A SCHOOLBOY who helped catch a Post Office robber has been awarded £250 in a ceremony at Preston Crown Court.

The youngster, called Joseph and from the Clitheroe area, was 100 metres away from where the robbery took place at Whalley post office.

He thought he saw a man with a gun and made a mental note of the registration number of a car.

His observations helped bring a Blackburn man to justice. In June, Zabir Issa, 20, of Bicknell Street was given seven years in custody for robbery.

He was dealt with on the basis that he had been in a waiting car while someone else robbed the King Street premises in September last year.

At the ceremony Judge Pamela Badley said Joseph, who was 13 at the time, had acted "in the best Blue Peter tradition." She said the award, made under section 28 of the Criminal Law Act 1826, was to recognise the act of a public spirited member of the public whose assistance had led to the apprehension of an offender.

High Sheriff of Lancashire Thomas Bowring presented the award to Joseph, who was in court with his parents and other members of his family.

He told the youngster: "As the High Sheriff of Lancashire I have great pleasure in offering you this reward and this certificate for your commendable action."

After the ceremony, Joseph's mum said: "We are very proud of him. It's a really special day, something he will remember for the rest of his life."

Joseph said he would probably be saving most of the £250, but would also spend some on a treat.