GARDENERS have praised offenders for the way they have sorted out part of a York allotment site.

Courts had ordered the offenders to do unpaid work under the community payback scheme as punishment for their crimes.

North Yorkshire's community rehabilitation company allocated them to carry out a request from Hempland Lane Allotments Society.

They cleared out undergrowth, tidied up unused plots and worked out the community vegetable plots for the society's shop and "easy-access" bed area for tenants with physical problems.

The society's chair Gayle Farrington said: "The payback team did a fantastic job. So much so that when I entered the site to say thank you I just welled up with relief and happiness.

“The team then realised how much this meant to us and suddenly grown men were wiping tears from their eyes too. They arrived feeling they were being punished and they left feeling tired but with a sense of pride in what they had achieved.

“Their work is a great example of how offenders can put something back into the community while learning important life skills. Our tenants have been full of praise for the work they did.”

Humberside, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company which organises community payback in York wants to hear from more local groups and organisations about other projects offenders could do to benefit the community as part of their punishment.