KentOnline

A Kent father has told us about the heart-breaking moment his 14 month-old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Octavia Begbey had a growth the size of a golf ball in the middle of her brain.
Her dad Richard, who lives in Kings Hill, is on a fundraising walk to help other people who could benefit from the pioneering technology that saved her.
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Jeremy Corbyn has launched Labour’s European elections manifesto in Kent.
The party’s leader gave a speech at the universities at Medway Chatham campus, saying a vote for Labour is a vote to bring our divided country back together.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

A new campaign’s been launched in Kent to try and stop young people trespassing on railway lines in the county…
KentOnline has been told over the past 12 months there have been 22 cases in Swale, 15 in Thanet and 12 in Medway.
A new film’s being posted on social media to try and get the message across about the dangers of the live rail.

A man found with a samurai sword during a drugs raid by police in Maidstone has been jailed for more than three years…
Officers searched a property on Wallis Avenue in March.
Ian Bigg was sat on a sofa next to the weapon – the 39 year-old has since admitted possessing and intending to supply class A drugs.
Also hear why universities need to do more to close the degree attainment gap and we get a sneak peak of a new brewery opening in Ashford.

Counts have been taking place across Kent after thousands of us voted in the local elections.
Both the Conservatives and Labour have lost seats in parts of the county – with Brexit frustration being blamed.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

There’s been a significant increase in the number of people in Kent contacting a helpline and website to try and stop themselves viewing indecent images of children online…
541 people got in touch with Stop It Now! in 2016 – that went up to almost 800 last year.
Now, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation – who set it up – have joined forces with police in the county to tackle the issue of inappropriate pictures of young people appearing on the internet.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

There are concerns about whether a new theme park in north Kent will be able to attract enough visitors, as it’s revealed another entertainment company has pulled out of the project.
A deal between London Resort and Paramount was dropped in 2017 – and we now know the makers of Wallace and Gromit are also no longer involved.
Earlier this week we told you bosses, who want to spend more than 3 billion pounds building the park on the Swanscombe peninsular between Dartford and Gravesend, had signed an agreement with ITV studios.
Some of the rides and attractions will be based on children’s shows Thunderbirds Are Go and Robozuna.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/

A woman is calling for justice for her husband from Broadstairs who died after being infected with contaminated blood…
A public inquiry’s been hearing evidence today into why NHS patients were given blood products with hepatitis and HIV in the 1970s and 80s.
Steve Dymond was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1997 and was among thousands who died.
Su Gorman will be one of the people giving evidence.

Campaigners says rape victims are being made to choose between privacy or justice – as police ask them to hand over their mobile phones.
Forces across England and Wales want accusers to allow officers to access data including messages, photos, emails, and social media content.
If they don’t, cases could be dropped.
Big Brother Watch is calling it a “digital strip search” that will prolong the distress for those who’ve been attacked.

There’s some more bad news for the High Street today – Debenhams has announced plans to close 22 stores, including four in Kent.
Shops in Ashford, Canterbury, Chatham and Folkestone are at risk as the struggling chain’s new owners try to return the company to profitability.
The move could mean the loss of 1,200 jobs across the country.