A flight attendant working for Alaska Airlines has been praised after describing how her quick thinking allowed a young passenger to escape the clutches of a human trafficker.

Shelia Fedrick, 49, was working on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco in 2011 when she noticed a teenage girl, aged around 14, travelling with a well-dressed older man.

The girl had greasy blonde hair and, according to Fedrick, "looked like she had been through pure hell".

Speaking to WTSP, Fedrick said she tried to speak to the pair - but the girl remained silent and the man responded defensively.