Bands back for May Day festival

The County Town will be a hive of activity over the May bank holiday weekend, as a festival returns for its sixth consecutive year.

A number of acts will perform at the Maidstone Fringe Festival – celebrating the diverse sounds across Kent and the South East.

Bands confirmed to play so far include Salvation Jayne and Flawless Carbon alongside well known faces including David Migden and The Twisted Roots, Funke and The 2 Tone Baby, Theatre Royal and Upcdownc.

Gigs will be on April 28 to May 2. Go to www.maidstonefringe.com A hospital trust failed to properly check the qualifications of two doctors who allegedly killed a primary school teacher after emergency surgery, a court heard.

Anaesthetist Dr Errol Cornish, 68, is charged with gross negligence manslaughter and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust is accused of corporate manslaughter following the death of mum-of-two Frances Cappuccini at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

She gave birth to son Giacomo in October 2012.

The court heard a second doctor, Nadeem Azeez, would have been on trial facing the same charge but he is believed to be in his home country of Pakistan.

The corporate manslaughter charge relates to the trust’s hiring of Dr Azeez.

It is alleged the trust “failed to take reasonable care to ensure the anaesthetists held the appropriate qualifications and training” and did not ensure “the appropriate level of supervision” of the treatment.

Mrs Cappuccini, 30, affectionately known as Mrs Coffee by Offham Primary School pupils, suffered a cardiac arrest and major blood loss after the birth.

She left her husband, Tom, Giacomo, now three, and his older brother Luca, six.

Inner London Crown Court heard she went into labour on the evening of October 8, 2012, hoping to have a natural birth.

She opted for an emergency caesarean after complications.

Giacomo was delivered safely but Mrs Cappuccini needed surgery for a haemorrhage in her