YOUNG offenders are coming face-to-face with their victims in a hard-hitting attempt to make them realise the pain their crimes cause.

The scheme, run by the council's mediation service, enables victims of offences ranging from assault to car theft to confront the person responsible.

Teenage criminals can agree to take part as an alternative to punishments like community service.

Project organisers are adamant the emotionally difficult process of facing up to the consequences of their actions is anything but a soft option.

Maura Rose, co-ordinator of the Victim/Offender Mediation, said: "For a lot of young offenders, it's easier to go and paint a wall than confront the person they have offended against.

"Instead of someone telling them they are wrong, it's about them coming to that realisation themselves.

"It's very relevant to the crime whereas if someone does community service it may not be.

"Quite often there's a lack of awareness among young people about the effects of the actions.

"They try to convince themselves that what they have done is not a crime against a person. Coming face-to-face with the victim can have a real sobering effect."

More than 20 offenders, aged 12 to 18, have so far been to the mediation service, with four actually meeting their victims.

Offenders and victims must agree before any meeting takes place. In other cases, the teenagers have written letters of apology or spoken to those who have suffered similar crimes to ones they committed.

Mrs Rose said the two-year experiment was proving as beneficial to victims as offenders.

She said: "We won't allow threatening behaviour but victims are allowed to express anger and explain how they feel.

"It's often one of the most important things for them.

"There's a tendency to take out the frustration caused by crime on loved-ones but in this case it's the right person.

"Often victims do want a say and they are almost excluded from the court process.

"This gives them the opportunity to ask all the questions that go through their heads.

"With some offences they start to create an image of a monster but meeting the offender can ease those fears when they realise it's just a person after all."

The mediation service are hoping to develop a 'surrogate victims' panel to meet offenders who have committed so-called 'victimless crimes'.

Panel members would meet the likes of vandals, shoplifters and drug abusers to point out impact of their offences on others.

A further 10 mediators are being trained to work with offenders and victims from next year, joining the 12 existing volunteers.

Cases where it is thought convicted teenagers' behaviour could be corrected are referred to the mediation service by the multi-agency Youth Offending Team. A letter of apology for 'larking about' A YOUNG teenager who smashed the window of a woman in her 40s was referred to Bolton Mediation by the Youth Offending Team.

The 15-year-old met with two mediators and decided to write a letter to her.

In it he apologised and explained how he had been 'larking about' with friends in the run up to the incident.

When the mediation service passed the letter to the victim, she was keen to meet the boy to let him know she had forgiven him.

During conversation it became apparent the boy was having problems at home with his parents which meant there was a real danger he would be out late and get into further trouble.

His mother made contact with Bolton Mediation and asked if they could help with a family mediation, another service which the organisation offers.

The boy agreed to take part.