THURROCK COUNCIL continues to get tough on parents who do not ensure their children attend school.

At Basildon Magistrates' Court recently a number of borough residents were heavily fined, among them a Grays woman who was ordered to pay a total of £926 for failing to ensure her daughter attended Gable Hall School.

And to show the severity of the offence, her husband received exactly the same fine and costs!

A number of other parents were also dealt with, though there was range of punishments including a community order whereby a parent had to attend a 'thinking skills' course.