Jailed: Knifeman with student grudge

A court has jailed a local thug responsible for over 20 knifepoint robberies of students in Leeds.

Alan Pye, 23, who was sentenced on Wednesday for six years for a total of 103 offences was said to have been particularly fond of sneaking up to students and robbing them with a knife to their necks.

Prosecutors argued that Pye had a specific grudge against students because he was jealous of their wealth and saw them as an easy target.

In one incident at the start of term, Pye is said to have held a knife to the face of two girls in the doorway of their student accommodation and demanded both students’ handbags.

Seven days earlier, the court heard how Pye had knocked one young man to the floor on Otley Road and stamped on his head six times, leaving the him unconscious, before stealing his rucksack.

In court Pye admitted to one robbery, and three attempted robberies – he also asked for 103 other offences to be taken into consideration, including 21 robberies, 52 thefts, 25 burglaries, four offences of damage and one assault.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, handed Pye a six-year jail sentence with a three-year extended licence. The court heard Pye had already committed 62 offences before his latest appearance.

Pye told police of the other offences he had admitted as part of West Yorkshire Police’s Operation Clean Slate and the court heard he was keen to stay on the right side of the law when he gets out of jail.