TWO teenagers who tracked and caught rapist Martin Walsh have won an Anne Frank Award.

Adam Barker and Johnathan Stoker were nominated by university lecturer Geoff Pattison, who read about their heroic actions in The Northern Echo.

Nineteen-year-old Walsh dragged a woman into undergrowth from a cycle path in Stanley, County Durham, last summer, and repeatedly raped her.

The teenagers chased Walsh after his 21-year-old victim managed to escape his clutches.

They kept in touch with the police using mobile telephones and surrounded him, helped by a number of other people, who had joined in the chase.

Walsh was subsequently jailed for life and Mr Pattison used cuttings from the paper to support his nomination.

Mr Pattison, a Northumbria University lecturer and Anne Frank Trust member, said: "Under difficult circumstances they showed a cool state of mind, bravery and determination to get the result they wanted.

"They put themselves on the line to make the person pay for the crime he had committed and it was an instinctive impulse to help a person in a terrible situation." Judges at the Anne Frank Awards were impressed and gave the pair the award for showing moral courage.

Gillian Walnes, executive director of the Anne Frank Trust, said: "These two young men could have very easily turned a blind eye and walked away from the terrible act of violence that they witnessed.

"Although we do not encourage people to put themselves at risk in any way, we could not ignore the positive impact of what they did. In their case, they knew instinctively what was right and acted upon it."

The two friends are modest about their achievement, which has seen the them thrust into the media spotlight, including interviews with national newspapers and television appearances.

Johnathan, 16, of Annfield Plain, near Stanley, who is training to do cosmetic car repair, said: "I am shocked to win because there were quite a few people put forward for it. I didn't realise what a big deal this was."

Earlier this year, the boys won the Shrievalty Award from the High Sheriff of County Durham, Sareth Nainby-Luxmoore, after they were nominated by Inspector Ian Proud, of Stanley police.

They will collect their Anne Frank Award at an awards ceremony at the Hackney Empire, in London, on Tuesday, June 12, Anne Frank's birthday and the 60th anniversary of the publication of her diary.

Their prize includes an all expenses trip to Amsterdam to see the Anne Frank house and enjoy a tour of the city.

Seventeen-year-old Adam, from East Stanley, who is studying sports science at New College Durham, said: "I am happy that they have recognised what we did and we were put forward for this. It should be very a good day."