VOLUNTEERS who help offenders keep away from crime were celebrated at a conference at Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens.

Since launching its volunteering scheme a year ago, the Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust has recruited more than 100 mentors.

From teaching criminals to read so they can find employment to offering friendship to those isolated by their new “straight” lifestyle, they play a key role in supporting the work of the trust.

More than 50 of the new recruits were welcomed to the one-day event in the Edgbaston tourist attraction recently.

As well as highlighting their successes over the last 12 months, the conference equipped attendees with new skills to build relationships with the offenders they mentor.

Among those in attendance was Stephen Blake who lives in West Bromwich. A former youth worker who helped teenagers who were homeless or suffering with drug problems, the 44-year-old father of three was made redundant three years ago.

He said he was motivated to volunteer because he wanted to use his skills to help people and potentially find work as a probation officer.