CONVICTED criminals met the High Sheriff of Kent, Charles Dawes, to celebrate their achievement in gaining qualifications while carrying out community service punishments.

Mr Dawes presented Vocational Access Certificates in health and safety to two men who have been helping to re-decorate the headquarters of the Kenward Trust, a Christian charity based in Kenward Road, Yalding, near Maidstone.

The High Sheriff said: "Serving a community service sentence is certainly not a soft option to imprisonment and has the benefit of being of service to the community as well as teaching valuable life skills to those serving the sentence."

Courts can impose Community Punishment Orders of between 40 and 240 hours of service to the community upon law breakers - and the Kenward Trust is one of many charities in Kent to benefit from the work.

Assistant chief officer for the Probation Service's Kent area, Chris Carter, said: "We have a system whereby people can do their hours and, at the same time, work towards a basic qualification. Many offenders have never had a qualification and the aim is to get them back into work. This is just one step in that direction."

Tony Williams, executive manager of the Kenward Trust, said: "Our residents are on a programme of recovery from addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. The lads doing the work serving a community service order clearly see for themselves the drastic effects that substance misuse has on the mind and body. Suddenly, drink and drug misuse doesn't seem quite so clever when they see the end results."