Your sentence for being a pissed lout is...

[Gob]

a free gym pass...

Plans to give drunken offenders free gym passes as part of their sentence were today described as 'rewards for yobbish behaviour'.

A trial initiative by a range of partners in Hull including Hull City Council, will see those convicted of alcohol-fuelled crimes given gym passes if they complete court orders and remain out of trouble for three months.

While Hull Citysafe, part of the city council, insists the passes will provide 'diversionary tactics' for offenders, critics said taxpayers should not have to pay for offenders to spend their days on the treadmill.

Hull Citysafe, a community safety partnership, wants £29,000 from Humberside Police Authority to mentor the offenders and provide the passes.

The funding request from Citysafe is part of new proposals to cut alcohol-related crime across the force area, which could cost the authority up to £288,000.

Vicky Harris, head of substance misuse and offender health at Citysafe, said the cash would fund a 12-month trial to expand court-ordered alcohol treatment.

She said: 'We want to give people the opportunity to try out gyms, so instead of spending their days drinking and offending, they replace that with a natural high.

'It might seem like a soft option but actually our aim is to stop that person reoffending. If they are getting drunk and starting fights, that means there will also be fewer victims of crime.

'It will only be for a short-term trial, which will give us an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.'

She said offenders 'will not receive passes to David Lloyd fitness centres' and will more likely be given short-term access to council-run gyms.

She said: 'We want to encourage more physical activity but it doesn’t have to be a gym.

'It is about pointing them in the direction of a more positive lifestyle.

If they don’t complete the alcohol treatment requirement, which is a very structured, very intensive programme, the option is taken away. If they reoffend, the option is taken away.

'They aren’t given to people who have gone out, had too much to drink and done something stupid.

'We are trying to focus on people with an alcohol problem whose offending is becoming quite serious and trying to break their cycle of offending.

'It is more effective than giving them a fine or sending them to prison.'

However, the initiative has been described by critics as one which 'rewards criminal behaviour'.

Robert Oxley, Campaign Manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'It beggar's belief that while law abiding taxpayers have to tighten their own belts, those who break the law might get a free pass to the gym.

'To many, this will appear to be a rewarding yobbish and criminal behaviour. There are no shortage of open spaces that anyone can use to keep fit for free, taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for offenders to spend their days on the treadmill.'

A Humberside Probation Trust spokesperson said: 'Alcohol misuse is a significant factor in offending in Hull, and particularly in violent offending.

'The money will enable better identification of whether offenders who are awaiting a court appearance have alcohol issues, ensuring this is brought to the attention of probation and the court.'

'It will also allow more intensive and coordinated treatment of alcohol related problems.'

[Lord Jim]

Can I have the African safari instead?

[Sean]

Bring back the good old days where mugging a granny would get you two weeks in Center Parcs!