SCHOOLCHILDREN playing truant in Ryedale face being picked up by police and social workers under a new scheme being launched in the area.

Truancy sweeps are to be carried out until December in Malton and Pickering during normal school hours.

The move comes after an increase in the number of calls to North Yorkshire County Council's education service about children absent from school.

Now any pupil who is suspected of playing truant will be asked to produce a note showing they have a valid reason for being away from school.

Paul Clay, of Ryedale School, which is supporting the scheme, said it was part of a national initiative to cut down on crime caused by truancy.

"We do not have a problem at our school because all our pupils can be accounted for," he said.

"That said, we fully support these moves as there have in the past been links to truant children causing some crime - but perhaps not here in Ryedale.

"We always issue pupils with a piece of paper showing they have a doctors appointment or a valid reason to be away during school hours."

Youth officer Stuart Ashton, who is attached to Malton Police, will be helping to run the truancy crackdown with education social workers.

"With their help I'll be carrying out truancy sweeps in a combined effort to tackle truancy - it will be an ongoing effort," he said,

"We will be patrolling streets and areas where we know young people hang out.

"If we find anyone we'll be able to check at a control centre in Scarborough to check whether they should be there."

But he said that though truancy was not a particular problem in Ryedale it would benefit the community.

"It has been running in Scarborough and York and has proved very successful there," he said.

Updated: 10:47 Friday, October 05, 2001