Beauty queen Nneka Ikedife, who missed out on the Miss Great Britain title, has helped police arrest a knife-wielding mugger.

Nneka may not have won the prestigious beauty title on Saturday but tomorrow she will be crowned for her crime-fighting prowess.

The 23-year-old former religious education teacher, who lives in Brighton, was praised by a judge for her swift action after her friend was held at knifepoint after a night out in The Lanes, Brighton.

She will be presented with a certificate to acknowledge her bravery in a ceremony at Lewes Crown Court.

Nneka said: "We were walking down North Street when a woman approached and asked for a cigarette. I just kept going but my friend lagged behind.

"When I turned around I saw the woman pull a knife out and hold it against my friend's stomach. I screamed and she ran off."

After checking her friend was unharmed, Nneka phoned police on her mobile phone and the pair pursued the attacker through The Lanes.

In November the duo were praised by the judge after the woman was sentenced to three years behind bars for attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.

Nneka had her first taste of the gritty side of life as a teacher at a primary school in Tower Hamlets, London.

She pulled out of her teacher training course two months before completion and now works for a TV company as she tries to launch her modelling career.

Deborah Bray, the agricultural records officer who discovered Sarah Payne's shoe which proved crucial to the conviction of her killer Roy Whiting, will also be honoured at the ceremony tomorrow.