Prosecution rates for parents of truant children in Essex have risen fast since the get-tough approach kicked off three years ago. This qualifies as a good news story.

Too many so-called action programmes have quietly withered away from neglect, or lack of teeth. This one is different.

Thanks to a well-organised programme that co-ordinates police, schools and truancy officers, and thanks also to the relentlessness and conviction of the team-workers, truancy in Essex is on the ropes.

There was much hand-wringing from parents of truant children at the start of the campaign. The have found minimal public sympathy, and their excuses are wearing thin. There is a simple way to avoid prosecution. They just need to take responsibility for their children.

No one can be in any doubt now that the truancy programme means business. At least one arm of Tony Blair's "education, education, education" campaign is achieving what it set out to do.

The snap-py couple?

No-frills airlines have nothing on Thurrock Register Office's photo backdrop when it comes to cut-price travel.

The giant screen allows wedding couples to pose in front of pictures of tropical beaches and other exotic honeymoon locations, without the expense and bother of actually flying there.

The idea will no doubt be popular with many couples leading pressurised modern lives who don't want the bother of actually flying to such places. But why stop there? Why not a background picture of the bride or groom?

It would save busy couples the time taken to meet up personally for the wedding ceremony.