A NEW pilot project is to being setup in Clacton to help benefit claimants turn their lives around.

The town, which was branded a dumping ground for criminals and benefit migrants by the Centre for Social Justice think-tank, is one of just six across the country to be chosen for the initiative.

The Department for Work and Pensions scheme is in response to the Turning of the Tides report issued last year by the think-tank.

Clacton Jobcentre will work with the Citizens Advice Bureau, Adult Community Learning and Harlow College on the project.

It will focus on people who have been claiming benefits for more than three years in Clacton’s Pier and Alton Park wards.

The aim is to prevent people from being “recycled” from one benefit to another.