A mother has been jailed for failing to prevent her teenage daughters skipping school.

The Brighton woman is believed to be only the second parent in the country to be sent to prison because of her children playing truant.

She had been summoned to appear at Brighton and Hove Magistrates Court on several occasions but when she failed to attend on Monday she was arrested and held in a cell over-night.

She was sentenced to seven days in prison yesterday.

She is due to be released on Christmas Eve.

The daughters, aged 12 and 14, who cannot be named because of their ages, had at one time attended just 40 per cent of their classes.

When the matter came to court their attendance rate had risen to 66 per cent but the case was still brought by Brighton and Hove City Council which has been attempting to resolve the situation for more than a year.

The council's duty assessment team had last night placed the two daughters into temporary care.

Councillor Pat Hawkes, chair of the council's children, families and schools' committee, said: "It is of paramount importance that children are able to receive the education they deserve and it is quite clear that these girls have been denied that opportunity by not being encouraged to go to school.

"Most parents are responsible and take care to ensure their children attend school but where a parent is being irresponsible and ignoring the problem the council will take action. I only hope that, through this terrible situation, other parents will realise they must take the council seriously on the issue of truancy."

Earlier this year, Patricia Amos, from Oxfordshire, became the first parent to be jailed for failing to make her children go to school when she was sentenced to two months in prison.

Her teenage daughters, Emma, 15, and Jackie, 13, said that seeing their mother behind bars was the impetus that got them back to school.