HARDCORE school skivers and lax parents had better watch out from Monday as Basingstoke police set out to teach them a lesson.

Teams of police and education welfare officers will be sweeping the town as part of a week-long operation carried out across Hampshire.

Any parent with a child of school age who is not in school will be asked to supply details and explain why the youngsters are not where they should be.

Youngsters out on their own without good reason will be delivered back to their places of education.

Sergeant Lee McClellan, who is leading the Basingstoke operation, said: "We get all sorts of excuses about birthday treats and trips to the dentist. But we will be advising parents that, however nice it is to have children out of school, you are still obliged to secure education for your child. You are committing an offence. A genuine trip to the dentist need only take part of the day."

Sgt McClellan said decisions on whether to prosecute parents are left to the education authority, but refusal to supply details is an offence in itself. However, he said, police officers had no wish to be heavy-handed.

He added most of the hardcore truants are already known to the police and other agencies and are often engaged in crime when they are picked up. "On this basis alone, it is a very good intelligence exercise," he said.

Referring to the truancy sweep, Sgt McClellan said: "This is the first time it has been a force-wide effort. We try to do six per year. In the three we did between October and January this year, 155 children were stopped."