New Bridge's priority for the coming year is to expand post-prison monitoring and schemes that assist convicts in their first few weeks after release, particularly as Probation Service support does not extend to those serving sentences of one year or less.

The former Conservative MP, Jonathan Aitken, who served seven months in prison for perjury, is a New Bridge trustee. He emphasises that even for those fortunate to have a home and family to return to after prison, "your head is still in prison, and you will be confused and slightly neurotic. It is a great help having someone who - to a limited extent - shared your prison experience, assist your transition."

The test of any charity aiding prisoners is whether the people it helps stay out of jail. Mr Aitken points to a study commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania into a Texas-based befriending scheme, the Interchange Freedom Initiative (IFI), which showed that it dramatically reduced recidivism. Only 8 per cent of IFI volunteers reoffended over the control period, compared with 67 per cent of non-IFI parolees.

One former inmate was happy to pay tribute to New Bridge: "Before I met my New Bridge volunteer - Jane - my life was empty. I was a selfish, arrogant person who thought the world owed him a living. I was nearing the end of my sentence and badly needed a change of direction. Jane helped me achieve this, and now, nine years later, I am head of a hotel grounds-keeping operation. I owe my new life to Jane and New Bridge, and will never forget that."