COMMUNITY Payback workers helping to clear-up a Bradford estate earned a payback of their own in the form of a barbecue from grateful council staff.

The team have been organised by the probation service to assist staff at the ARC community centre on the Canterbury estate in Little Horton.

Council officials said that the centre and surrounding land had been plagued by fly-tippers and vandals, but that the workers had been tidying the area for the past couple of months, keeping on top of the littering.

The group are also planning to build a fence around part of the land to prevent unauthorised access to the site.

The workers, who are sent to the scheme after appearing before the courts, have also been carrying out odd jobs inside the building including painting and putting up shelves.

The partnership with probation was initiated by local volunteer Jane Wootton, who is behind many community and fundraising projects in the Canterbury area.

Councillor Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods and community safety, said: "This is a really good effort by the Community Payback team in helping to improve facilities for people who live on the estate.

"They are proud of what they have achieved here in Canterbury, in a perfect example of what the scheme was set up to achieve.

"We are very grateful for their help and we hope they enjoyed the barbecue."