KentOnline

Thomas Cook has collapsed after 178 years of trading.
It was confirmed in the early hours of this morning the company had failed to get the £200 million it needed to keep its lenders happy.
The travel company has 13 branches here in Kent but everyone who worked there is now out of a job.
The largest repatriation operation is now underway to bring home the 150,000 British tourists who’re currently overseas.

Climate change campaigners across Kent have joined millions all over the world for protests today.
Demonstrations have been held in more than 150 different countries to try and get governments and companies to do more to protect the environment.
Also in today’s episode, we have reaction to plans for a 5,000 home garden community near Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells paralympian Will Bailey tells us how he feels ahead of his first performance on Strictly Come Dancing, and Gillingham player Connor Ogilvie has been looking ahead to this weekend’s game.

Bailiffs have been used almost 43,000 times in just one year to recover unpaid council tax in Kent.The smallest debt they were asked to chase was for just over £14.Also in today’s episode, smoking rates across the county are at their lowest ever level, HMS Medway has been officially commissioned, and a teacher has given up his job to make a Brexit card game.
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There are calls for an investigation into a Kent grammar school amid claims it’s acting illegally.The Weald of Kent in Tonbridge opened an annexe in Sevenoaks in 2017, but now campaigners say it’s acting as a stand-alone grammar, despite laws preventing new selective schools from being built.Also in today’s episode, it’s feared a no-deal Brexit could be worse for Kent than originally thought, Liam Payne’s been telling us all about his new single and the Gillingham manager gives us his reaction to last night’s game.
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There’s been a rise in the number of children in Kent being targeted by criminals to be ‘money mules’.Figures show more than 130 under 18s were convinced by gangs to allow them to use their bank accounts to hide criminal funds last year – that’s up more than 80% on 2016.Also in today’s episode, there are concerns for rough sleepers in Sittingbourne after a shelter on a bus was forced to close, and HMS Medway arrives in the towns it was named after.
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There are calls for food delivery cyclists to have number plates, after an elderly man said he was hit by one in Canterbury.The 85-year-old was apparently knocked down on the High Street, but when his daughter contacted the company they said they couldn’t identify the rider responsible.Also in today’s episode, we hear from people who saw a huge barn blaze in Maidstone, an online game is giving students the chance to get a degree in an hour, and the Gillingham boss gives us his reaction to the weekend’s game.
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The family of a teenager who died after eating a birthday meal at Byron Burger want change in the law on labelling in restaurants.
Owen Carey – who went to school in Tunbridge Wells – suffered a fatal reaction after eating grilled chicken coated in buttermilk in 2017.
A coroner ruled he was misled into thinking it was safe for him to eat.
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Questions are being asked today over whether children should be allowed to buy so-called “loot boxes” in computer games.A report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which is chaired by Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins, has raised concerns about youngsters getting involved in betting.Also in today’s episode, we speak to a family of eight who are living in a tent after being evicted and government documents reveal the possible impact of a no-deal Brexit.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

We’ve been hearing from the mum of a boy who was murdered by someone he met online, as figures show there’s been a 15% rise in child grooming offences reported to Kent Police.According to the NSPCC there were 140 cases in the county in the year to April, and more youngsters than ever before are being targeted through Instagram.Also in today’s episode, a record 86 migrants have tried to cross the English Channel in a single day, Southeastern have extended their Delay Repay scheme, and tributes are paid to a 15-year-old boy found dead in a field.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

Our top story today in today’s KentOnline Podcast is about police who were looking for a wanted Tunbridge Wells man at a London hotel, but instead found almost £1m worth of goods bought with suspected criminal money.
Officers arrested a 55-year-old man on Valentines Day, after finding gold bars, designer watches and 500 hundred lottery tickets.
He’s now been jailed for almost four years for offences, including money laundering.
www.kentonline.co.uk