A MOTHER has been for jailed for ten days for failing to send her son to secondary school.

Durham County Council said it hoped the case against the woman, who has not been named, will prove to parents that the local education authority was taking a hard line in it campaign against truancy.

Cabinet member for education Councillor Neil Foster warned parents the authority would not tolerate truancy and was prepared to take legal action.

He said: "We always try to work with families as much as possible to engage a child back into education.

"Regrettably, in this case, that did not prove successful and we were left with no other course of action to take.''

The council said taking parents to court was a last resort and that other avenues were explored with the schools, education welfare and specialist services.

Coun Foster said: "We have over 70,000 young people of school age in the county and we have to resort to prosecution in only 20 to 30 cases.

"We have a responsibility under the Education Act to prosecute parents if their child does not attend school and we will not hesitate to do this when other measures do not work.''

The council's action comes only a week after Pamela Nunn, of Tarring Street, Stockton, was jailed for 14 days for allowing her teenage daughter to miss school.

The 48-year-old appealed against the sentence at Teesside Magistrates' Court and the sentence was altered when she agreed to complete a 30-hour community rehabilitation order.

Last night, the National Union Of Teachers backed Durham County Council.

Regional county secretary for the NUT Durham branch Trevor Blacklock said: "We have got to be supportive of the local education authority with the action that they have taken."