Parents could face a fine of up to £2,500 or prison for failing to ensure their child attends school warn Police following a recent operation in Folkestone.

Kent Police and Education Welfare Officers caught 29 children during the latest truancy sweep in the town.

Of the 29 who were stopped and spoken to on Thursday 3 December, 22 are thought to have been absent from school without an acceptable reason.

Education Welfare officers from KCC will be checking with all of the schools concerned to make enquiries to see if the truancies were genuine.

Parents of truants will be offered advice and could be warned about the consequences of persistently failing to ensure their children's attendance at school, which can include a fine and in some cases a prison sentence:

Under the Education Act 1996, parents can be prosecuted in Magistrates court for failing to secure regular school attendance. For this offence they can be fined a maximum of £1,000. There is, however, a more serious offence, which carries a maximum fine of £2,500, or three months imprisonment for parents who are aware of their child's absence and who fail to provide a justifiable reason.

PC Fran Fryer-Kelsey, the Safer Schools Partnership Co-ordinator for Shepway said: "Following an attendance and exclusion sweep in the Folkestone area it was disappointing to note that there was still 76% of children who were out of School without an acceptable reason, and the majority of those spoken to were in the company of their parents."