A FATHER who failed to get his daughter to attend school regularly despite doing 'everything possible' has been ordered to pay £480 in fines and costs by Skipton magistrates.

The court heard that the teenage girl had 48 unauthorised absences - meaning she had a 77 per cent attendance - from the Craven secondary school between January 3 and May 19.

Jo Swain, prosecuting for North Yorkshire County Council, said there had been daily telephone calls and meetings with the father and his daughter in an attempt to get her to attend regularly.

A meeting with the authority's attendance enforcement officer in March had resulted in a penalty notice requiring the girl to attend school without fail for the following 15 days.

A breach of that order resulted in a fine of £60 and when that had gone unpaid, the authority proceeded to prosecute.

At court, the man denied being the parent of a girl of compulsory school age who failed to attend on a regular basis, saying he had done everything in his power to make sure she attended.

He said that had included taking her to school in her pyjamas and making her change into her uniform outside in his vehicle, and repeatedly making himself late for work.

Defending himself, he told the magistrates he had tried his utmost, but described the girl as typical for her age.

"I have done everything possible to get my daughter into school. I have dragged her to school in her pyjamas to get her there. I have done a hundred per cent my best, but she is a typical teenager," he said.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said no one could accuse him of not doing his utmost to get his daughter to school and he was annoyed at the suggestion.

"I can not do anymore. If you want me to buy a tent and camp at the school , I will do it," he said.

But magistrates told him as the parent of a child of school age, he had a responsibility to make sure she attended and found him guilty.

He was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs of £250 and a surcharge of £30.