A SINGLE father has been warned he could be jailed if he continues to keep his 13-year-old son from school.

Consett magistrates gave the caution as they fined the 48-year-old father £50 for his second offence of failing to ensure his son attended a County Durham comprehensive school.

His appearance comes weeks after Patricia Amos of Oxfordshire became the first person to be jailed under new government legislation which targets truancy.

Julian Wilson, prosecuting for Durham County Council, said the boy had failed to attend school from January 11 to March 22 this year, despite the family having been contacted on 14 occasions. This came on top of his failure to attend from September to December 2001, for which the father had been convicted in January.

The court was told the father had given a number of excuses, including an allegation of his son being bullied.

Mr Wilson said the bullying claim had been investigated, and it was found that while an incident had happened outside school, it was not a reason for the teenager not to attend.

Mr Wilson commended the father for ensuring he started attending following a previous court appearance last month.

He said: "But I must make it plain that if there is a repeat of his failure to ensure his son attends school, bearing in mind his desire to have an education, the local authority will press the more serious offence, which carries possibility of jail sentence."

Bench chairman Jean Chapman said: "If you are charged again, it will be because you know the ropes and you are deliberately not sending your child - and that charge will carry imprisonment, if necessary.

"As you and he are alone in the world we do not want you to go to prison, so as from today you have to obey the rules."

The father admitted the latest charge, while an imprisonable offence of knowingly keeping his son from school was dropped.

Durham County Council education director Keith Mitchell said: "We seek to work in close co-operation with parents where problems of poor school attendance arise. However, where a child's educational future is at risk because parents are not fulfilling their legal responsibilities or not co-operating with help offered by school or the education authority, we will not hesitate to use the legal powers at our disposal.