MORE than 60 children were stopped by police in a crackdown against kids playing truant in Burnley - the most for four years.

Officers in the borough, working with education welfare staff, stopped 63 schoolchildren in the past week as they targeted town centre, shops and parks as part of a truancy sweep.

They found 29 youngsters who had an authorised absence from school and a further 34 who were not. Of the 34, seven were with an adult.

Police Inspector Damian Darcy said the figure was the highest for a number of years because officers were spending more resources on tackling truancy.

He said: "There was more people caught because it is coming up to Christmas and the children will be wagging school to go into the town centre and go round the shops.

"I would urge both pupils and parents to make sure that schooling is a top priority and warn them that anyone playing truant will be caught and made to face the consequences." Studies have shown pupils who skip school have a higher chance of falling into a life of crime.

According to figures from the Department for Education, 16.3 per cent of children took unauthorised absences from Burnley's schools in 2004/05 compared to 16.2 per cent in Pendle. The worst performing local authority area was Salford.

Insp Darcy added: "Whilst absence in Burnley is no worse than anywhere else, it is still important that we keep a check on truancy.

"We also want to make sure that our local young people receive the best education and don't wander off walking the streets where they could be more likely to get involved in crime or anti-social behaviour."