A RAIDER who attacked a shopkeeper with a wheel brace while high on drugs has been jailed for four years.

Paul Thornley had taken tranquillisers, crack cocaine and heroin when he went into the Manxman Off Licence, Manxman Road, Blackburn, in a bid to steal cash from the till.

But shop worker Mohammed Rokad, 21, fended Thornley off with a hammer. Those actions earned him a commendation for his ‘courageous actions’ by a judge today.

The court was shown graphic CCTV footage from the shop which showed Thornley burst in and threaten Mr Rokad with a metal wheel brace, before hitting him across the head with the weapon.

Prosecuting, Hilary Banks said: "The victim was speaking to a friend on his mobile phone and the person on the other end heard him shout 'someone is attacking me,' before the phone was put down.

"Mr Rokad recovered a hammer from behind the counter and used it in an attempt to defend himself."

The shopkeeper was left with defensive injuries to his hands and needed hospital treatment for a wound to his head.

Thornley fled the shop and jumped into a Vauxhall Vectra parked nearby. Friend Lena Johnson, 30, then drove him back to her house in Sarah Street, Darwen.

Witnesses provided police with Johnson's car's registration plate and the couple were arrested.

At an earlier court appearance Thornley admitted assault with intent to commit robbery and Johnson admitted assisting a offender.

Preston Crown Court heard 34-year-old Thornley, of Glenfield Close, Blackburn, had made himself a balaclava from an old sweatshirt before heading to the store at around 8.30pm on September 26 last year.

Defending, Clare Thomas said that Thornley had been a drug addict for 17 years but had tried to reform for the sake of his 14-year-old daughter.

He had fallen in with a wrong crowd and returned to a £40-a-day habit.

She said: "He intends to use this sentence to turn his life around."

Sentencing Thornley to four years imprisonment, Judge Antony Russell said: "The shopkeeper had the courage to defend himself with a hammer and chase you out of the shop.

"This violent attempted robbery was thwarted by the courageous actions of Mr Rokad."

Nine-weeks pregnant Johnson was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

After the case Detective Sergeant Mark Cruise said: “This was a pre-planned attack on a shop and although we would not encourage members of the public to take on violent offenders, Mr Rokad should be commended. His actions foiled their plans to steal from the shop.”