A DETECTIVE has praised a teenager whose evidence helped to convict an older "bully" who robbed the girl of her mobile phone.

Detective Constable Steve Gothard was speaking last night after Paul Elliott, 20, was sent to a young offenders' institution for two years.

Initially, Elliott denied a charge of robbery, but midway through his trial this week, at Durham Crown Court he changed his plea to guilty, after the victim had given evidence.

The court was told Elliott, of Oakridge Road, Ushaw Moor, near Durham, held the 13-year-old girl in an arm lock, prised the phone from her grasp and hit her in the face, in the daytime attack last February.

He told police he had been trying to find out if she had been ringing one of his friends.

Det Con Gothard said later that crimes involving mobile phones were growing among young people as ownership increased. He said the prosecution only succeeded because the girl, now 14, reported the incident and followed it through by giving evidence.

"We are pleased with the conviction and we feel he got a realistic sentence. I would praise her for standing up against someone who is obviously a bully and going through the ordeal of a crown court trial," he said.

"She gave very good evidence, and we would urge more people to come forward and respond as she did in such cases."

Elliott was cleared by the trial jury of a charge of witness intimidation, which he denied.