ASIAN families taking their children on long holidays to the Indian sub-continent are being blamed for giving Pendle the worst truancy rates in Lancashire.

Along with Burnley, Pendle comes bottom of a specially-compiled chart of school absences compiled by Lancashire County Council.

Normally, only the average statistic for the county is released, but Lancashire County Council has broken the figures down into boroughs to find out where the problem is worst.

Senior councillors will hold a special meeting at County Hall in Preston on Friday to discuss the figures, and the impact it is having on the lives of youngsters in the county.

In secondary schools in Lancashire, 0.9 per cent of school days are lost to truants, but in Pendle this figu re rises to 1.3 per cent, along with 1.2 per cent in Rossendale and 0.8per cent in Burnley.

An average of 6.9 per cent of school days are lost to so-called authorised absences, such as pre-arranged holidays or doctors' appointments, but in Pendle the figure is 7.7 per cent, the same as Burnley. In Rossendale, seven per cent of school days are lost to authorised absences.

All in all, it means that nine per cent of school days are lost to absences in Burnley, 8.5 per cent in Pendle and 8.3 per cent in Rossendale.

For primary schools, only Rossendale meets the county average of 0.3 per cent of days lost to unauthorised absences. Burnley is at 0.5 per cent, and Pendle 0.4 per cent.

A further 5.4 per cent of days are lost to authorised absence in Burnley, five per cent in Pendle and 4.5per cent in Rossendale.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "Lancashire's attendance in primary schools has improved in recent years and remains better than the national average.

"Attendance is poorest in Burnley and also in Hyndburn (0.7 per cent days lost in primary schools there). Some of the absence is associated with extended holidays on the Indian subcontinent.

"Attendance in secondary schools is, overall, comparable with the national average, though with a lower rate of unauthorised absence.

"However, it is not as good as in 2001. Attendance is poorest in socio-economically deprived areas, especially those with significant ethnic minority populations."