Kent water leaks not fixed within 5 day promise

At the beginning of this week, households in Kent were put on notice of a hosepipe ban, which will come into effect next month. Now a BBC investigation has found one of the water companies that supplies Kent is falling way behind its own target for fixing leaks.

Last night's Watchdog on BBC One revealed that it is taking Thames Water months in some cases to fix leaks, even when they have been reported. The company has apologised unresevedly to one customer and removed a claim from its website that it will fix leaks within an average of 5 days (06:06, 07:07 and 08:07).

The deaths of six British soldiers killed in a massive explosion in Afghanistan recently will be weighing heavy on the minds of Kent's gurkhas preparing to return to the region in November.

It was the single biggest loss of UK life in Afghanistan since the Nimrod crash killed 14 in 2006, and it follows the protests over the burning of the Qu'ran, and a shooting massacre by a rogue U.S. soldier.

The First Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles from Folkestone are currently training to return to the province. They have been set the task of restoring trust (06:25, 07:22 and 08:22).

Do not get too close to the edge - that is the warning from Dover coastguard to anyone thinking of going down to the cliffs to look at the recent rockfall this weekend.

Around 100,000 tonnes of chalk slipped down the cliff near the South Foreland lighthouse earlier in the week. The area has become a big - if rather dangerous - tourist attraction (07:39 and 08:48).