A CRACKDOWN has been launched on Spa students who sneak out of school to play truant.

Droitwich Spa High School has joined forces with the town's beat manager PC Lloyd Buffery to ensure pupils are in classes when they are supposed to be.

Deputy headteacher Peter Woodman and PC Buffery held their first truancy sweep around the town on Wednesday (July 9).

Following a route that included the town centre, parks, canals and other areas that students might be hanging around, the pair questioned several teenagers to ensure they had a legitimate reason for not being in school.

More random sweeps are planned in new school year, which begins in September.

Mr Woodman wants to send a clear message to students - if they skip lessons, they will be caught and punished.

He said: "This is all the more important in light of the fact that we know that attendance leads to success and not attending school leads to all sorts of problems.

"Attendance has risen from 90 per cent to 92 per cent over the last year, which is a good figure, but one that we still need to work to improve."

PC Buffery confirmed an ongoing partnership between the Briar Mill school and the police service had been struck up to tackle truancy.