Prisoners working for Hyde housing group

After an Observer reader got in touch with concerns, a spokeswoman for The Hyde Group, which is in partnership with Chichester District Council, confirmed the company does take on serving prisoners.

She said there were currently five people working with them through Summit, an organisation which gets offenders back into work.

She said the offenders only work on empty properties. Their work includes gardening, general maintenance, plastering and decorating.

“It’s enabling more people to access work, training and to develop skills,” said the Hyde Group spokeswoman.

“This initiative is part of a wider programme to introduce former offenders to the discipline of work. All workers are risk assessed before their placement begins and closely supervised by Hyde and Summit staff.”