A young offender rehabilitation centre in Devon says it has succeeded in massively reducing the number of people attending it who go on to re-offend.

The Centre for Adolescent Rehabilitation (C-Far) was established in the north Devon village of Highampton amid a storm of controversy.

Many locals were concerned it would lead to more crime and there were claims that its methods would not succeed.

But now C-Far says it has cut the re-offending rate of its trainees by half.

It is tough mentally, and it requires huge commitment and dedication on their behalf

Trevor Philpott

The centre runs an intensive 11-week personal rehabilitation course which aims to re-integrate its trainees into society.

Greg Bickerton has been on the wrong side of the law since he was eight.

His life of petty crime has cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. But now he says things will change because he has finished the C-Far programme.

Greg said: "It's given me a lot of courage and determination. It's shown me that there's another side to life apart from crime."

'Break the cycle'

Greg is hoping to win an apprenticeship from a fork-lifting plant in Ilminster. Nissan is prepared to spend �400 to train him as a driver.

Andrew Whitehouse from Nissan said: "Purely and simply, I believe we have to break the cycle of persistent young offenders.

"The only way to do it is to offer them a future."

During their 11-week stay, trainees are forced to change their attitudes and learn new skills.

C-Far says over the last two years it has halved the re-offending rate of its trainees.

The national rate stands at 75%. The rate for C-Far's graduates is just over 30%.

Life commitment

The centre believes that means, since it was set up, it has saved the taxpayer around �5m.

The savings come from the statistics that it costs �16,000 to put someone through the course, as opposed to �164,000 if they re-offend.

C-Far chief executive Trevor Philpott said: "These young men commit themselves to changing their lives.

"To make such a commitment to undertake that sort of programme is tough.

"Not tough physically, but it is tough mentally, and it requires huge commitment and dedication on their behalf to make this change possible."