Criminals will be offered work fixing potholes as part of their community sentence as Tory police and crime commissioners team up on pioneering scheme

Criminals are to be made to repair loopholes as part of their community sentences under a ground-breaking scheme.

Thousands of offenders will be repairing roads across the South West, one of the worst hit areas for potholes.

A trial scheme set up by a group of five Conservative police and crime commissioners in the South West is to provide training for criminals before they do the work, which will be overseen by the Probation Service.

It will be the first time in the UK that road repairs will be part of a criminal sentence.

The program is expected to start in October and has already won the support of Minister for Justice Alex Chalk. If successful, it can be rolled out across the country.

Thousands of offenders will repair roads across the South West, one of the worst hit regions for potholes

A pilot scheme set up by a group of five Conservative police and crime commissioners in the South West will provide training for criminals before they do the job

Potholes cost drivers around £500 million in vehicle repairs last year.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, came up with the idea to tackle the terrible roads in her area after spearheading a separate project where prisoners build homes for the homeless.

Last March the chancellor agreed to give the region a further £9.3m to repair potholes after lobbying, but Ms Hernandez says this is still not enough.

Devon County Council already has a scheme where volunteers are trained to repair minor potholes. But Ms Hernandez hopes criminals could do the unpaid work.

Speaking exclusively to the Mail, which has been campaigning for an end to potholes, she said: ‘There is a huge problem with potholes in this area.

‘Devon and Cornwall has the largest road network in England with 13,500 miles of roads. That’s one of the challenges, it’s a rural network.’

She added: ‘Why not classify pothole repairs as unpaid work suitable for a community order?

“This is a great way to deliver visible justice, a way for people to see payback happening in their communities.”

Police and crime commissioners in Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are involved in the plan.

Justice Minister Mr Chalk said: “For some time now I have been working with probation to make community service for offenders more responsive and more relevant to the needs of our communities.”