COUNCIL officers in Darlington stopped 80 children who should have been in school during a one-day operation to track down truants.

Many of the youngsters were caught shopping with parents in the town centre last Friday, when they should have been in lessons.

Last year, hundreds of thousands of school hours were missed by truants in the town, according to attendance figures.

More than 170,000 half days were missed by children in secondary schools and more than 130,000 half days by children attending primary schools in the borough.

Darlington Borough Council launched a campaign to tackle the truancy problem in September, with monthly sweeps being carried out by education welfare officers and police in the borough.

Children who are stopped have to give their names and a letter is then sent to their school.

Parents of truanting children are warned that they could face prosecution.

A council spokesman said yesterday: "The idea of the sweeps is to raise community awareness.

"Parents need to know that they could end up in court and could be fined."

He said town centre businesses had agreed to work with the council on the campaign.

"If they see kids hanging about they are letting us know that there is a particular problem," the spokesman said.

The council's education welfare team is also working with schools to target persistent truants.

Education welfare officer Gill Walker said: "Many parents condone their child's absence.

"The school attendance figures are clearly a concern and parents, schools, police and the education department will continue to work in partnership to ensure more children attend school regularly."

Councillor Stephen Harker, the authority's cabinet member for education, said: "This is something we take very seriously.

"It is important that children are in school when they should be.

"We are happy to be working with the community to try to make sure that children are in class."

Parents who want advice or information about school attendance can contact the education welfare department on (01325) 388882.