FRESH street sweeps to track down truants are to be held across East Lancashire in a bid to cut down on street crime.

And pupils in Blackburn with Darwen are to take part in a new scheme involving 'authorised absence passes' which will enable them to prove on the spot that they are allowed out of school.

The county's two education authorities have been asked to undertake fresh patrols as part of the Government's response to concerns over the growing level of street crime in the country.

Because Lancashire has one of the worst records for street crime, Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council are among those asked to repeat the street sweeps, which will be carried out next month.

The initiative -- which involves an education officer and policeman patrolling town centre streets -- was originally piloted in Blackburn in 2000 and then repeated across Lancashire.

The last exercise in Blackburn, which took place in January and February this year, resulted in 94 youngsters stopped, from both primary and secondary schools.

In Blackburn with Darwen's area, the first of the new truancy sweeps will take place on May 1 in Darwen, followed by two more on May 8 and 10 in Blackburn.

The sweeps will also coincide with the launch of the new Pupil Pass Scheme which has been developed by Blackburn with Darwen to allows authorised to be out of school to prove so straight away.

A free phone 'Attendance Care Line' has been set up which allows residents to report children they see outside during school hours.

Peter Morgan, Director for Education and Lifelong Learning said: "All the evidence from previous 'truancy sweeps' that we have carried out indicate that we are extremely effective in both reducing truancy and challenging a culture that condones absence from school."

Lancashire's County Council's education staff have also held previous sweeps in Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Rawtenstall. The authority will also be well represented at the national conference on truancy and crime in London on Monday.

Jennifer Martinez from Lancashire's Youth Offending Team will speak at the conference about the success of a Lancashire led, multi-agency crime reduction 'GRIP' initiative.

County Councillor Alan Whittaker, cabinet member for education, said: "Lancashire has always taken the problems of school truancy and juvenile nuisance seriously.

"And I am glad to see the national spotlight turn on this important issue."

The Blackburn with Darwen careline number is 0808 1000 840.