OFFENDERS will be made to clean up some of Bolton town centres worst grot spots.

They will clean and maintain parts of Bolton not covered by the local authority as part of community service punishments.

And members of the public will be able to call a special number to ask that the offenders are sent to any eyesores they spot.

It forms part of a new strategy led by the Home Office, which sees the National Probation Service teaming up with Bolton Town Centre Management.

Low risk, supervised offenders will be used in the scheme, which will be an extension of existing community service and falls under the same government funding.

Town centre manager Cathy Savage said: "This will be a huge boost to the town, because it means that alongside the existing council workers we will have a second unit that will clean troublesome areas for free.

"The workforce will be targeting problems such as dirty backstreets, graffiti and fly posting, and clearing pathways to help improve the image of the town. We have already put forward some areas to the unit, and they are currently assessing if they can clean these."

Peter Seddon, manager of the Unpaid Work Unit in Bolton, has reassured the public they will not be at risk.

He said: "The workers are supervised in a ratio of one supervisor to every six offenders, and thorough checks are carried out to asses their individual risk factor to the public.

"Dangerous criminals with serious convictions will not work in the unit.

"We are currently linked with Bolton Greenspace and have carried out a lot of park and community centre work, even serving soup to the elderly at nursing homes.

"This new project will bring the unpaid work unit to the town centre so the public can see that offenders are putting something back into the community."

The strategy has links with Bolton Community College, and any skills acquired can be turned into qualifications that can lead to NVQs.

Mr Seddon added: "A lot of the offenders that come to the unit have few if any qualifications and can find it hard to get jobs.

"This project lets them turn their community service into training and will help them get a foot on the ladder.

The offenders on the scheme are aged from 16 upwards and can be both male and female.

Mrs Savage added: "We are looking for a sponsor to purchase a petrol jet washing machine to use as part of the clean-up operation, and any business wishing to help can contact our offices."

She is appealing to the public to identify areas they feel will benefit from the scheme.

They should write to Cathy Savage, Bolton Town Centre Ltd, Market Hall, Knowsley Street, Bolton, or email her on catsava@aol.com