A poster campaign is warning parents they will harm their children's education if they take them out of school for a day as a Christmas treat.

The posters, on 15 Arriva buses in County Durham, warn parents that they will be killing their children's education with kindness.

They also tell people that the penalty for failing to ensure children attend school regularly could be an appearance in court.

The campaign is the latest of initiatives by Durham County Council and Durham Constabulary to reduce unauthorised absence.

Although truancy is said not to be a great problem in the county, officials fear parents may be tempted to treat their children to a day off school in the run-up to Christmas.

Neil Foster, cabinet member for education, said most cases of persistent truancy started with parents taking their children out of school for the odd day.

"When we've stopped parents with children who should be at school, the excuses they give are sometimes quite astonishing.

"Shopping trips are a common excuse but one parent even said he had taken his son out of school to watch Newcastle United train as a birthday treat.

"Left unchecked, this can lead to parents developing a blas approach to the importance of their children's school attendance, whereas of course, it is quite unacceptable and potentially damaging.

"Our experience has shown that this is a particular problem in the run-up to Christmas."