Latest news with #Hythe
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Visit this peaceful 'hidden gem' seaside town 2 hours away from London
Looking for a seaside getaway that's not a tourist hotspot? Then this hidden gem not too far from London is the perfect place for you. The picturesque seaside town of Hythe in Kent is only accessible by car, making it a peaceful oasis from coastal towns with bustling train stations. Despite not being accessible by train, Hythe is just a two-hour drive from London via the M20. The small town is prized for its impressive high street, walks and views of the sea and countryside, offering the best of both worlds. Why you should visit the Kent seaside town of Hythe Hythe might be small in size, but it is still mighty, offering a wide range of activities and things to enjoy. On the Folkestone and Hythe website, the old market town is described as having a "quintessential English High Street". Adding that it is filled with "historic old buildings, independent shops, cafes and pubs" all just a short walk away from the stunning stone pebble beach. Shops along the high street include Obidosh, selling a range of boutique items and homeware, gift shop WOW and antique shop The Malthouse. Hythe is also a great place if you're a fan of charity shopping with several stores along the high street, including the Pilgrims Hospices, Demelza, British Red Cross, Barnardo's and more. The small Kent town will not leave you hungry, with plenty of restaurants, cafes and pubs to enjoy like The Truffle Pig, The Lazy Shack on the seafront, Star Cafe and Bistro, and The White Hart pub. For fans of walking, Hythe is a great spot to visit, with the walk along the Royal Military Canal offering a reconnection with nature. Or you can take a short drive to the Brockhill Country Park that dates back to the Norman times and has a waterfall, a lake, meadows, a picnic and play area, along with an on-site cafe. Hythe beach is a great place to enjoy a dip in the sea with areas designated for swimming and in 2024, the water quality was rated excellent. From May 1 to September 30 of each year, the beach has restrictions on dogs, with all dogs required to be on leads at all times. Despite Hythe only being accessible by car, there is a train station, with the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. The railway has been open since 1927 and is known as "Kent's Mainline in Miniature", using one-third full-size steam & diesel locomotives to ferry guests to the seaside. You can find out more about the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway via the website. Recommended Reading 5 beautiful villages near London for a weekend getaway St Leonards the coastal town just one hour from London Visit the village of Chilham for the perfect weekend getaway For places to stay, Hythe Imperial Hotel is very popular and on the seafront, with a bar and golf course on site. You can also book rooms in the likes of The Swan Hotel, The Red Lion or The Old Post Office Guest House just off the high street. There are also several guest houses along the seafront available to rent, including Secret Hythe and The Beach Escapes.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
TV's Chris Packham has grass seed warning for dog owners
The broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham has warned people to be aware of the risk grass seeds pose to dogs after one of his pets had to be rushed to the Packham, who lives in the New Forest, said his poodle Nancy needed treatment on two separate occasions after she developed weeping eyes and symptoms similar to conjunctivitis."Her eye was inflamed and clearly sore," he said. "She was becoming increasingly distressed."It turned out that both times she had a grass seed stuck behind her eyelid, which was causing irritation and pain. But he said on both occasions a vet was able to remove it without any long term now wears specialist doggie goggles when she goes out in the long grass to prevent it from happening again. Mirka Palenikova is a specialist in Ophthalmology at Seadown Vets in Hythe, and treated said: "I could see there was quite a lot of discharge coming out from the eye and she was in pain so we had to apply topical anaesthetic into her eye to be able to examine her." Ms Palenikova said it was important for owners to check their dogs for signs of conjunctivitis and grass seeds in their eyes, paws, ears and coat after every walk. She said if left untreated grass seeds can lead to blindness, and in some cases needed a test like a CT or MRI scan to find it. And as more people try to encourage biodiversity by leaving gardens and fields to grow, rather than always cutting grass, it is a problem that she is seeing more frequently."We are seeing maybe a case or two weekly. With the weather warming as well we see more cases, and I even saw a cat recently with grass seed in her eye which was unusual," she said."I would advise not to walk dogs in areas where there are obvious grass seeds or meadows with long grass." To encourage biodiversity Mr Packham only cuts the grass in his garden once a year, but said he had never had this problem before. "I suppose it's an artefact of the fact that we've generated an environment here where there's an awful lot of seed and they do like playing, running through the garden," he is now vigilant about checking for grass seeds, and Nancy now wears special goggles to protect her eyes when walking in long grass. "When I heard about them, I was very sceptical and thought this is ridiculous," he said."Although I thought it was an absurd idea, ultimately I'd rather have a dog with two perfectly functional eyes than a dog that had lost one of them because of my prejudice." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Sun
20-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
I bought £245k first-home using £13k free cash from little-known scheme – six steps you need to take
FIRST-TIME buyer Jack Heath got the keys to his first home at the age of 23 - thanks to getting £13,000 in free cash from a little-known scheme. The chef bought his two-bedroom apartment for £244,995 in Hythe, Kent, in October 2024. 4 4 4 4 He used the Deposit Unlock Scheme by housebuilder Barratt Homes, which contributed 5% (£13,000) to his deposit. Jack told The Sun: 'I've wanted my own place for as long as I can remember, but I didn't want to rent as I think it's dead money - and I don't want to line a landlord's pockets. 'However, I was a bit concerned about how I'd buy a place on my own because all you ever hear is that it's impossible.' 'It was when I was scrolling on Facebook on a Sunday night in September last year that I saw the apartment in Hythe which was part of the Deposit Unlock Scheme. 'I'd already been saving hard for a deposit and after doing some quick sums in my head, I realised that I had enough money and I couldn't believe that I might actually be able to buy my first home sooner than I had realised. 'I bought my apartment within 24 hours and moved in four weeks later.' The Barratt Homes scheme enables first-time buyers and existing homeowners in England, Wales and Scotland to buy select new-build homes with a 5% deposit. To apply for the scheme, you can follow some simple steps. Begin by searching online for the range of brand-new home s Once you've found one you like, get in touch with a Sales Adviser who will put you in contact with a New Homes Mortgage Adviser who will help you arrange your mortgage using Deposit Unlock. It provides customers with competitively priced mortgage products up to £750,000. 5 things to check before applying for a mortgage Using Deposit Unlock means that you are limited to mortgage lenders who have joined the Deposit Unlock Scheme. Deposit Unlock can't be used in conjunction with any other schemes. To boost his deposit, Jack also contributed £16,400 of his own savings which he'd put aside over a period of eight months. While he was saving, Jack worked solidly for eight months - six or seven days a week on two different cheffing contracts. Until he moved into his place, he lived with his mum while he worked two jobs in Folkestone and Dungeness. He saved half of his wages each month, which was £2,400 and used the remainder of his salary to pay his bills which included rent to his mum (£200), phone bill, car insurance and spending money. Jack set up a savings account and as soon as he was paid, he put half of his salary into it and didn't touch it. He said: 'I set myself a strict budget each month, and the first thing I did was put away my savings, then paid my bills. 'Anything that was left over was for me to enjoy - but if I blew it all in the first couple of weeks, then I didn't go out. 'It meant that there were quite a few nights where I sat on the sofa on my own. 'My focus had to be the long-term goal of buying my first home, rather than the short-term goal of going out every single weekend. 'It was tough at times, especially if I thought I was missing out on something special, but I'm so happy that I am already on the property ladder. He continues: 'It is possible to buy as long as people are willing to make sacrifices - but I also realise I was lucky that I was able to live with my mum while saving. 'My friends and family are really chuffed for me, although initially they were concerned that it might not be affordable. 'Once they realised it was and I was so determined, they left me to it. 'While I was saving I also restricted the amount of money I spent on things like new clothes or food out which was tough as I like to spend." Jack's six steps to get on the housing ladder It's a big deal to buy your first home, but don't stress about it while it's going through, Jack explains. Take it step by step and trust the people around you. Look around for deals and incentives as there are more available than you might think. Just do it: the younger the better, before you've got kids and other commitments! Be prepared to make sacrifices, but keep your eye on your goal and it will be worth it. Don't let anyone else detract you from your goal. When I was saving, I had to miss out on a lot of nights out with my mates but I was determined that I wouldn't ever dip into my savings pot. Set up a standing order so that your money goes into your savings the moment you get paid. Reduce your costs as much as possible. If it means moving back in with your parents in the short term while you're saving, do it! Jack got a 30-year mortgage at a fixed rate of 4.79% and has found the monthly repayments of £1,089 are more than manageable. He continued: 'I love where I live, it's so peaceful and I can do what I like and come and go when I like, it's the best feeling ever. 'My mum pops round fairly regularly which is nice.' Jack already has his eye on his next property. He explained: 'I really like living here and love the look of the three-bedroom houses on the estate, so I think one of those will be my next purchase. 'I believe that anybody can do it, as long as you're prepared to make sacrifices and work hard for what you want. 'My family were not in the position to pay for my deposit so it was down to me to graft for it, but it can be done if you set your mind to it - if I can do it, anybody can. 'Working seven days a week for eight months was pretty hard going, but it was worth it. 'When I was knackered, and facing the prospect of yet another long shift, I just kept thinking about walking into my own place and closing my front door. 'I've reduced my hours slightly now, and I'm working five days - but if I have to increase them again in order to save for my next home, then I will. 'I don't have any issues with working for what I want.'
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Britain's most lawless fuel stations: Motorists fill up and drive off without paying while one owner says new scam by organised crime gangs has cost him £10,000 - and claims police will do nothing
Fuel stations are being robbed of tens of thousands of pounds worth of petrol and diesel by both organised crime gangs and ordinary punters in a wave of lawlessness on forecourts across the UK. Petrol station boss Sutha Selvarajah told MailOnline that his business is being 'plagued' by drivers 'forgetting' their card or cash and leaving a driving licence or passport behind as a guarantee to return with money. He has a collection of driving licences, passports and Inland Revenue identity cards which punters have left with him - never to return - and it's often revealed the documents are fake or stolen, leaving Mr Selvarajah out of pocket. Thefts from his petrol station in Palmarsh Gulf Service Station in Hythe, Kent, have cost him £10,000 in the last three years and he is convinced the 'sophisticated' scam is the work of organised crime gangs. The 50-year-old said the 'crippling' problem is only getting worse and believes Kent Police have 'given up' trying to tackle the problem. In addition his business is plagued by 'bilking' or 'drive-offs' where opportunistic motorists fill up and drive away without paying. Recently, Mr Selvarajah released CCTV footage of a motorist filling up £120 of fuel and then driving off but he is not bothering to report it to the police, believing 'nothing will be done'. 'It's a scandal. A new trick is they come in, say they're really sorry but they've forgotten their card, but say they will leave their driving licence or ID and come back,' he explained. Mr Selvarajah, owner of the garage, says he was not going to report the man to police because he did not think it would come to anything 'They fill up, always a big amount, like a full tank. They drive off and I never see them again. 'I am aware of it now but I was not before. People need to be aware of this. 'I've got a stash of identity cards. It's mad really. It's plaguing my business. 'I've been here three years and it's cost me about £10,000 in lost revenue. 'We've been telling the police about it. I have told them I have around ten identity cards. 'One of them even had an address in west Yorkshire. 'That's about 500 miles away. It's organised crime. It's become much more sophisticated than just filling up and not paying.' That crime - often referred to as bilking, or a drive-off - is still also happening several times a week. He added: 'I have CCTV, I have reported it to the police but they do not take it seriously. Now I do not bother. There's no outcome. 'Quite often we are spotting the same people, but in different cars. It's very annoying. I work so hard. 'I get here at 5am and often do not leave until 9pm. I love my job. I would never want to do anything else. 'But being targeted so often is really very upsetting. 'It's the first garage I have ever operated. I have a lease. The vast majority of the customers are brilliant. Most people are so friendly. The local customers especially are fantastic. 'But there are more and more thieves. I know it's not just me. Others are impacted as well.' He did not think a system where customers have to pay upfront before filling up would work. He added: 'I think that would make people very cross. It would cause a lot of upset. I cannot see the customer agreeing to that. They'd go elsewhere. 'Then there would be real trouble.' It's hard to tell when someone is planning to steal petrol - until they leap back in their car and disappear in a matter of seconds. A video from Mablethorpe's Empire Garage shows just how quickly it can happen as a man in shorts and a t-shirt leaps out of his red hybrid MG and nonchalantly fills up the tank, casually leaning on one leg as he does so. As another car pulls up, he acknowledges the driver, rapidly screwing the filler cap on his car and closing the flap - before hastily replacing the nozzle and jumping straight into his car. Just like that, he's gone. Incidents like this were happening twice a day at the garage - but police, too stretched to do anything about it, would tell owners Kavita and Sanjay Pilani to pursue it through civil means. Some of those driving off, Lincolnshire Police said, were not thieves, but people who were 'forgetting to pay for fuel' and were maybe not 'having a great day'. That doesn't help the Pilanis, who said last year they would be left as much as £90 down every time someone drove off without paying. The garage is now switching to US-style prepayment, where customers decide in advance how much they want to spend and pay for it inside before filling up. Time and again, garage owners are watching helplessly as their livelihoods are literally being drained away by criminals who use cloned plates and dishonest motorists who fill up knowing full well they don't intend to pay. It's a predicament facing every petrol station in the country amid a huge rise in fuel theft - also known as 'bilking' or 'pump and dash' theft. Some 131,000 drive-off incidents were reported to police between 2020 and 2024, costing forecourts some £6.55million. And a total of 66,378 requests for driver details were submitted to the DVLA between February and April this year after crooks drove off - up 49 per cent from the same period in 2024. This not only suggests fuel theft is on the rise, but that forecourts are giving up on expecting the police to do anything about it and instead resorting to civil action. Forecourt theft has a reputation as a 'victimless' crime among motorists who think they're getting one over the big oil firms. But Gordon Balmer, the PRA's executive director, says this ignores the fact that many petrol stations are family businesses. He told MailOnline sister site This Is Money in May: 'This is not a victimless crime. Many of our members run family businesses that are suffering huge losses through the Government's failure to enforce these crimes. 'If the authorities do not want to enforce the law, they should come out and say it. 'It would save our members the time and energy it takes to report crimes, only for no action to be taken.' On average, drivers are nicking £50 of fuel each time, according to industry magazine Forecourt Trader, which obtained the figures via Freedom of Information laws. That isn't enough to even brim the tank in an average family hatchback. Thieves are thought to steal such a low amount - below the £200 'low-value' threshold applied to shoplifting offences - on the assumption that forecourts will not bother pursuing them for the amount. Driving away without paying for petrol is known as making off without payment, and is an offence under the Theft Act, for which offenders can be sentenced to 12 months imprisonment at magistrates level and two years at Crown level. But the scale of the problem is not truly known - as many forecourt owners have given up on reporting thefts to overstretched police forces that do not have the time or resources to pursue scores of thefts for relatively small amounts of money. Across police forces, as many as 95 per cent of drive-off fuel theft end with no suspect identified - leaving forecourts out of pocket and the thief free to strike again. Nevertheless, the problem is costing garages - many of them family-run - millions of pounds every year. Outside of reporting the incident to the police, garage owners can request a driver's details from the DVLA by providing the body with a number plate. But that can be stymied if crooks use cloned or fake number plates to reduce the chances of being traced. A video shared on Facebook in April showed a driver of a black Seat Leon filling up with diesel before making a clumsy escape as the car rolls backwards. He then takes off and disappears in seconds. Social media users noted that the car had a number plate clearly visible in the footage, which was captured in broad daylight. But unless police can identify the driver, he'll likely get off scot-free - as a DVLA database states the number plate on his car belongs not to a black Seat, but to a grey Mercedes-Benz. Another incident of fuel theft the garage shared earlier this month was the same: a white Kia SUV was running with plates belonging to a blue Nissan hatchback; another, last October, involved a black BMW on a silver Peugeot's plates. Around 13 per cent of drive-offs involve cloned number plates, according to forecourt security firm Vars Technology, which operates automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems to log the plates of fuel thieves. The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), a body representing around two thirds of Britain's petrol stations, says thieves are using ever more sophisticated tactics. These include 'double tanking', where thieves either fill up multiple jerry cans or a secondary fuel tank hidden in their car so they can steal hundreds of pounds of petrol at a time. In return, petrol stations are employing new high-tech tactics - including ANPR-based systems that can lock off fuel pumps if a repeat offender drives up. Criminals may circumvent that with a fresh set of cloned plates, however. Petrol stations are also thought to be resistant to installing pay-at-pump machines - as that would deprive them of vital income from the retail side. US-style prepayment inside the shop may be the answer. And there's no getting around that prepayment pumps and ANPR systems are huge investments that not every business can afford. Steve Gooding, director of transport policy body the RAC Foundation, suspects that criminals are taking advantage of the climate - and that forces are too overwhelmed to investigate. 'Repeat criminals might well be pushing their luck more than ever because they believe other pressures on the police are such that they'll get away with it,' he said last month. 'Drive-offs might be seen as relatively low-level crimes in the grand scheme of things but they are corrosive to society, damaging to businesses and ultimately push up pump prices for law-abiding motorists and riders. 'More is being done to prevent these crimes through adoption of better surveillance systems and pay-at-pump options, but the numbers suggest the problem has been getting worse.' The National Police Chiefs Council said in May that many petrol theft cases are discontinued due to a lack of intelligence or data. A spokesperson told Forecourt Trader: 'In some cases, there may not be enough intelligence or data for police to act on. 'This does not mean that a crime is closed indefinitely or that intelligence or information is ignored. 'Intelligence is vital in detecting organised criminality, and we would encourage anyone who suspects criminality in their community to report it to police, including theft.' It's not to say that crooks are never caught - but they are not caught often enough. In May, repeat fuel thief James Dunn was jailed for 16 months for committing a spate of fuel thefts last summer that saw him fill up large containers in his car boot at forecourts across Kent before speeding off without paying. Officers recognised him in October and engaged in a pursuit that ended with him crashing into a lamppost, KentOnline reported. Kent Police's DI Tristan Stevens said of the thefts: 'The theft of fuel often directly impacts the livelihoods of individuals and small businesses and losses generally result in increased costs for law-abiding consumers. 'Dunn's greed and contempt for the law have now rightly earned him a prison sentence.' But it isn't drive-offs that are costing petrol stations the most money. People are also depriving garage owners of income to their faces - by filling up and then claiming they cannot pay that day. Around two thirds of cases now revolve around 'no means of payment' (NMoP): when a driver confesses to garage staff that they haven't got enough money to pay for the petrol they now have, or have forgotten their wallets. In this case, forecourts will ask drivers to fill out a form with their details and make arrangements for them to return and pay for the fuel at a later date. In some cases, this might be genuine - particularly in light of the cost of living crisis and explosion in fuel prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as people live paycheque to paycheque. But this is also being exploited by people who use the goodwill of garage owners against them - particularly if they then don't come back to pay. Bruce Nichol, director of forecourt security body the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS), said motorists were using NMoPs as a 'seven-day loan'. But some may also be using it as a means of turning what could be a criminal theft into a civil matter that police won't touch. Instead, it is passed onto debt collection agencies to chase up - even if the motorist had no intention of paying anyway, which is a criminal offence. Speaking at the Forecourt Trader Summit in March last year, he said: 'What we are unclear of is: are the current prolific offenders more aware that the drive-off side is criminal... and have they then resorted to no means of payment because it is civil?' There may be some hope on the horizon for embattled forecourt operators. The Policing and Crime Bill winding its way through Parliament will scrap the 'low-level' £200 threshold for shoplifting offences. While not the same as bilking, the Government says the removal of this cut-off will shatter the 'perceived immunity' associated with low-level theft. Whether that leads to the conviction rate for petrol theft rising beyond five per cent is another matter.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Hythe roads closed as Southern Water deals with double pipe burst
A double water-pipe burst has led to road closures in a could be seen bubbling up and flowing along South Street and Edward Street in Hythe, Hampshire, early on Water said the leak had been reported online and its engineers were on site making repairs. It said road closures were also being put in comes as Southern Water announced a hosepipe ban would come into force from Monday, affecting much of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Bluestar Buses also said its buses were unable to enter the centre of Hythe and its services 8 and 9 would be picking up and dropping off on Southampton said the disruption was likely to last all of a statement, Southern Water said: "We're on site at the moment and making repairs to two pipes close together on South Street and Edward Street. "We apologise for the disruption but a road closure is need to safely make repairs." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
