More than five parents are being fined every day by Kirklees schools for taking their kids on holiday.

The number of £60 penalty fines shot up to 1,675 parents last year, compared to 988 in the previous 12 months.

And that’s added up to a massive financial headache for some parents as the rule is that the fine is levied on each parent for each child.

It also brought in about £100,000 for the authority.

It means a married couple with three children in school could end up £360 out of pocket for trying to save a few pounds by booking a sunshine break away from school holidays.

The row over the penalty fines deepened with a new survey from the Halifax.

With costs outside of term time ever increasing it revealed over a third (36%) of parents with children aged 5-16 have taken their family away outside of the school holidays, potentially saving thousands of pounds on the cost of their break, according to research from Halifax.

More than a quarter (28%) admit they have done so because it was too expensive to go during the summer holiday.

But councils, including Kirklees, are adamant that their policy is in the best interests of the families.

A Kirklees spokesman said: “Regular attendance at school is crucial to a pupil’s future prospects.

“It promotes learning, friendships and life skills. Where pupils are missing from school, not only does this impact on pupils’ attainment levels but it disrupts school routines and affects the learning of others.

“Both locally and nationally, leave of absence during term time continues to be a significant cause of absence from school.

“Kirklees data from 2013 shows that the leave of absence represented 17% of all absences from primary schools and 7% of absence in secondary schools and this was the most common reason for absence after illness.

“Where leave of absence during term time is requested, for a holiday or other reason, the headteacher may only approve this in exceptional circumstances”.

The spokesman added: “The council receive the fines and the money raised is used to administer the system and to pursue legal action when penalty notices remain unpaid.”

Since the rules around holiday absence were introduced in September 2013, 14% of parents who have taken their children out of school to go on a holiday have returned to face a fine.

Jon Roberts, of Halifax Credit Cards said: “With parents paying an ever increasing premium to take a holiday with their children outside of term time, it is always worth thinking about where else you can make savings when planning a family break.

“Ensuring you get the best possible exchange rate is one way to keep costs down, as well as choosing a holiday destination where the pound is strong against the local currency.”