An off-licence owner who pushed away a drug addict robber has been commended for her brave actions by a judge.

David Mortlock tried to rob 52-year-old Margaret Merrills after walking into the store in Low Lane, Birstall, in October 2001.

But a judge at Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday how Mrs Merrills pushed Mortlock as he tried to get over the counter despite the fact that he had pulled out what she believed to be a machete.

Prosecutor Francis Radcliffe said Mrs Merrills also showed her bravery in grabbing Mortlock's baseball cap off his head as he fled and it was through DNA samples from the cap that he was eventually traced. Mortlock, of Heald Road, Dewsbury, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after he admitted the attempted robbery.

He also received a further two-and-a-half years in prison for a drugs offence committed a few months later.

Judge Roger Scott said Mrs Merrills should receive a reward of £250 from public funds for her actions which had resulted in Mortlock being taken off the streets.