By Dominic Rees
More than 1,000 bank accounts have been opened at a prison in a scheme which aims to help get inmates back on the right path.
And research suggests the scheme is working, as reoffending rates have dropped by a third at HMP Forest Bank in Salford, where the project started as a pilot in 2006.
The scheme run by the Co-operative Bank, together with Kalyx, has been such a success it has been rolled out to prisons across the country, where more than 4,000 accounts have been opened.
The principle behind the scheme is that inmates need a bank account to participate in modern life. This includes getting a job and finding rented accommodation once leaving jail, two things that can help convicts integrate into society and not revert to criminal behaviour.
The inmate who opened the milestone account at HMP Forest Bank said: "It's not been easy to get a job and I hope the account will help me - I've got my forklift truck licence now and an account to put my wages in, it's great."
