EDUCATION social workers will team up with police officers for a four-day crackdown on truants in the run-up to Christmas.

The hit squad will patrol the streets of Bolton town centre for two days looking for youngsters out of school, before spending two days visiting truancy hotspots in areas such as the Johnson Fold estate, Farnworth and Breightmet.

The police have recommended a visit to Johnson Fold for the first time, following complaints from people about youths hanging around during the day instead of being in school.

The Bolton truancy crackdown will coincide with a national campaign to stamp out unauthorised classroom absence in the run-up to the festive period, when school attendance figures often drop because parents keep their children away from school for holidays or even Christmas shopping.

In May this year, education social workers and police officers caught 229 youngsters during a two-week sweep. About half the children missing school were accompanied by their parents.

The figure for unauthorised absence from Bolton secondary schools went up from 8.8 per cent to 9 per cent in the last school year.

The Christmas truancy sweep is part of Government plans to reduce drastically the number of days missed by children without a valid reason. These will include a "fast-track" prosecution process for parents of persistent truants.

Ian Price, Bolton's principal education social worker, said: "A Christmas sweep raises the profile of our team, and more police officers on the streets at that time of year can only be a good thing.

"It's a myth that hundreds of children are roaming the streets causing trouble, as it's just the odd group here and there.

"Half of the children we stop will be with their parents and that percentage rises even more for primary school-aged youngsters."