Lincoln's upper High Street is being given a facelift, making it more attractive for shoppers and visitors.

People who have fallen foul of the law are ploughing their energies into removing unsightly discarded chewing gum from the city's pavements, under the Community Payback Scheme in Lincolnshire. 

Lincoln BIG (Business Improvement Group) already works with Lincolnshire Probation Trust - which manages the Community Payback Scheme locally - as it has been agreed that a partnership approach offers benefits for everyone.

The Business Improvement Group has bought  the necessary tools for the job and the work is now underway. 

Lincolnshire Probation Trust Placement Manager (Lincolnshire West) Richard Wright said: "We are responsible for putting people to work after they have received a Community Order with a requirement for unpaid work - these were formerly commonly known as Community Service Orders.  

"Generally, at any one time, we have over 300  people across Lincolnshire involved undertaking these. The chewing gum removal project is being tackled by a team of up to 10 offenders, with a Lincolnshire Probation Trust supervisor overseeing the work," said Mr Wright. 

Last year, offenders spent 85,000 hours working on a wide variety of projects to fulfil the requirements of their individual payback orders, so it is possible that more city "clean-up" projects might be carried out in this way. 

Lincolnshire Probation Trust said that seven out of 10 offenders complete their Community Payback sentence, by carrying out projects including weeding, litter-picking, decorating, gardening and working in the shops and cafes of charities. 

The 85,000 hours worked by offenders last year is equivalent to nearly 45 years working years and is worth almost half-a-million pounds at the adult minimum wage. 

Lincoln BIG operations manager Mick Lake said: "Chewing gum litter is very difficult to deal with. The fact that it is sticky means that it cannot be removed using normal street sweeping and litter-picking methods. 

"Over time, this leads to a build-up of unsightly, grimy stains on our footpaths, which can lead to the impression that an area is dirty and uncared-for.

"I am pleased that the issue is being  tackled by the Community Payback Programme, using the tools which we donated and I look forward to seeing a brighter and cleaner city centre."