North Ayrshire communities are among those across Scotland to have benefitted from more than a million hours of work carried out by people completing community sentences.

People sentenced to community payback orders (CPOs) have been able to make amends for the harm which resulted from their actions by helping in their area with unpaid work.

In North Ayrshire work included renovating outdoor areas, helping schools with outdoor furniture and collecting and delivering for foodbanks.

Work teams also improved an area in Saltcoats by placing a boat planter and prepared planters as well as painted benches along the sea front in Irvine.

David MacRitchie, chief social work officer and senior manager public protection in North Ayrshire said: “We have an excellent Unpaid Work Scheme in North Ayrshire. The variety of work projects and experiences we offer service users help them make reparation for their previous offences and also provides tangible benefits for the community.”

The annual CPO report for 2019-20 published by public prevention agency Community Justice Scotland last week highlighted 1,028,000 hours of unpaid work was carried out across the country. The labour hours amount to the equivalent of £9.5m to local communities.

Unpaid work takes place all around Scotland. It allows people to repay their debt to society and build better lives for themselves, their families and communities – all of which contributes to fewer victims of crime.

A sheriff can order individuals to carry out a maximum of 300 hours of unpaid work. It’s the most common requirement of a CPO but orders can also instruct a person to address problems which contribute to their offending such as addiction or mental health. Unpaid work has continued during the pandemic, with adjustments made for safety.