Parents of truanting children will soon get telephone calls from the school computer with the help of a Sussex man's revolutionary invention.

Hove-based Graham Haslip has designed a computer which tells parents their children are missing without school staff ever picking up the phone.

Graham Haslip said the Absenteeism Automated Telephone Calling System targeted truants like no other technology.

It uses information from the school register to automatically ring the homes of absent pupils.

A recorded voice lets parents know their children have not turned up.

Mr Haslip says three Sussex schools are interested in buying the technology from Integral Systems, the firm he owns and runs.

It has already been installed just over the Sussex border at Warwick School in Redhill, Surrey.

Head teacher Diana Perry said the school was paying for extra staff time just to contact the parents of absent children.

She said: "It will be more persistent than someone in the office. If the line is engaged, it will just keep ringing."

Legislation designed to curtail automatic telephone marketing means the school must get permission from all parents to contact them through the Integral Designs system.

Mrs Perry expected it to be in use for the new school year in September.

Mr Haslip created the system after he saw a TV news item on the growing problem of truancy.

The Department for Education and Employment has said telling parents as soon as possible about truancy is one of the best ways to combat the problem.

Mr Haslip said his invention was the most efficient way of reaching parents quickly.

Hove Park School already uses an electronic registration system before every lesson, ensuring kids can no longer turn up for morning and afternoon registration and avoid the rest of the school day.

Head teacher Peter Bratton said: "It's very efficient and powerful and gives us a lot of information."

www.integral-designs.co.uk