KentOnline

More than 40 hair and beauty students at an academy on Sheppey have been told their past year’s work was for nothing.

The pupils have been left stunned they won’t be getting a BTEC qualification despite signing up for the course and studying hard.

Also in today’s podcast, an award-winning architect who designed and built his “dream home” on the Kent coast says it no longer feels safe following an attempted armed raid at the property.

...

A mum-of-four who endured cancer chemotherapy after being misdiagnosed with the disease says a hospital trust “has not learned from its mistakes”.

The Whitstable resident says she has “absolutely no faith in doctors” after being told by Kent and Canterbury Hospital staff she could “drop down dead” at any moment.

Also in today's podcast, furious swimmers say a “dirty” leisure centre that employs three cleaners must take on more staff ...

A developer has been criticised for going back on a promise to provide affordable housing in Deal.

100 properties are due be built in Cross Road and 30% were supposed to be affordable. We've been getting reaction from people who live nearby.

Also in the podcast, bosses in Dartford have approved plans to build more than 12 and a half thousand homes over the next 13 years.

The area's seen a 20% population increase in recent years - part...

An Eastenders legend is among those calling on a Kent council to reopen a playing field which residents have used for more than 100 years.

John Altman, who played ‘Nasty’ Nick Cotton in the soap, says he “treasures” the land and that the green space should be preserved.

Also in today's podcast, there are fears for the future of Kent's "music town", with some venue owners saying the town has never been so quiet.  

A number of business ...

A Gravesend mum has issued an invitation to Rishi Sunak, saying he should come to her home and help give mental health support to her struggling 18-year-old.

It comes after the Prime Minister said he wants to tackle what he described as the UK's "sicknote culture" and strip GPs of their power to sign people off work.

Also in today's episode, a child is thought to be among five people who have died while trying to cross the Channel.

A ...

A coroner has highlighted missed opportunities in the care of a 23-year-old man from Broadstairs, who took his own life days after being deemed "low risk" by hospital nurses.

An inquest has been held following the death of Gabriel Farmer.

Also in today's podcast, there are calls for tonnes of illegal waste to be cleared from woodland near Ashford before the summer.

Access to the site in Hoad's Wood has now been closed off but mountain...

Tributes have been paid to a “genuine” and “caring” 37-year-old who died hours after a severe asthma attack.

The gym lover, known as “Big Man” by his friends was found unresponsive by his partner last month. 

Also in today's podcast, a landlord has banned vaping in his Hernhill pub because he doesn’t want customers to be put off their Sunday lunches.

Signs have been put up at The Three Horseshoes warning people that puffing away on th...

A pensioner left locked out of her home in the dark believes she was ripped off by a “rogue trader” who charged a staggering £1,600 to get her into the property.

The Ashford woman paid the eye-watering bill after being told the job had been carried out at the “going rate”.

Also in today's podcast, a Strood family of three made homeless after a blaze destroyed their home of 14 years say they have “lost everything”.

They are now living ...

An inquest into the death of a 12-year-old girl who suffered a severe asthma attack at a Medway school has heard how staff did their best to save her life. 

Pearl Unu-Arubi went into cardiac arrest at Rochester Grammar School in March last year. 

Also in today's podcast, a Kent MP has weighed into the debate about introducing a smacking ban. 

Doctors have warned the current laws are "dangerously vague" and changes would help crack dow...

A would-be arsonist who tried to set fire to a police station by pouring accelerant over a front counter and throwing a lit rag later admitted he had been having "an off day".

He'd had gone to Medway police station armed with a jar filled with flammable fluid.

Also in today's podcast, two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the death of a motorcyclist after police pursued a driver on the M25. 

Kent Police officers chased t...

Seafront traders thrown into “turmoil” by do-not-swim warnings on two Kent beaches fear they could remain in place for years.

The water on the Romney Marsh has been found to contain high levels of a bacterium that indicates the presence of human faeces.

Also in today's podcast, a Maidstone mum has been left stunned after all her possessions were moved to a storage unit more than 60 miles away after a vehicle ploughed into her home.

Al...

A 78-year-old woman had to have her lower leg amputated after her family claim she was left on a trolley in a hospital corridor for four days.

She was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital with a foot infection on Good Friday which developed into sepsis.

Also in today's podcast, a Rainham teacher has shared his incredible story as part of a campaign from Air Ambulance Charity Kent, Surrey and Sussex. 

The dad-of-three says his bedroom was...

Motorists are up in arms about a hike in car park charges considered so “unreasonable” many believed it was an April Fool’s prank.

Residents in Herne were previously able to park for a whole day for just £2.20, but that all came to an end when new tariffs were introduced on April 1st. 

Also in today's podcast, a new report has found 15 percent of Kent Police officers want to leave the force within the next two years. 

Almost 7 in 10 d...

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 Ga...

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 a...

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 dispu...

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-...

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 ...

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 accidenta...