CRACKDOWNS on truancy could become a regular event following the success of the latest initiative in Blackburn town centre.

Police and education welfare officers today revealed they had stopped almost 150 children in just two days following the crackdown.

Officers in Lancashire Constabulary's eastern division and council welfare officers carried out the new hard line regime on Thursday and Friday.

And they revealed they had caught 149 children truanting on their own or thought to be truanting but accompanied by a parent or carer.

The truancy team can now use section 16 of Jack Straw's controversial Crime and Disorder Act to remove children from the streets. Under the scheme, children found playing truant are taken to a place specially designated by the authority and not to the police station as the law does not provide powers of arrest. The pupils stopped this week were taken to Blackburn with Darwen Council's Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) before being taken back to school by education welfare officers. The majority of children should have been attending schools within Blackburn and Darwen, although some were returned to schools outside the borough. Some children were also collected by parents or carers. Coun Bill Taylor, who joined officers on the beat and is a keen supporter of the scheme, said: "By and large people were pleased it was happening because it helped people going about their business get on with it without any fear of nuisance.

"We intend to increase the scheme because it is proving effective and we will carry on because children should be in schools, parents should be making sure they are there and teachers should be teaching them."

Picture: PC Andy Maltman, with Blackburn with Darwen education welfare officer David Goldsworthy and Coun Bill Taylor, stop two students in Blackburn town centre as part of the crackdown on truancy