Criminals clear up the waterways

Criminals took to the waterways of Wolverhampton after being told to clean them up as punishment in an internet vote.

Offenders who had been convicted of offences ranging from assault to growing cannabis sailed up and down the water at the Bradley canal.

They pulled shopping trolleys, plastic bottles and other rubbish from the water, off Bradley Lane, while wearing orange jackets under the Community Payback scheme.

It allowed residents of the region to take part in an online vote on how convicts should spend their time carrying out community orders.

Earlier this year, the Express & Star revealed that a third of criminals ordered by the courts to carry out menial tasks in the community around the West Midlands were failing to finish them.

It prompted calls from the Conservatives for proper sentences, "not gimmicks".

Government Crime and Justice Adviser Louise Casey said today: "The people in Wolverhampton want to know that criminals in Wolverhampton are being made to pay back for their crimes.

"Community Payback schemes make this a reality and, very importantly, they also now give the public a say in what criminals must actually do to serve their punishment and pay back to local communities."