Nottingham Post published Dad failed to attend court to explain his son playing truant 53...

A jobless dad ended up with a £261 bill after his son dodged school 53 times - even though he failed to turn up to court to explain himself. The 15-year-old clocked up the absences between November 30 last year and April 22 - when he should have been studying at a special unit in the city. It was open for classes on 156 occasions and the boy's absence was permitted on a dozen occasions - but he still managed to play truant on 53 occasions on top of that. Jackie Martin, for Nottingham City.