mq PARENTS claiming their children are absent from school through illness have been caught dragging them round Kidderminster in freezing weather.

mq A truancy sweep carried out in the town centre and the Comberton and Spennells estates led to 52 children being spoken to by police and education welfare officers.

mq They challenged any children who appeared to be of school age but were out and about during school hours. Many were accompanied by their parents, while seven unaccompanied ones, in school uniforms, were returned to their schools.

mq Several children from outside the Wyre Forest area were spoken to and their schools notified.

mq Tom Hunter, the council's senior education welfare officer, said: "We've held a number of truancy sweeps over the years and they've always proved particularly successful."

mq Police and the education welfare service have warned they will carry out more sweeps in the run-up to Christmas.