GROUPS of offenders paying back for the crimes they have committed have contributed more than 40,000 hours of service to their local communities in Somerset this year.

People completing Community Payback activity through the Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire Community Rehabilitation Company (BGSW CRC) as part of their sentencing have collectively done 204,935 hours of service for their local area in 2017. Locally, that figure in Somerset stands at 43,322.

BGSW CRC works with local organisations to complete often very manual tasks to breathe life into buildings, community areas and street scenes. Tasks 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.