As part of Barking and Dagenham Council’s plans to keep the borough clean and tidy, it is taking part in a Community Payback Scheme which sees local offenders carry out a number of tasks.



A recent session saw four offenders and three staff members clear up Kingsbridge Road, Dagenham which is a well-used access road and has been prone to anti-social activities and fly-tipping.



The litter had been attracting vermin and was blocking up the nearby water way, which was having a significant negative impact on plant and wildlife.

In total, the offenders and staff removed in excess of 150 bags of debris and filled an open back truck with bulky waste, which was taken away by council officers to be disposed of correctly.



**Cllr Darren Rodwell was confirmed as Leader of the council for the third time, and he has now named his Cabinet for the new administration. The announcements are all subject to formal ratification at Assembly on 25 May 2022.



Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “I’d like to thank the Community Payback Scheme for the great job done on Kingsbridge Road.



“This scheme a good way to demonstrate justice in action to the local community, but also allows offenders to make amends by contributing to the local area.”

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.



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.