A FORMER University of Worcester student who committed a series of armed raids in the city described himself as a ‘modern-day Robin Hood’ who stole from the rich to give to the poor.

Police raided Stephen Jackley’s room at the Henwick Road campus following his arrest in the US and found a diary where he had planned to steal £100,000 and give it to good causes.

The 23-year-old has admitted a total of 18 offences which were committed across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Devon in 2007 and 2008.

They include five robberies, three attempted robberies, seven offences of possessing a firearm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, burglary and attempted burglary.

The offences in Worcester include two armed robberies at William Hill bookmakers, St John’s, and at Corals bookmakers, Trinity Street. He also committed burglaries at the NSPCC shop, Broad Street, and at Barclays Bank, Malvern Road, St John’s.

The student terrified staff and customers by brandishing a gun while dressed in a blonde wig and large sunglasses.

Despite a string of appeals for information from police, his identity eluded detectives until he was arrested in the United States in May 2008 for trying to buy a gun with fake identification in the state of Vermont.

When US officers found a card showing that he was a student at the University of Worcester, the FBI contacted British police and asked for his room in the halls of residence to be searched.

There they discovered a suspect device which forced the evacuation of the site and uncovered evidence linking him to the robberies and attempted robberies.

In a diary seized by police he set out how he planned to steal £100,000 from banks and other companies and planned to give the money to good causes, police disclosed.

A spokeswoman from the University of Worcester, said: “The university has always regarded these matters as extremely serious and has co-operated fully with the police during their investigations.

“However, it has been a matter for the judicial system and it is inappropriate for us to comment further.

“We can confirm that the student is excluded from the university.”

After spending time in a US prison for the firearms attempt he was extradited to Britain in May where he was charged with 21 offences including robberies, att-empted robbery and forearms possession.

He pleaded guilty to 18 counts in a hearing at Worcester Crown Court.

It emerged after the hearing that Jackley, of Sidmouth, Devon, had written to a local newspaper claiming: “I will continue to take from the rich and give to the poor. I am the modern-day Robin Hood.”

Detective Constable Alex Bingham of Exeter CID said: “Jackley referred to himself as Robin Hood in diaries and said he was against multinational corporations.

“He listed in chronological order the places he had been to that he planned to rob, the places he did rob, how he did it, how he felt about it and how he thought the victims felt.

“He wrote about how he felt guilty about upsetting his victims. He also set himself a target of £100,000.”

DC Bingham added: “You would not expect an educated person in his early 20s to commit a series of armed robberies across the country and internationally.

“These are serious offences and we worked closely with other forces to identify and locate the offender.”

It also emerged that Jackley was arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of similar offences three years ago but left the country before being charged.

DNA samples provided by the Dutch authorities were later provided to British police helping to link him to the Worcestershire raids.

Jackley will be sentenced at Worcester Crown Court tomorrow where he faces a lengthy prison sentence.