SEVEN inmates from Camp Hill Prison at Newport have qualified as football referees.

They have given crime the red card by passing the Football Association course that now enables them to ref at all levels of the game, up to and including the Premiership, when they are released.

With their qualifications they could earn anything from £15 a game to £100,000 a year if they make Premiership standard.

Camp Hill physical education officer Glenn Woodford, who helped run the course, said: "We wanted to set up a realistic and tangible course that could offer prisoners immediate employment upon release.

"As a qualified football referee myself, I know the problems local leagues faced around the country in attracting enough refs.

"These men now have new skills that are in demand making them employable and able to possibly forge a career through sport. The referee's exam included a 30-minute oral test in which the inmates had to answer tricky questions on the laws of the game."

All seven passed with flying colours. Glenn said: The seven inmates to pass are low-risk Category C prisoners nearing the end of their sentences.

All will receive their certificates from FA referee development officer Janie Frampton.