A PENSIONER who sent a burglar running from her home was praised in court yesterday for her bravery.

Teesside Crown Court was told that Freda Brown, 74, who uses a wheelchair because of her arthritis, faced up to the teenage burglar when she found him in her house, in Stockton.

The burglar had smashed in her front door at teatime and Mrs Brown confronted him. She told him to go as she picked up the phone and rang for the police.

Daniel Barber, 17, fled empty handed and the police arrested him in a nearby street, said Paul Cleasby, prosecuting.

He told the judge: "She was watching TV in the living room when she heard her front door open, banging against her wheelchair in the hall and the sound of wood breaking.

"It took her a couple of minutes to get to her feet, and the door was pushed open and she saw a young teenager.

"She was extremely shocked, but bravely she challenged him and asked him what he was doing. He said, 'I'm doing a charity run'.

"She told him she would call the police. She dialled two nines and told him, 'You had better go'. He said, 'I'm not bothered' but then she dialled the third nine and when he realised she was talking to somebody, he left."

The police responded quickly to the report of a burglary at an elderly victim's home and they arrested Barber in a nearby street.

The teenager, who had four previous convictions for burglaries, gave two false names, but he was identified by a fingerprint check.

Mr Cleasby said: "The police said that it was clearly the home of an elderly person, with an unkempt garden and old-fashioned curtains.

"Mrs Brown said that she was very upset and shaking inside, and she was not sure about her future in her home."

Peter Sabiston, mitigating, said that Barber was very drunk and he accepted that it was a mean offence.

Judge Peter Armstrong told him: "You are building up quite a record for burglary. When you reach 18, if you continue, you will be serving longer and longer sentences."

Barber, of London, was sentenced to 12 months detention and training after he pleaded guilty to the burglary on March 22. He had spent two months in custody on remand.