About 50 children were stopped in an operation to halt truancy

Operation Cornet took place on Wednesday in support of National Truancy Week.

Police officers accompanied by Kent County Council Education Welfare staff stopped and questioned children found in the town during school hours.

Previous swoops netted over 100 pupils in Sheerness and 90 in Sittingbourne.

The parents can be fined and imprisoned - it's a serious matter Simone Orford, education welfare officer

Six teams of police and education welfare officers were out on the streets.

About 50 children were stopped as part of the operation - officers escorted six of them back to school and three were returned home.

The Crime and Disorder Act means instead of leaving them on the streets, officers can remove the children to a designated place of safety.

Parents and head teachers are then called.

Peter Walker, head teacher of Abbey School in Faversham, said people needed a "wake-up call" where attendance was concerned.

More swoops

Simone Orford, who was one of the education welfare officers involved in Wednesday's operation, said more swoops would follow.

She said: "Kids and parents will be stopped.

"If we see kids of school age on the streets they will be stopped.

"The parents can be fined and imprisoned - it's a serious matter," she stressed.

The team are due back on the streets within a few weeks.