PLANTING trees, removing graffiti and litter-picking are just some of the acts these workers carry out on a daily basis.
The job specification, however, is not that of a grounds maintenance officer.
Just 12 months ago, these workers were in the dock for sentencing after breaking the law.
Now, thanks to a new partnership between East Riding Council and the Humberside Probation Trust, offenders are helping make the community a better place.
Mark, 25, of Hull, was given 150 hours of community service in June after he was found guilty of the possession of drugs with intent to supply.
Mark said: "I have ended up doing all sorts of work. There is a lot of multi-tasking."
Mark carries out his community service one day a week, fitting it in with his part-time job.
He said: "I do actually enjoy the work – it is better than being locked up.
"The supervisors are all really nice people and they help train you up for the job.
"It has really made me think about what I have done in the past and change my ways."
In the first 12 months of the partnership, 68 projects were carried out across the East Riding by those on the Community Payback Scheme.
Work included preparing plant tubs for Beverley in Bloom, litter clearing in Kilham and clearing snow across various villages in the East Riding.
East Riding councillor Jackie Cracknell said: "There are two huge benefits to our partnership with the trust – it is providing useful services to our local communities and is also helping unemployed offenders learn new skills that improve their prospects of finding work, which is a key step towards reducing re-offending."
Other tasks offenders have carried out include the setting up stalls at Priory Church in Bridlington, and tree planting in the cemetery at Swinefleet, near Goole.
Councillor Cracknell said: "Skilled council officers work alongside the Community Payback teams, including gardeners, painters and grounds staff, offering guidance and advice.
"By working with parish councils, we can identify the sort of projects that residents are wanting. It is making Community Payback more meaningful."
In the 18 months the partnership has been running, the council, trust and parish councils have completed or are running up to 100 projects.
Gwen Williams, placement manager at Humberside Probation Trust, said: "Tailored projects like these mean that offenders can see an end product to what they have been doing, such as planting trees. It is often the first time they have experienced job satisfaction and can be proud of something they have achieved.
"Carrying out their sentence within the community where they have probably committed their offence is bringing home to them what they have done and is making justice local."
The Humberside Probation Trust deals with more than 7,500 offenders every year.
About 67 per cent of these offenders are managed in the community, either on a community order or on licence following their release from prison. So far this year, projects on the Community Payback scheme have included the clearance of waste in Scarborough Road and Star Hill Road, Driffield, leaflet delivery in Jefferson Street, Gordon Street, Montague Street and Carter Street, in Goole, refurbishment of the pavilion, in Rudston and a major waste clearance in Anlaby, which took a week.
Offenders wearing badged, high-visibility jackets usually work as part of a team, monitored by a supervisor, and will work all day, with short breaks.
There are also some opportunities for individual placements.
A team of workers are this week working at Goole Cemetery to tidy the area.
Tasks include strimming the grass around the cemetery and cutting the hedges
Community Payback officer in charge at the Goole site, Andy Officer, said: "Some of the offenders come here without any knowledge or skills and we help train them to do the job.
"Once they get involved with the work they actually end up enjoying it."
Workers recently undertook a project to clean up the area around the Ings Shopping Centre in Hull.
Resident Mike Thompson, of Ings Estate, said: "The standard of work has been very high. "Community Payback has had a dramatic impact on the whole area making it look clean and cared for.
"We have had many complimentary comments from local residents and councillors on the difference made by Community Payback."
Each year, more than 160,000 hours of Community Payback unpaid work are completed by offenders in the Humberside area.
This represents just under £1m of free labour provided to local communities per year.
If an offender fails to carry out the work, they are returned to court so their sentence can be reviewed.
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