GROUPS of offenders have contributed more than 10,000 hours of service to their local communities in Cornwall this year.

People completing Community Payback activity through the Dorset, Devon and Cornwall Community Rehabilitation Company (DDC CRC) as part of their sentencing have collectively done 122,757 hours of service to their local area in 2017.

DDC CRC works with local organisations to complete tasks that range from cleaning graffiti from walls and picking up litter to creating new garden spaces and renovating buildings.

Individuals, rather than groups, also pay back through working in charity shops.

John Wiseman, DDC CRC probation director, said: ‘Community Payback provides a tough, effective and visible punishment and deterrent, requiring people to undertake challenging work while giving some tangible value back to communities that suffer as a result of crime.

‘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.’

To nominate a project, visit www.ddccrc.co.uk