AN AWARD-winning rehabilitation scheme where young criminals renovate historic fighting vehicles has gone from strength to strength, say probation workers.

The programme, in its fourth year at the Bovington Tank Museum, takes offenders sentenced to community service and teaches them basic literacy, numeracy and engineering skills in conjunction with Weymouth College.

Today representatives from prison charity the Butler Trust - who have already handed the scheme a national award - will meet Dorset Probation Service workers, college representatives and museum staff.

Then offenders will showcase some of their work, including a renovated Chieftain tank and an armoured personnel carrier, before a presentation of the qualifications gained during their sentences.

Probation worker Mike Mathews said: "This is a punishment that is changing lives.

"One offender was employed for the first time in 14 years having completed his programme."

During the 120-hour course offenders have achieved new qualifications, giving them better job prospects and nudging them away from a life of crime.

Mr Mathews explained: "Many offenders had been told they were thick' and not to bother turning up for their GCSEs.

"One such offender cried when presented with his level two numeracy certificate (GCSE grade C equivalent). It was the first certificate he had ever earned and he had achieved something he was told he would never get."

Young criminals on the programme are mainly unemployed men, aged 16 to 24.

Earlier this year the project was named as The Butler Trust award winner for Community Engagement and Civil Renewal.

The citation concluded: "Visionary leadership delivers constructive outcomes to communities and offenders who achieve something that they believed was impossible."