Two men who bravely tackled a knife-wielding woman after she tried to rob a bank in Bradford city centre have each been awarded a token reward of £100 by a judge.

The pair were at the Halifax branch on Bank Street in May when 34-year-old paranoid schizophrenic Iram Saeed, of Harrogate Street, Undercliffe, Bradford, walked up to a female customer advisor and told her to: "Give me all the money now.”

Prosecutor Ken Green told Bradford Crown Court today that cocaine-user Saeed was holding what looked like a Stanley knife above the desk and the frightened advisor tried to run away.

“But the defendant grabbed her from behind and tried to pull her back towards her,” said Mr Green.

“At this point Neil Wilde, who was working on some electrical equipment in the bank, saw what had happened and went to the assistance of the member of staff and he was able to rugby tackle Saeed to the ground.

“Another witness Syed Shah also went to her assistance and he removed the knife from the defendant and helped to restrain her until the police arrived.”

Judge Jonathan Gibson said both men had acted in a very public spirited way and they should each receive £100 as a token reward for their brave conduct in intervening and disarming Saeed.

“Clearly they were very brave to do so in the circumstances,” said the judge.

During the terrifying early morning incident Saeed, who has history of mental illness, was overheard saying: "I want to kill someone.”

Judge Gibson read psychiatric reports about Saeed and also heard evidence from a consultant psychiatrist before deciding that she should be made the subject of a hospital order under the Mental Health Act without limit of time.

Barrister Ayesha Smart, for Saeed, said the time of the offence Saeed was experiencing psychosis and her symptoms were exacerbated by her use of cocaine.

Saeed, who pleaded guilty to charges of attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article, is currently remanded to a unit in Leeds and today she appeared in the dock flanked by four staff.

“You have been seriously mentally ill and I understand there has been an improvement in your condition in recent weeks since being transferred to hospital,” the judge told Saeed.

“I trust that the improvement in your condition will continue.”

At the time, Mr Syed, of Manningham, told the Telegraph & Argus he had been waiting to deposit some money when he suddenly heard a bank worker scream that a woman had a knife.

He said: “I grabbed her from behind and slammed her to the floor.

“I had my knee over her back, another gentleman came over, I said to him ‘grab the knife’.”

Mr Syed, who said the woman had a Stanley knife, said they managed to detain her until police, including armed officers, swooped on the scene.

He added: “I made sure her hands were down and she could not move her hands.

“I was just going in to deposit some money, you don’t expect it. I said ‘why would you do something like this, how stupid can you be?’

“I’ve seen it in movies, but never thought it happened in real life.”