A 73-year-old filling station worker who stood up to a knife-wielding thug has said he would do the same again after the robber was jailed.

Kieran Devlin, 27, was carrying a kitchen knife with a 12in blade when he walked into Texaco garage on Church Hall Lane, Accrington and demanded that a terrified female member of staff fill blue bag with money, Burnley Crown Court heard.

But he left with only £130 after heroic Derek Greenwood stood up to him armed with just a bottle of wine.

See CCTV footage of the incident below ...

Devlin, of Stanley Street, Accrington, was jailed for five years and four months after he admitted robbery.

After the hearing, Mr Greenwood said: "It’s just one of those things, you either do it or you don’t and if you’re in that situation you can’t just walk away.

"Another thing is that when he actually did come in the shop he was very well disguised and I couldn’t even have pointed him out for you or even told you the colour of his eyes.

"I was concerned about my fellow worker because I know she was very upset and afterwards I tried to calm her down by getting her to have a cup of tea.

"To be honest I thought he might get longer because of what he had done."

The court heard that Devlin entered the Texaco garage on Church Hall Lane, Accrington at around 10pm on June 30 this year and attempted to frighten a member of staff into handing over cash.

Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, said: "She said she just froze. At first she did not know whether or not it was a joke but then he waved the knife and she realised he was serious and she was petrified."

The court heard that Mr Greenwood, who has worked at the business part-time for five years, challenged Devlin, who was wearing a hoodie and had a scarf across his face.

CCTV footage showed Mr Greenwood grabbing Devlin and pulling the knife back before taking hold of a bottle of wine.

Adrian Williams, defending, said that Devlin owed money to drug dealers to pay for his cannabis habit and that he had been told he had to find the money for them or face violence.

Mr Williams said: "He was in a lot of debt and was under serious pressure to pay it. On one occasion drug dealers came into his house and inflicted violence upon him. They also said they knew where his mum lived."

Judge Jonathan Gibson told Devlin: "I have no doubts that the woman serving you at the petrol station was petrified although Mr Greenwood a man aged 73 appears to be a man of some resolve."

DC Simon Challenger said he felt Mr Greenwood’s actions had been of great help to the police in helping them deal with the incident.

He said: "I would like to praise his courage and selfless actions in trying to protect his colleague and stop this terrible ordeal.

"Devlin is a dangerous criminal and I welcome the sentence he has been given. This sentence today sends out a message that this will not be tolerated."