Kent in 2000: We remember some of the county’s biggest stories from 25 years ago
The year 2000 was one of seismic shifts, and not just because it marked a new millennium. These were the days of Nokia mobiles, Bob the Builder topping the charts and the launch of the McFlurry.
And for Kent, it was another diverse year of news. Here we take a look at just some of the stories from the county 25 years ago - showing both how much and how little things have changed.
Wet weather The first autumn of the 21st century was the wettest on record in the UK, and a deluge which led to hefty flooding began on October 10. While the Maidstone area was the worst hit, canoeists took to the floodwater in Canterbury when the River Stour burst its banks, taking a paddle in Sainsbury's car park.
Gorrell Tank car park in Whitstable was restored to its original reservoir state when the floods hit, with cars trapped as water left drivers stranded.
Some areas of the Hoo Peninsula were flooded and the Isle of Sheppey had heavy rain, resulting in water a foot deep lapping at doorsteps.
Outlet opens Nine years of planning and construction came to an end when the Ashford Designer Outlet was opened by celebrity gardener Charlie Dimmock in March 2000.
Designed by the team responsible for the Millennium Dome in London, builders first started work on the huge McArthurGlen project in 1996. The engineering firm also built the Sydney Opera House, with the iconic Aussie building thought to be the inspiration for the outlet's distinctive white tent design.
After retaining its oval shape for almost two decades, a GBP90 million extension was completed in 2019. Demise of the hovercraft Once seen as a daring, futuristic innovation which would be king of sea travel someday, on October 1 the final hovercraft service ran between Dover and Calais.
Though much quicker than a ferry, the capacity and comfort of the so-called "superferries" meant fewer people were using them.
The last two hovercraft on the Channel, Princess Anne and Princess Margaret, were taken out of service and replaced by two high-speed catamarans.
Operator Hoverspeed kept running services for five more years but the business continued to decline and by 2005 was dissolved into Norfolkline, which itself would eventually become a part of DFDS Seaways. Big pub row But while Dover lost a chunk of its history, Tunbridge Wells residents were up in arms about a new attraction coming to their town in December.
The Litten Tree pub filled the gap left by furniture store Courts in the high street, boasting 400 seats.
However, there was an uproar about the move from neighbours concerned about late-night noise while landlord Surrey Free Inns said they would host lap dancers.
This did not materialise and within five years The Litten Tree was no more. Diggerland opens Another significant opening in Kent was Diggerland Kent on the Medway City Estate, which relocated to Strood in 2003.
Opening in April 2000, the park was a success from the word go with more than 20,000 visitors passing through its gates in the first year.
The idea for the fun park came from digging construction hire tycoon Hugh Edeleanu following a family open day at his firm H.E Services. Jade Hobbs For those travelling today on the A249 between Maidstone and Sittingbourne, a pedestrian bridge with a silhouette of a pirouetting ballerina can be spotted.
It is in memory of eight-year-old Jade Hobbs.
The youngster was struck by a car in December 2000 when crossing the dual carriageway in the village of Detling with her grandmother, 79-year-old Margaret Kuwertz, who also died. The news devastated the family who launched a safety campaign that saw the GBP1.1m Jade's Crossing completed in August 2002.
Jon Odell In the same month as the A249 tragedy, on-duty policeman Jon Odell was struck by a speeding Vauxhall Astra driver in Shottendane Road, Margate.
The popular PC, who in his spare time enjoyed archery, cooking and making models, had planned to become a crash investigator.
He had also hoped to eventually set up a garden centre. Wayne Rule was charged with manslaughter following the incident, and was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was released in May 2006 and moved to Spalding, where he went on to kill again[1].
Fatal shooting
In April 2000, when career criminal and killer Kenneth Noye was sentenced to life in prison for a road rage incident on the M25 in Swanley four years prior, it was a huge story in its own right.
But when a key witness in his case was gunned down in view of hundreds of lunchtime shoppers in Ashford, it sent shockwaves through the town. Father-of-three Alan Decabral was sitting in the passenger seat of a black Peugeot 205 waiting for his son at Warren Retail Park in Simone Weil Avenue, when a man pointed a gun through the open window and pulled the trigger on October 5. Witnesses at the time described how they heard Mr Decabral beg for his life to be spared and it later emerged he had played a crucial part in seeing Mr Noye sent down for his crimes, but had declined witness protection when offered.
Mr Noye, who was released in 2019, claimed Mr Decabral was an unreliable witness who created an "edifice of lies" about Noye as a bargaining tool with police.
Mr Decabral was revealed by police as a career criminal with links to drugs, firearms trading and smuggling drink and tobacco.
His killer has never been found, despite a huge manhunt at the time. Docks tragedy On June 18, the bodies of 58 Chinese migrants were found in a lorry at Dover.
They had each paid GBP20,000 to travel in the vehicle. The group were being smuggled in illegally from Belgium by a Chinese gang in the Netherlands and died from asphyxiation, though carbon monoxide poisoning wasn't ruled out. Nine were sentenced for their part in one of the largest mass killings in British criminal history, while just two passengers survived.
'Nasty Nick' Nowadays, TV shows such as The Traitors celebrate the ability to lie and reward dishonesty.
But a quarter of a century ago, the first series of Big Brother launched on Channel 4 in July 2000 and with it came Nick Bateman, a City of London broker from Canterbury. "Nasty Nick" became public enemy number one for his willingness to pull the wool over the eyes of his fellow housemates - with the severity of his lies shocking viewers.
He once claimed his wife had died in a car crash, but the final straw for producers was when he was caught attempting to manipulate the eviction nomination process. The Sun newspaper paid him the same amount as the winner's prize on the show - GBP70,000 - for his story, though some of that cash found its way to charity. City status bid
In Medway, the council had hoped to see the whole district awarded city status but lost out to Wolverhampton and Brighton and Hove. Rochester had previously been a city but lost the claim in 1998 after an administrative error. The Medway Towns remain just that, with Canterbury serving as Kent's only city.
Queen Mother in Kent Thousands flocked to street parties in celebration of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who turned 100 on August 4.
She had touched down in Dover via helicopter weeks before the big day to receive gifts as part of her role as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, while The Duke of York's Military School band played happy birthday as part of the jovial affair. Olympics joy
It was an interesting summer of sport across the country, with expectations for the 2000 Sydney Olympics low following the disastrous Atlanta games four years prior.
Picture: John Wardley
Benefitting from GBP58 million in National Lottery funding, Team GB brought home 28 medals - including 11 golds - in what was a much better display and represented our best effort since 1920. Ashford-born Fred Scarlett won gold in the men's eight rowing competition, having taken up the sport while studying at The King's School in Canterbury. Two more rowing medal winners from Kent were sisters Miriam and Guin Batten.
Hailing from Dartford, they formed half of the silver-winning women's quadruple sculls team. Most notably though, Kelly Holmes, a future dame, put Pembury on the map when she brought home bronze in the women's 800 metres with an impressive time of 1.56.80. She would go on to win gold in Athens 2004.
Wembley heroics While the national football team crashed out of Euro 2000 thanks to an 89th-minute Romania penalty, it was a more successful year for Kent's sides.
Having experienced heartbreak at Wembley the season before against Manchester City, Gillingham finally won promotion to the second tier after beating Wigan Athletic 3-2 after extra time in front of a crowd of 53,764 - the majority of which came from Medway. Managed by Peter Taylor and captained by future gaffer Ady Pennock, the team had finished third in the league and had late goals from Stephen Butler and Andy Thomson to thank, the latter of which came in the 118th minute.
Promotion came alongside a fantastic FA Cup run, which saw the side beat Premiership sides Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday before a big away day at Chelsea ended in a 5-0 loss to the eventual winners of the tournament.
It wasn't just Gills who found success in the cup though, with semi-professional side Deal Town winning the FA Vase on the hallowed turf of Wembley, the last to be played at the old stadium. Deal remain the only Kent club to have lifted the trophy thanks to Roly Graham's never-to-be-forgotten goal against Chippenham Town. While the squad ended up going their separate ways, that day in London created memories that will last a lifetime.
If you have any memories or pictures you'd like to share from the year 2000, feel free to get in touch: [email protected]
References
- ^ where he went on to kill again (www.kentonline.co.uk)