RADICAL plans to jail parents of truant children at weekends would not work in Bolton according to the chief education social worker.

The Home Office is considering plans to create the mini-prison sentences as punishment for parents of persistent truants.

This would leave the parents able to look after their families in the week, but be imprisoned at weekends.

However, Bolton's chief education social worker Ian Price believes that while the proposals may appear attractive, they would not work in practical terms, creating enormous amounts of work for both his department and social services.

A high proportion of parents prosecuted in Bolton due to their child's truancy are single mothers with several children and Mr Price fears the other siblings would have to be placed in care at the weekends which would create extra work for social services.

Supporters of the controversial plans, which have been used in Australia and Germany, claim that weekend imprisonment is less harsh than custodial sentences used against parents like the one which saw Patricia Amos jailed for 60 days for failing to ensure that her two daughters attended school.

However, Mr Price believes that if parents are going to be sent to prison for allowing their children to become persistent truants, they should receive a custodial sentence.

He said: "If we're going to lock parents up for not sending their kids to school, then let's do it.

"Even if it means putting their children in a foster home for two months.

"If these plans were introduced, the Local Education Authority and Social Services would have to work extremely closely together and there would be a much bigger work load."

Home Secretary David Blunkett supports weekend jails and has called them "a third way" between imprisonment and community sentences.