Students and offenders recruited to keep towns tidy

A Prince's Trust team has been working in the Porthmadog area

Offenders sentenced to do community payback are among groups cleaning up public areas in the Tidy Towns scheme.

Overgrown land around Llannor Community Centre, near Pwllheli, is being cleared thanks to a Gwynedd Council Tidy Towns grant.

The money pays for tools and materials, while the labour is provided by the probation service and local volunteers.

Meanwhile, students from Coleg Menai have been working to improve the environment in and around Porthmadog.

Iona Thomas, Gwynedd Tidy Towns officer, said: "It's very positive to see different groups and organisations working in partnership to improve the quality of the local environment."

Islwyn Jones, a project development officer for Wales Probation Trust, explained that members of the community payback teams had been given between 40 and 300-hour service orders by the courts, depending on the severity of their offence.

Llannor Community Centre, a former school, is part of the village heritage

"They're supposed to wear orange high visibility vests with Unpaid Work written on the back," he said, explaining this decision had been made by the last government to highlight the work being done.

"The general public are more aware now that people are being punished for their crimes out there in the community and that unpaid work is at times much better than sending people to prison," said Mr Jones.

"While the probation service works closely with Tidy Towns and Keep Wales Tidy, it also welcomes any suggestions from the public for new projects," he added.

Other typical activities include dealing with fly-tipping and overgrown cemeteries.

In Porthmadog, Coleg Menai students involved with the Prince's Trust have been cleaning up in partnership with Tidy Towns and Gwynedd's maritime department.

Tasks carried out included litter picking in the Cob Crwn area and on Black Rock Sands, clearing sand drifts, and painting public benches and Porthmadog Harbour Trust's boat.

Tidy Towns receives funding from the Welsh Assembly Government's environmental improvement programme and works in partnership with Keep Wales Tidy.