Six offenders carried out manual labour tasks in Barking (credit: Google Maps)
As part of the Community Payback Scheme, six offenders aged between 18 and 40, were involved in the clean-up.
Tasks involved picking up rubbish, trimming overgrown bushes, painting fences, and covering over graffiti on St Awdry’s Road.
The offenders, who were all supervised on the day, also wore orange high-vis jackets for allowing them to be easily identified and recognised for their work by the public.
The Community Payback Scheme is a nationwide programme run by the National Probation Service which usually involves a variety of manual labour tasks.
Sentences of between 40 – 300 hours can be issued to individuals by courts, depending on the severity of their crime and previous offences.
The project was supported by Barking and Dagenham Council, who supplied materials and tools for the offenders to use.
Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, Councillor Margaret Mullane said: “The community payback scheme works for everyone.
“For our residents, they can see what these offenders are doing to improve the local community as part of their punishment and rehabilitation, while for those involved it is a way of doing something fulfilling and learning new skills.”
For more on this story, and the latest on our other local and national news, listen to Time 107.5FM
Tags: Barking, Barking and Dagenham
