OFFENDERS have been saved from being kicked into touch after a rugby club reached out to them.

Swindon Rugby Club has teamed up with Wiltshire Probation Trust and the Wiltshire Youth Offending Team to provide placements for offenders on the Community Payback Scheme, which handles people given unpaid work orders by the courts.

The club, in Dorcan, wants to use sport and coaching to steer individuals away from crime.

Chairman Stuart Cock said: “Our view was we were looking at our social responsibility as a club and we wanted to reach out and provide an opportunity these guys to work on their reparation.

“Hopefully they will see the benefit and see there are people who will give them a chance.

“They might even want to get involved in rugby outside of the scheme too. We’ve had a few come and do some work already and they have been really enthusiastic.”

The club is offering the chance for offenders to put something back into the community and benefit from the skills they can learn during their placements.

Up to ten offenders will be able to take part in a pitch maintenance course in a group under the supervision of probation staff, carrying out pitch repairs and line marking, or they can get involved in painting and decorating club buildings.

There is also an opportunity for individual placements in training and coaching, and in food preparation and support work. Wiltshire Probation Trust is looking into ways in which those who take part can gain qualifications that could help them find a job later on.

Tracy Geiran from the trust said: “We are pleased to be working with Swindon Rugby Club in the Community Payback Scheme.

“They are offering offenders the chance to do something for themselves, which will make it less likely they will go back to crime when their sentence is over.”

Last year the Community Payback Scheme contributed nearly 62,000 hours of free labour in 98 projects throughout Wiltshire and Swindon, equivalent to £373,750 if calculated against the current adult minimum wage of £6.08 an hour.

The public are encouraged to go on to the trust’s website www.wiltshireprobation.org.uk if they wish to nominate a project they think would be suitable for the scheme.