A mother was given a 12-month supervision order today for failing to ensure her teenage daughter attended school.

Joanna Griffiths was also ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work after being convicted at an earlier hearing of failing to secure the regular school attendance of her daughter.

Newport Magistrates' Court heard the 31-year-old of The Crescent, St Dials, Cwmbran had been prosecuted on four previous occasions for similar matters concerning her daughter who has refused to go to school since the age of nine.

The latest prosecution was brought about by Torfaen County Borough Council because Griffiths's daughter had only attended school on 22 occasions out of a possible 200 between September of last year and the end of February.

Robert Wade, defending, told magistrates his client had tried everything to get her daughter to school, including dragging her "kicking and screaming.

"If it (using physical force) happened in Dickensian times,’’ said Mr Wade, "it can't happen now.’’ He added: "It is beyond anybody's power to force somebody to school.’’ Mr Wade said Griffiths had suffered with post-natal depression ever since she gave birth at the age of 15 when she was "barely out of childhood herself.

"For whatever reason, since the age of nine my client's daughter has been out of control,’’ said Mr Wade.

"Out of control to a lone parent or somebody who does not have the physical force or mental presence to compel her to do so.’’ He added: "We have to make it abundantly clear to everybody that it cannot be that a child can miss so much education.

"My client would fully endorse that.’’ Magistrates' chairman Neil Upham also ordered that Griffiths contribute £400 towards the prosecution costs.