A DAD has been prosecuted for failing to make sure his teenage son went to school, despite the fact they live 15 miles apart.

Gerard Allonby, 39, pleaded guilty to failing to secure his 15-year-old son's attendance at Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School, Oswladtwistle, between January and July this year.

But Allonby, from Great Harwood, asked magistrates and education officials what he was meant to do when his son had moved to live with his former wife in Colne.

He told the court that he had only seen his son twice in the last 12 months.

"I told the education authority he wasn't living with me any more and I told them where he was living," Allonby told Blackburn magistrates. "What more can I do?"

Allonby, of Delph Road, was given a conditional discharge for 12 months and ordered to pay £50 costs..

Passing sentence, the chairman said she and her colleagues had "some sympathy" with Allonby.

"We appreciate the situation you find yourself in, however it is a joint responsibility," said the chairman. "Should you receive any more correspondence from the education authority you should seek legal advice immediately."

Allonby told the court he had already paid one £50 fine "just to get it out of the way."

"I just can't see what I am meant to do, he lives 15 miles away with his mum," he added.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council, education authority for Hyndburn, said: "The 1996 Education Act makes it a duty on 'parents' to ensure that children of compulsory age registered at a school attend regularly, not necessarily just the parent who has custody.

"Our policy is to treat parents as having equal responsibility unless there are overriding reasons why one parent cannot not be involved, such as moving to a distant part of the country, for example.

"Therefore we would usually issue penalty notices and prosecute both parents, or step-parents, as appropriate.

"Our aim is simply to get children back into school and we try very hard to achieve this without resorting to legal means, but we will use all powers available to us where it is considered necessary to achieve this."