A MOTHER-of-13 who let her children skip school has become one of the first parents in the country to be given an order to curb her family's loutish behaviour.

Ellen Morris, of Duckworth Street, Barrowford, has been hit with a parenting order after admitting three counts of failing to ensure her children regularly attended school.

Morris, 40, is among only a handful of people in Britain to be served with the maximum 12-month order, police said.

Inspector Jon Bullas today said residents had previously complained to police about the family's yobbish behaviour. He added those committing anti-social behaviour would be taken to court.

Inspector Bullas said: "Ourselves and other agencies have already taken action to try to curb the activities of this particular family with varying degrees of success.

This has, understandably, caused much frustration both for ourselves and the local community.

"We're hopeful this latest move will assist. The order served clearly sets out her responsibilities and the sanctions that can be used against her if she fails to comply with the order."

Morris pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to ensure three of her children regularly attended school over a six month period under the Education Act 1996.

She was given three 18 month conditional discharges by Reedley magistrates, on the back of which was slapped the parenting order.

The punishment was secured by Lancashire County Council and backed by bodies including the police and Pendle Council. It follows a catalogue of complaints about the family.

Morris will now have to ensure her children regularly attend lessons and will have to hold regular meetings with the Youth Offending Team.

Parenting orders were introduced by the government as part of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to make parents accountable for their children and stop young people committing further offences.

They are normally imposed if the child is involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour and the parents have failed to comply with a parenting contract, which see parents attend classes to try and get them to think about their and their child's behaviour.

Between October 2003 and September 2005 almost 1,000 parenting orders and contracts were issued - but it is rare for a full 12-month order to be issued.

Recently Tony Blair highlighted the measure as a good example of tackling anti-social behaviour when he launched his Respect agenda.

The PM said he wanted to see more of the orders used under the action plan which will see the Youth Justice Board given £45million over the next three years.

If she breaks the ruling, Morris could be fined up to £1,000.

Councillor Ann Kerrigan, Pendle Council's executive member for community safety, said: "We just won't tolerate anti-social behaviour in Pendle.

"We have used the powers that have been made available to us to address the problems caused by this particular family to work towards a better quality of life for everyone affected.

"I hope this parenting order will help the family to address the issues that are influencing their behaviour.

"This, in turn, will hopefully make things better for the neighbours who have suffered enough already at the hands of this family."