A KNIFEPOINT robbery victim from Askam has been honoured for her bravery during the terrifying crime.

Plucky Rachel More was a University of Cumbria student when the incident happened in Carlisle in March, 2015.

This occurred in daylight at the city's Close Street as she walked to a nearby campus.

Miss More, 22, courageously resisted attempts by two blade-carrying and masked male robbers as they sought to steal her bag. This contained a laptop on which the final-year law and criminology student had written almost two-thirds of a 10,000-word dissertation.

She suffered a cut to the thumb of her writing hand as the holdall was snatched. The two men then fled along with a female accomplice. In the wake of the robbery, a shocked Miss More ploughed on with her studies, completing the dissertation and obtaining her degree.

"A guy came up to me, asking for my bag; I said 'no'," Miss More recalled of the robbery.

"He showed me his knife. There was a bit of a struggle. Another guy came over, pulling on him, and the girl came over as well and was pulling on me.

"I was absolutely petrified. My first instinct was run – but my legs didn't want to go. It was just to protect my laptop really."

Miss More's thumb injury required several stitches. But the incident left mental scars, too.

"It has had a really big impact. After the incident I didn't really want to leave the house by myself; all my friends were taking me places. It stopped my going to uni for a bit as well," said Miss More, who harbours hopes of becoming a police officer.

"Now I have got to think about what is going to happen, where everything is, how much money I have got in my purse before I go out just in case it happens again."

Miss More, was speaking after being honoured at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday. This was in recognition of the exceptional bravery and tenacity she showed during the shocking incident.

She was commended by Cumbria's High Sheriff, the Rev Richard Lee, and received a £750 reward from public funds.

Judge Peter Hughes QC addressed the award ceremony, and said of the robbers: "Clearly they were on the lookout for a passing victim. But in Rachel More they got more than they were bargaining for."

He added: "This was a devastating experience and it is right that her bravery in standing up to her robbers should be marked with this award."

* The two male robbers, Tony Lockwood and Robert Phillips, were sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison at the crown court in February. Their accomplice, Gemma Moore, of Pearl Road, Salterbeck, was later given a two-and-a-half-year jail term.