A coastal resort is to benefit from a rehabilitation scheme to redecorate the entry into the town.

Southwold Town Council have set aside £500 to paint Mights Bridge, which crosses the Buss Creek and connects Southwold to neighbouring Reydon and the rest of Suffolk.

The bridge and its railings have not been painted for a number of years.

And the council has decided to use the Community Payback scheme.

The police website says that Community Payback can be part of a community sentence, which means that the offender is supervised, and, in the case of Community Payback has to carry out between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work.

The scheme can help unemployed offenders gain the skills needed for paid employment and it is intended to be like a normal working week. Community Payback is not suitable for offenders who pose a high risk to the public and all offenders are carefully risk-assessed before being sent on placements.

Sentences are strictly enforced and offenders are sent back to court if they are absent without good reason on more than one occasion.

In England and Wales, between April 2012 and March 2013 approximately 75,000 offenders were sentenced to Community Payback and more than seven million working hours were spent on projects. Speaking at a town council meeting, Southwold mayor Simon Tobin said: “There are 10 pots each of undercoat and finishing coat. The paint is still in very good condition.

“It’s £75 a day for Community Payback and we will get up to 10 people working for it.”

It was also announced at the meeting that the Southwold sign next to the bridge will be painted too.

More pots are going to be purchased, and the sign will remain the same colour.