April 4, 2011 11.13 am This story is over 155 months old

Offenders clean up their act on High Street

Tidying up: Offenders in Lincoln will be picking chewing gum of the High Street as part of their Community Order.

Lincoln’s High Street is getting a thorough tidying by offenders over the next weeks.

People who have received a Community Order (originally called a Community Service Order) will be picking up chewing gum off the High Street for shoppers.

The task is part of the Community Payback Scheme in Lincolnshire, and Lincoln BIG works with Lincolnshire Probation Trust, who manage it.

Lincoln BIG operations manager Mick Lake said: “Chewing gum litter is very difficult to deal with.

“The fact that it is sticky means that it cannot be removed using normal street sweeping and litter-picking methods.

“Over time, this leads to a build-up of unsightly, grimy stains on our footpaths, which can lead to the impression that an area is dirty and uncared-for.

“I am pleased that the issue is being tackled by the Community Payback Programme, using the tools which we donated and I look forward to seeing a brighter and cleaner city centre.”

Lincolnshire Probation Trust Placement Manager Richard Wright said: “We are responsible for putting people to work after they have received a Community Order with a requirement for unpaid work […].

“Generally, at any one time, we have over 300 people across Lincolnshire involved undertaking these.

“The chewing gum removal project is being tackled by a team of up to 10 offenders, with a Lincolnshire Probation Trust supervisor overseeing the work.”

According to Lincolnshire Probation Trust, seven out of 10 offenders complete their Community Payback Scheme.

Other projects offenders can be part of are weeding, litter-picking, decorating, gardening and working in the shops and cafes of charities.

Source: Lincoln BIG