NEW anti-truancy laws have failed to stop thousands of East Lancashire children "bunking off" lessons - despite two parents a week being prosecuted.

Now council bosses are gearing up to issue £100 on-the-spot fines to parents who condone unauthorised absence from school, including holidays in term-time.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) figures for Lancashire County Council reveal 21,509 students skipped class in the last school year, compared to 17,941 in the year ending July 2002.

And in Blackburn with Darwen, 3,466 took unauthorised absence, compared with 3,599 in the year to July 2002. But over the same period, the school roll in Blackburn with Darwen has dropped by 756.

Truants across the county take an average of around 20 half days off from high school and ten from primary schools.

The figures come despite repeated anti-truancy sweeps on the county's streets in the last four years and education bosses today admitted they were not enough to tackle the problem.

In 2003, the county council prosecuted 157 parents - 88 living in Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.

This year, 65 parents were prosecuted in the five boroughs out of 119 across the county.

Blackburn with Darwen Council, which runs its education services, said 49 had been taken to court since 2002 when the offence of aggravated truancy was introduced. A further 25 cases were pending.

Of the convictions in Blackburn with Darwen, 12 were given conditional discharges, 34 were fined and three were made subject to parenting orders.

Aggravated truancy laws give magistrates the power to jail parents but Lancashire courts have so far failed to implement the option.

Under the new fines scheme, which both councils have agreed, parents will be penalised if a child misses 20 half days through unauthorised absence - or if youngsters are taken on holiday in term time without permission.

The truancy figures now look set to spur councils into using the new on-the-spot fines.

Lawrence Warburton, principal education welfare officer at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "Children who miss school, miss out. It's that simple and we will keep reminding people of that message for as long as it takes.

"We have the fines at our disposal and are working with schools to improve attendance."

Tory councillor Paul McGurty said: "What the figures show is that the truancy sweeps aren't achieving anything. The council needs to make use of these fines quickly if they are to make a difference, and teachers should be doing more to explain to children why they should be in school."

County councillor Alan Whittaker, executive member for education, said: "Taking parents to court is always the last resort. Wherever possible we sit down with parents and try to establish what is causing the truancy and then try to find a solution."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "We are working to tackle truancy, working with schools and taking advantage of new legislation.

"At the end of the day, it is in the best interests of the children to attend school."