A young offender in Stafford has taken up a toolkit and has learned to fix not just bikes, but his own life too with help from probation staff.
Becky Pedley, Probation Officer
Twenty-year-old Sean was sentenced to 100 hours of Community Payback last year.
But thanks to Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Service, he has turned his life around, learning a new trade at Stafford charity Back2Bikes.
Probation Officer Becky Pedley explains: "Sean could have gone further down the road of crime, but with a bit of effort, he’s made some really good choices.
“All he needed was someone to take an interest in him and give him an opportunity, and he’s really paid back that investment."
‘Trustworthy’
Becky has often placed offenders sentenced to Community Payback to work at Back2Bikes, which renovates unwanted bicycles and sells them on.
Manager of Back2Bikes Barry Stamp says that following his payback work, Sean “stood out a mile.”
“He seemed really keen and he was very open about his offending history – that made me feel confident that he was trustworthy,” Barry says.
Barry offered him a job, and Sean now works repairing bikes at the charity. He is also doing an NVQ in bike mechanics, as well as taking courses to improve his literacy and numeracy.
“I only pay Sean for four days a week, but he’s usually here on his day off too,” adds Barry. “I trust him with everything – the equipment, the till, the bikes. He’s a great mechanic.”
Sean says: “I like the people, the manager – there’s a really good atmosphere. It was a relief to tell Barry about the things I’d done in my past. I think I’ve got quite good at repairing bikes, and one day, I’d like to open up my own bike shop.”
See more info here: http://sentencing.justice.gov.uk/?id=news&id2=3
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