The woman has been jailed for 28 days

The woman, from the Amman Valley, is the second in the area to be imprisoned under moves to stamp out truancy.

Magistrates at Ammanford heard how her son had not attended any lessons since October, while her daughter has a 50% attendance rate this year.

The woman - who has not been named - was prosecuted by Carmarthenshire Council under the Education Act.

Her 15-year-old son and daughter aged 12 are both pupils at Amman Valley Comprehensive School.

It was a very serious offence Avril Jones

She was in breach of a 12 month conditional discharge issued last April for failing to send them to school - and was jailed for 28 days on Monday.

Senior welfare education officer Avril Jones said they explored "all options before resorting to prosecution."

"This mother refused to respond to any kind of help," she said.

"It was a very serious offence.

"We welcome the sentence and we are very grateful to the magistrates in Ammanford for their support."

Last April a mother from Llanelli became the first in Wales to be jailed for truancy offences.

She appealed against the sentence but it was upheld by a crown court judge.