Payback gets tougher for knife convicts who face intensive community punishments

Community Payback, as it is known, can currently be completed over months or even years, leading to claims it is a soft punishment.

The Ministry of Justice said that in future those convicted of knife-related offences and sentenced to the maximum 300 hours of community service will have to complete the work in blocks of up to five days a week.

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A pilot scheme is to be run in West Yorkshire to see if the scheme could be extended to all offenders given community service.

Last year 55,771 community payback sentences were completed in England and Wales. Ministers are desperate to portray them as tough alternatives to custody, as they struggle to control record levels of prison overcrowding.

However, the fact that knife criminals are continuing to receive community punishments at all is likely to bring criticism in the wake of a spate of fatal stabbings.

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The Tories have said there should be a presumption that anybody caught with a blade should be imprisoned.