ABOUT 50 youngsters were picked up during a three-week truancy sweep across Redditch.

Police and the county council's education welfare team joined forces to carry out 10 sweeps in different areas of the town.

More were done in Redditch than anywhere else and senior education welfare officer Richard Jones said less than half the children stopped had a valid reason for being off school.

He said: "They were mainly of secondary school age. Of 50 stopped, about 20 were taken back to school."

Some children were found shopping with parents who claimed their child was too sick to go to school.

"Some reasons given were valid, for example some had taken their child to the doctor. But some were just shopping and if the child is well enough to be out shopping, they are well enough to go to school," he said.

Mr Jones added: "We managed to make parents aware their child should be in school and warned they could end up in court and face three months in prison for allowing their children to truant."