PLANS for petty offenders to help keep Bournemouth clean and tidy as part of their punishment have stalled after objections from council employees.

The GMB union says its members were not consulted about the scheme, under which people sentenced by the courts to carry out unpaid work in the community will work alongside street cleansing staff.

The union, which has 400 members at the council's Southcote Road depot, is due to meet bosses on November 21. It will be seeking an assurance that jobs will not be threatened by the free labour.

GMB full-time officer Sue Wilson said: "I was contacted on Wednesday October 10 and it was supposed to start the following Monday. The council had said just make it happen, this is a matter of urgency'.

"My reply was that it couldn't be a matter of urgency because I needed to speak to our stewards in street cleansing. We hadn't been involved in any of the negotiations.

"It's not a matter of us not wanting it to happen, but I must make sure my members are protected. We want guarantees on job security, and if we don't get them we won't co-operate."

Mrs Wilson said she was also seeking agreement that members would not be forced to work with the offenders.

Mike Thomas, manager of the scheme for Dorset Probation, said: "There's no way we're interested in taking employment off people. All we're doing is supplementing and assisting what they do. From what I gather, it's not easy to achieve their targets. If we can help keep Bournemouth cleaner, it's mutually advantageous.

"Only low risk offenders will be involved. As a rule they will be very carefully risk assessed."

He said that plans to put the offenders in fluorescent jackets bearing the words "Community Payback" had been ditched because it was felt to be unacceptable to single out individuals.