CHILDREN sneaking off school in Pendle were caught red-handed when police and education welfare officers teamed up to target truants.

The truancy sweeps took place in Colne, Barnoldswick and Earby yesterday and youngsters aged between 10 and 16 years were stopped and spoken to by the officers.

A total of 16 children were stopped, 10 of secondary age and six primary. Thirteen of them were with their parents.

An educational welfare officer and a uniformed officer wearing a high visibility jacket walked round the target areas and approached those of school age.

If they were with parents the education welfare officer made the introductions, the parents were asked why the child was off school and it was decided whether the reason was legitimate.

If the children were alone, the police officer approached them and again checked their reasons for being out of school.

PC Simon Butterworth, who ran the operation said: "We are working with education welfare trying to stop children truanting and to target children out of school."

The crackdown was part of a co-ordinated national truancy sweep which is being carried out over the next three weeks.

In a similar initiative last year more than 620 children were stopped across Lancashire, 178 of whom were truants and 74 truants with an adult.

Education Minister Ivan Lewis said: "The message could not be clearer, school attendance matters. Truancy is a passport to a life blighted by wasted opportunities, unemployment and even crime. At a time when nearly half of all children are achieving five or more good GCSEs, only eight per cent of persistent truants achieve this standard."