Parents who have taken their child out of school during term-time have been fined £43,000 over the last three years, according to county council data.

Gloucestershire County Council has issued 936 penalty notices from the 2015/16 academic year, totalling £43,620 worth of fines, the Freedom of Information request had found.

And more than five times the number of parents have been fined this year than the previous academic year, as the figures show the total jumped from £5,340 in 2016/17 to £27,420 in 2017/18.

The authority collected £10,860 of revenue from fines in the 2015/16 academic year.

The Freedom of Information request also found that there were 92,641 instances pupils did not attend registration due to unauthorised holiday in 2016/17 across Gloucestershire’s primary, secondary and special schools.

That’s an increase from 74,922 missed sessions in the previous academic year.

Tim Browne, director of education at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “We know that children with poor attendance tend to achieve less at both primary and secondary school level. Where unauthorised absences occur, schools can request that the council consider issuing a penalty notice on their behalf.

“Our focus is on making sure children get the education they need and deserve, so this is just one way to encourage regular attendance in school.”

A headteacher has been contacted for comment.