A SUCCESSFUL project which helps people break the cycle of crime is coming to Bradford, giving ex-convicts "a second chance" at life.

Reformed criminal John Burton founded Inside Connections Support CIC in 2017 following a 12 year prison sentence for a £1million drugs conspiracy and money laundering on the Isle of Sheppey.

Since launching, hundreds of prison leavers across England have accessed training and employment with 16-18 year olds being able to move into supported living, away from negative influences.

Following a successful cycle in the North East and London, several life-changing courses are now being offered at Shipley College with the right candidates in with a chance of full-time employment.

The training programmes are based on industries expecting an increase in demand, ranging from the construction industry to Fibre Optic broadband and data cable laying.

Those applying for the roles could be an individual with a conviction, a young person aged 19-24, someone with a care background, veterans, ex-service personnel, homeless, a victim of crime and long and short term unemployed. People convicted of more serious crimes are not currently considered.

"A lot of people deserve a second chance," John said.

"I've been in and out of jail all my life.

"I came out and I wanted to change.

"I thought, what am I doing with my life here? It's not what I want. I changed big time. I was 18 stone, I was using steroids, I had a skin head. I was massive and I just thought, I wanted to change. I dropped five stone, grew my hair and just changed into a different person."

One of Inside Connections' recent success stories is a young man who was trained in London and set up in a flat away from negative influences in Carlisle. He has since secured work.

John continued: "Since I've been out we're just growing and growing and growing.

"I found a lot of companies who do training don't have a lot of jobs connected to them. I wanted to give people the opportunity to get on courses and get employment. There's thousands of jobs in the industry we work in.

"We've been working for these companies for a few years and they've seen the quality of the people we've been putting into jobs and they're really happy with it.

"People just need to realise the jobs are there and it's good wages.

"It means that they will stop reoffending, they're earning good money, start living properly and when you're living properly you don't need to go out and get involved in crime."

In a message to any former convicts looking to start a new life, John said: "Give yourself six to 12 months of life being hard. If you want a chance in life we'll give you a chance in life. I can't say you're going to get a job but I've got the jobs, the training courses. Money might be tight, keep your head strong, don't go and do something stupid because you could end up with a few months in prison. There's thousands of jobs everywhere even if you don't get the job with the employer you've gone for. We are Inside Connections and care about putting people into work and courses. I would just say to anyone I have done a lot of prison, I have seen what opportunities are out there."

You can access the Inside Connections app via Android and Apple stores and find opportunities via https://insideconnections.co.uk