OFFENDERS working in their communities after being sentenced for criminal offences have contributed thousands of hours in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Rehabilitation Company (HIOW CRC), which is responsible for supervising offenders on Community Payback and ensuring they comply with their sentence. and the orders of the court, delivered more than 56,201 hours in the past nine months.

With the national wage standing at £7.83 that equates to £440,000 of work delivered.

Those ordered to take on unpaid Community Payback work participate in a range of manual tasks, including removing graffiti, litter picking, clearing parks and cemeteries, renovating buildings and work in charity shops.

Magistrates or judges can sentence offenders to carry out anything from 40 to 300 hours of unpaid work as part of their order. Community Payback must include a minimum of a day’s work – lasting at least seven hours – once a week.

Stephen Czajewski, chief operating officer of HIOW CRC, said: “Community payback provides a tough, effective and visible punishment requiring people to undertake challenging work while giving something back to communities where they live.

“It also provides an opportunity for people to turn their experience into a positive one by picking up new skills that can help them towards paid employment and leading more stable, positive and crime-free lives.”