hear why apprenticeships could be better than going to university.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

On the day Britain leaves the EU, we’re taking a look back at how Brexit happened.It all started back in January 2013 – with a promise from David Cameron.Find out more about the chain of events that have led us to this point, and what’s happening now.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

A hospital trust is going to be publicly scrutinised over a series of failings which led to a baby’s death.Kent County Council is expected to investigate 26 maternity cases at East Kent NHS Trust, after a coroner said Harry Richford’s death was “wholly avoidable”.Also in today’s episode: GPs in the county have been given guidance on how to deal with possible coronavirus cases, we’ve been finding out how children cope with becoming young carers, and in football Gillingham have continued their unbeaten run in league one.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

Thousands of people have been tuning in to understand more about mental health in an unlikely place – listening to two friends talk over a beer.
The Why The Long Face? podcast is hosted by Chatham’s Oliver Turnbull and his psychiatrist friend Dr Paul Keedwell.
Oliver joins this week’s KM Community Podcast to explain why he thinks podcasting is the best way to tackle the difficult topic. 

We’re being given another chance to have our say on plans for the Lower Thames Crossing, connecting Kent to Essex.New images and details have been released of the proposed route for Britain’s longest road tunnel from the east of Gravesend to Tilbury, as an eight-week public consultation gets underway on the latest changes.Also in today’s episode: Kent’s MEPs say goodbye to Brussels as the EU rubber stamps the UK’s Brexit deal, and we hear from a woman who set up a charity to donate children’s shoes to disadvantaged youngsters.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

Plans to build a controversial new railway station have taken a step forward.The county council’s decided to contribute almost £18m of funding towards the Thanet Parkway project, which would allow people to get between Cliffsend and London in around an hour.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

This week KentOnline’s podcasting duo look at the political developments affecting the county.
Political editor Paul Francis and Oliver Kemp discuss smart motorways, the shortcomings of HS1 and waving goodbye to our MEPs.
They also talk about the strange battle of the political banners over the past week.

The Tonbridge and Malling MP is urging the government to consider using other suppliers for its 5G network, instead of getting Huawei involved.Ministers are expected to make a final decision tomorrow on whether to approve the Chinese technology company’s equipment.Also in today’s episode: there could soon be a crackdown on lorries using rural roads through Kent villages, hundreds of trees have been cut down in a Maidstone park to reduce the risk of flooding, self-defence classes for women are getting more popular, and we hear from the Gillingham and Dartford managers after their matches at the weekend.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

A coroner has said a baby boy who died at the QEQM in Margate was ‘failed by the hospital’ and his death was ‘wholly avoidable’.
An inquest has been looking into what happened to Harry Richford who died at seven days old following a traumatic birth at the hospital in 2017.
The coroner also says ‘neglect contributed to his death’ and he would have survived if he’d been resuscitated within 10 minutes – instead of 28.
Also in today’s episode: with a week to go, there’s still confusion over cross-Channel travel after Brexit – how martial arts is being used to tackle knife crime and we look ahead to Gillingham’s next game in league one.

An investigation into East Kent Hospitals Trust has concluded the deaths of at least seven babies since 2016 might not have happened if standards had been higher.Bosses have already apologised admitting standards “fell short” – and say they’re reviewing their service with some of England’s leading maternity experts to make rapid improvements.Also in today’s episode: a doctor is urging us not to panic too much about a deadly virus in China, a car dealership has been targeted by thieves for a third time, and a former striker has told us what it’s like to play under Gillingham manager Steve Evans.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/