A man who refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter out of school for a holiday has won a British High Court ruling in his favour.

Jon Platt was fined by the Isle of Wight Council after he took his family on a trip to Florida last April without permission from the school.

The issue of the fine - originally stg£60 (€76) and then doubled because of his refusal to pay - went before the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court in October and Mr Platt won his case.

But the local authority has appealed the decision in the High Court, seeking clarification on what constitutes a child attending school "regularly".

At the High Court, reporter Enda Brady said: "The Isle of Wight Council had come to the High Court arguing that full-time education means precisely that".

"The judges have said that the child's attendance record was good enough and have sided with the dad in this case".

"A lot of parents with school-aged children and costly holidays to think about will be following this case with a lot of interest and I imagine they would be very pleased with this ruling today in the High Court".

Mr Platt says he has spent stg£13,000 (€16,507) fighting the fine, which he has described as "money well spent".

Mr Platt said that taking his six-year-old daughter out of school was not about the cost but rather the principle of being criminalised for doing so.

12 days off

He was also fined stg£60 (€76) in February for taking his daughter to Lapland for another trip during term time but had said he would refuse to pay until he heard the outcome of the High Court's ruling.

Mr Platt said that his daughter had 12 days off during the last school year - an attendance rate of 93.7%.

He added: "Not only has it not hurt her education but going on these trips has, in my view, helped her education".

"The presumption is that travel abroad is of no value. I'm very lucky to live in a beautiful part of the country - I live on the Isle of Wight - but it's quite a small place and I want my children to see the wider world".

Mr Platt said his daughter was doing "fantastically well" at her state school. His older daughter and step-son are at private schools.

He said: "All parents value their children's education. I pay more for my (older) daughter's education than I pay for my mortgage".

"I should be entitled to decide what's best for my kids. I do not need a local authority telling me what's best for my kids".