A student was robbed within minutes of arriving at Teesside University for his first term, a court heard yesterday.

Stuart True was held up at knifepoint as he started unpacking his bags in the halls of residence at Middlesbrough.

The 18-year-old told Teesside Crown Court that two men burst into his room and demanded money from him.

They stole £65 from his wallet, his cash card and forced him to reveal his PIN number, he said.

Andrew Bradley, 23, who was trapped on closed circuit TV, pleaded guilty to the robbery last September and also stealing £200 from the student's bank account.

Bradley, of Granville Road, Middlesbrough, who had denied being the raider who wielded a combat knife, was jailed for three years.

Judge Peter Fox, QC, said the courts would do everything in their power to protect students from local criminals

Thirty-three-year-old Heath Randall, of Egerton Street, Middlesbrough, pleaded not guilty to being the other man involved in the robbery.

He was cleared through lack of identification evidence at the end of the prosecution's case.