A TEENAGER who brought terror to the streets of Bolton in a series of violent knifepoint robberies has been jailed for nine years.

In a succession of attacks in Bolton town centre one man was slashed across the face and and another punched and kicked unconscious as Oliver Khosravi, then aged 17, and a group of other young thugs targeted victims in the street, stealing phones and wallets.

Ruling that Khosravi, now aged 18, still poses a high risk of danger to the public, Judge Graeme Smith told him that he will spend an additional three years on licence at the end of his custodial term and will not be eligible to apply for parole until he has spent at least six years in a young offenders' institution.

During a week-long period at the beginning of January last year, Khosravi, of Nuffield Close, Heaton, carried out three street robberies and, after he was caught and granted bail, went on to commit a fourth in October.

Khosravi, who appeared in the Nightingale Court at Bolton Stadium via a video link from Forest Bank prison, listened as Brian Berlyne, prosecuting, told how the crimes began on New Year's Day 2020.

Victim Aron Curwell-Parry had been celebrating New Year's Eve but became separated from his friends and was heading along Great Moor Street just after 4.30am towards the casino when he was spotted by Khosravi, who sneaked up behind him, followed by two other males.

"Mr Curwell-Parry would have had no opportunity to see him approach," said Mr Berlyne.

"Mr Khosravi grabbed Mr Curwell-Parry around the neck with his left hand and could be seen to jab at Mr Curwell-Parry with his right hand. By inference, in view of the injury sustained, the Crown say he must have been holding a sharp object which he used as a weapon to cause the injury."

Mr Curwell-Parry, who remembered very little of the incident, ran away before realising his shirt was blood-stained and his phone was missing.

His chin had been sliced and he needed 10 stitches to the deep, one-and-a-half inch-long wound.

Khosravi was identified from CCTV cameras in the town centre and, after his arrest on January 20 last year, blood on a puffer coat at his home was found to belong to Mr Parry.

Four days after the attack on Mr Curwell-Parry, Khosravi robbed another man. Alan Seddon had been visiting relatives and had been walking home across Sainbury's car park at 2am when he was confronted in an alleyway by a group of four youths, one of whom was holding a knife with a five-inch blade.

Mr Seddon handed over the wallet after the knife was pointed at him and was then punched in the head, with demands for him to also give them his phone or he would be stabbed.

On January 7 last year, at 6.30pm, Khosravi found his next victim, Jack Hyde, a 17-year-old who was at the bus station waiting to go home when he decided to go and buy a drink.

Two of Khosravi's fellow thugs followed him onto Newport Street and then punched him from behind, knocking him unconscious and kicked and stamped on him as he lay on the ground.

They were then joined by Khosravi and the three of them rifled through the teenager's pockets before running off with his wallet, phone and earphones.

Jack suffered bruises and a cut above his right eyebrow.

After being granted bail Khosravi went on the run and, on October 3, just before 11am, found his fourth victim.

Mr Berlyne told how Dean Taylor was on his way to the post office, walking past Chorley New Road Primary School, Horwich, when his path was blocked by Khosravi and another man.

They demanded his wallet and Khosravi produced a large Zombie knife from his jacket.

"He told Mr Taylor to give him the money or he would stab him," said Mr Berlyne.

Mr Taylor gave the pair the PIN number for his bank card and, within minutes, two purchases, worth £16 were made.

An hour later security staff at Middlebrook retail park saw Khosravi hiding the knife behind a restaurant and his accomplice was caught hiding behind a bush.

The court heard that Khosravi was identified at all the offences through CCTV.

Mark Friend, defending, told Judge Smith that Khosravi had a difficult family life and had been coping by misusing alcohol and drugs.

"It is clear that he was spending a good deal of his spare time with other young people who were behaving in a socially irresponsible way," said Mr Friend.

Khosravi pleaded guilty to four robberies and possessing a knife. Several of his accomplices have already been sentenced.

Sentencing Khosravi, Judge Smith said he had read the contents of youth offending team and psychiatric reports.

"You had a number of problems earlier in your life, but there is nothing there that can begin to explain what led you to become both a violent and a dangerous offender," the judge told the teenager.

"You have shown a total disregard for the well-being of others, but also a completely reckless attitude."