'Lazy' criminals let off community service if they can't get up in the morning

The National Audit Office found that a fifth of offenders breach the Government's flagship community orders - equivalent to 22,000 a year.

Researchers looked at 700 cases where criminals gave excuses for failing to turn up for appointments, courses or work sessions.

Probation staff accept weak excuses because they are too busy to deal with the paperwork involved in sending offenders back to court, said the NAO.

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One in ten said they had "slept in", were "confused" or had simply forgotten, according to the report.

Probation officers accepted self-certified sicknotes in 11 per cent of cases, and a similar proportion blamed "childcare and family issues".

The report also found numbers of offenders stay on waiting lists for more than a year before starting courses.

And the unpaid community work - such as gardening, painting and litter-picking - is not "suitably demanding".

The findings are a serious blow to the Government, which relies heavily on community orders to limit overcrowding in prisons.