A DRUG recovery worker has been jailed for armed robbery - after he was tackled by a have-a-go hero.

Former York resident Patrick Shannon, 35, and two other gang members, all wearing disguises, held up a shop assistant at knife and gun point, said Louise Pryke, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

One had what appeared to be a gun inside a plastic bag which he pointed at the terrified shop employee and said: “Put the money in the bag you ..... slag.”

Shannon, who had been drinking, had a 10-inch carving knife which he pointed at the assistant, saying: “Hurry up, hurry up, I don’t want to use this but I will stab you if I need to.”

The other two got away, but Shannon was tackled to the ground by shopper Brian Croft as he tried to escape. The shopper is to get a £750 reward for making the citizen’s arrest and restraining him with both hands behind his back until police arrived.

Shannon’s barrister Laura Addy said he had done voluntary work with other drug users after his release from a previous sentence for robbery. He had set up a Narcotics Anonymous group in York and had worked with drug rehabilitation agencies Lifeline and North Yorkshire Horizons, she said.

“York was a wonderful place for him,” she said. “He made changes in York. But he made the fateful decision to return back to Scarborough for a time when he was emotionally vulnerable because of the break down of his relationship, and he began to turn to his old habits.”

Shannon, of Encliffe Crescent, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to robbery in a One Stop shop in Scarborough on April 17 and carrying a knife.

He was jailed for 10 years.

The Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC said, after reading reports from the drug agencies, that Shannon’s voluntary work had saved him from an indeterminate sentence with no set release date. He said Mr Croft had shown “extraordinary heroism”.

“With no regard whatever for his own personal safety, he pursued the defendant out of the shop”, he said. “He deserves the highest praise.”

Shannon was on a suspended sentence during the robbery.