Bristol has been given �2m to try to get children who play truant back into the classroom.

The cash will pay for more patrols and will also tackle the causes of why pupils avoid classes in the city which has one of the worst records in the UK.

For the past two weeks, police and education welfare officers have been patrolling streets looking for youngsters who are out of school.

On a typical morning in the city's Broadmead area, they find dozens of children who should be in a classroom.

Anti-social behaviour

PC Martin Jones and Sharon O'Leary, an education welfare officer, are on regular patrol in the area.

"We get all sorts of excuses from 'I want to see Santa Claus' to 'I needed to do my shopping before the shops get busy at the weekend'," said Ms O'Leary.

"One girl said that she was meeting her nan and said that the last day in her school was boring - if every person did that, of course, we would have no schools."

The money, which is being supplied by the government, will also help examine anti-social behaviour that often leads to children playing truant in the first place.

It will also help provide more learning mentors in schools and one-to-one tuition for difficult pupils.

Education Secretary Estelle Morris said: "Most schools are well-disciplined but a small number have got real problems and I am determined to help them tackle this head-on.

"This extra funding for Bristol will make a real difference.

"We cannot tolerate a climate where some pupils stop learning because they are not in school and where others are prevented from learning because of the bad behaviour of a minority."