Local offenders carried out unpaid work to tidy up a part of Barking as part of the Community Payback Scheme.



They cleared rubbish, trimmed overgrown bushes, painted fences, and covered over graffiti on St Awdry’s Road.



In total, six offenders were involved in the day of action, with the participants aged between 18 and 40.



The Community Payback Scheme is a nationwide programme run by the National Probation Service and sentences of between 40 - 300 hours can be issued to individuals by courts, depending on the severity of their crime and previous offences.



Councillor Margaret Mullane, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety 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.”



Offenders are supervised and must wear orange high-vis jackets, which allow them to be easily identified by the public so they can be recognised as doing work to improve local communities.



Work carried out as part of the community payback scheme usually involves manual labour tasks such as removing graffiti, cleaning streets, minor building work, and painting and decorating.



The project was supported by Barking and Dagenham Council, who supplied materials and tools for the offenders to use.