THE High Sheriff of Kent was touched when he visited offenders carrying out a community project.

Richard Oldfield was at the Rosemary Day Care Centre in Sheerness - and got to see first hand the work of Kent Probation’s Community Payback Scheme.

The scheme is similar to the old community service given out by courts and involves those who commit low level crime being given hard graft as a punishment.

Offenders have been painting and decorating the Rosemary centre, a vital lifeline for the town’s elderly that is run by Sheerness Age Concern.

They are also building a decking area and are helping to construct a new activities room for the clients.

During his visit, the high sheriff met Community Payback officer Alan Woolley and Sheerness Age Concern manager Bridget Long, who took him on a tour.

She said: “More and more people are coming to use the facilities at Sheerness Age Concern, so we needed to expand. Community Payback are doing a fantastic job in the garden and are helping to utilise the loft space so we can use it for a range of new activities for our service users.”

Mr Oldfield added: “This project is terrific. Community Payback is a very constructive way of punishing offenders whilst benefiting communities.”

Every week around 1,000 offenders are out in the county, doing unpaid work as a constructive apology for their crimes.

The scheme is also thought to lessen the chance of them re-offending.