A POLICE sergeant who has twice been named the region's bravest bobby kept a pre-Christmas date with the Queen.

Sgt Sue Robinson, a 35-year-old mother-of-two, attended a Buckingham Palace reception honouring people who have made a significant contribution to national life.

Mrs Robinson, who is on maternity leave, looking after her four-year-old daughter Jessica and six-month-old son Ben, attended the event with her husband Martin.

Last summer, Sgt Robinson and colleague PC Gary Coulson were honoured by Prime Minister Tony Blair for saving a man threatening to jump 60ft from a road bridge in Spennymoor, County Durham. Both officers, who won Royal Humane Society awards, were left badly bruised during a struggle to haul the man to safety. They attended a ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel and a Downing Street reception hosted by Mr Blair.

A year earlier, Sgt Robinson also won the bravery award for ignoring threats to her own life and tackling a man with a rifle who had been firing at passing cars.