ROME – Rome’s council has begun using convicts from prisons to help tackle the capital’s dilapidated parks and roads, in a unique experiment that will be extended to other parts of the country in the coming months.

 The project had its first outing by the Colosseum on Tuesday, with a handful of convicts from the Rebibbia and Regina Coeli prisons collecting rubbish in the local area under the supervision of guards.

 The scheme will eventually grow to include around 100 prisoners, both male and female, working around the city in parks and historic places. Part of their permit will be to repair some of Rome’s notoriously potholed roads.

 At present, the project is only set to last six months, with the authorities assessing whether to continue its implementation after that date. Inmates will work from 9am to 3pm, five days a week, throughout that period.

 Speaking to the Telegraph, Chief Inspector Vicenzo Lo Cascio from the prison service argued that the move to use prisoners was important for lowing the rate of re-offending by those who pass through Italy’s jails.

 “Research shows,” he argued, “that if prisoners take part in this sort of work, 85 percent do not go back to a life of crime when they are released.”

 Severe cuts to public spending in recent years have seen Rome’s parks and infrastructure fall into a terrible state. Walking around the city, one will find many of Rome’s green areas unkempt and full of litter.

 The project is the latest in a series of measures that the capital’s authorities have taken to tackle the city’s crumbling image. Earlier in March, Rome’s Five Star Movement mayor, Virginia Raggi announced a 17 million euro “Marshall Plan” to tackle the state of the city’s infrastructure. It was estimated at the time that one in ten vehicles had been damaged by potholes.

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