Father pays £60 school fine for taking child on holiday entirely in 1p and 2p penny pieces

'There's £60, if you could pass that on to them, mate. Thank you very much,' says Brent Catterson

An irritated father who was fined £60 for taking his child on holiday during the school term took his revenge by settling the payment entirely in coppers.

Brent Catterson, who filmed the prank and posted it to social media, was so unimpressed by the school's fine that he exchanged notes into one and two pence pieces to make a retaliatory point about pedantry.

In the video, he is shown triumphantly carrying two small plastic sacks of coins through the school doors and emptying them over the reception desk.

"When I called up to explain there is no specific law, the person on the phone had quite a rude attitude, so I went one better and changed the fine sum into penny pieces," he said, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Catterson introduces the video by saying: "Sixty pounds, in twos and ones." A friend who is filming is heard chuckling.

Speaking to the receptionist, he then says: "Morning mate. I've got an attendance support allowance fine for taking my son out of school.

"There's £60, if you could pass that on to them, mate. Thank you very much, thank you, see you."

He concludes with a salute to the camera and the words: "And that's how you pay a fine."

The incident in June comes not long after another father, Jon Platt, successfully challenged a £120 fine for taking his family on holiday to Florida without permission, in a legal battle which reached the High Court.

Mr Platt said "dozens" of parents had contacted him with similar stories when the case closed.

The Department for Education states on its website that parents must make a formal application with a headteacher before taking a child out of school unless they are ill.

It warns that parents who break this rule will be fined from £60 up to £120, rising to £2,500 or a jail sentence if a local council chooses to prosecute.

The Department for Education has stressed before that disadvanted children in particular fall behind if repeatedly taken out of school by parents.