A NORTH-EAST woman who claims terrorists forced her husband to take part in Northern Ireland's biggest robbery has attacked a decision to continue using non-jury courts in the province.

Janice Winward is angry that the Government has decided to keep the Diplock Court system in place for terrorist trials in Ulster.

Her ex-soldier husband, Keith, was convicted by a Diplock Court, which is held with a judge only, in 1997.

Mr Winward, 39, from Middlesbrough, Teesside, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after the court was told of his involvement in a terrorist raid which netted £1,071,957.

Mrs Winward says her husband, who was working as a guard for Securicor at the time of the crime, only became involved after masked paramilitary gunman stormed into their Ulster home and threatened to kill her and their son, Dale, if he did not carry out their orders.

Mrs Winward maintains that her husband would not been jailed if he had been tried by a jury and has criticised the decision to keep the Diplock Courts in Northern Ireland.

"Keith did not get a fair trial and I think they had already made their mind up to put him in prison," she said.

"It should be everyone's democratic right to be tried by a jury, but Keith and many others were not given this.

"They should be scrapped because I wouldn't want anyone else to go through what we have over the last four years."

Mr Winward is due to be released from prison on Friday, as part of the last wave of releases under the Good Friday Agreement.

He has always protested his innocence and was singled out for attacks by Loyalist and republican terrorists while in prison in Northern Ireland.

He was transferred to Frankland Prison, Durham, in 1998, on the advice of a governor after an assault at Maghaberry Prison left him in hospital.

But he was forced to return to Northern Ireland last year in order to secure an early release from his prison sentence