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A 30-YEAR-OLD thief who "inexplicably" went on a robbery spree after leading a crime-free life has penned an apology from his prison cell saying sorry to his victims.

The man, from Druids Heath, had an unblemished criminal record before grabbing a handbag and phone from a lone female on March 6 this year in Shirley.

It sparked a robbery rush in which he snatched jewellery and valuables from more than 20 people over a two-month period in Solihull and Birmingham.

The man was arrested by Solihull Police detectives from his home address in Milton Close after a member of the public recognised him yanking a £1,000 gold chain from the neck of a woman outside Sainsbury's in Kings Heath's Maypole Lane.

At Birmingham Crown Court on Monday (July 1) he was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after admitting three counts of robbery, two attempted robberies and asking for a further 24 offences to be taken into consideration.

Whilst on remand, the remorseful robber wrote a letter from prison, speaking of his desire to "turn back time" and apologising for the distress he caused, and asked detectives to distribute copies to his victims.

His letter read: "Hi my name is Richard;I'm really sorry for wot (sic) I have done to you and caused you distress. I truly wish I could turn back the clock;I didn't target you, you just happened to be in the area when I was at my low point of my life.

"I don't expect you to forgive me but I would ask you understand I was desprat (sic desperate) at the time. I am really sorry!!"

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Arron Cox from Solihull Police CID, said: "It's inexplicable he'd suddenly turn to a life of crime; he had no previous convictions and couldn't really explain why he'd started offending.

"He's shown genuine remorse from the moment he was arrested…he was keen to put his thoughts down on paper and asked that his victims receive copies of the letter.

"His robbery spree was random and spontaneous: it seems he struck whenever he saw a potentially vulnerable victim, often a lone female, walking with a valuable phone or jewellery on show. 

"Despite his remorse he's rightly been jailed for a long time. Hopefully he'll use that time to further reflect on the distress he caused his victims and take advantage of the support available to him to get his life back on track."

The man first struck at 10.30pm on March 6 in Green Lane, Solihull, where he snatched a 22-year-old woman's handbag and returned to take her phone which rang seconds after the attack as he was running away.

And on April 24 he went on a robbery spree in which he attacked four women in the space of just two hours.

He grabbed a pendant from the neck of a woman in Walkers Heath Road, Birmingham, at 9.45am before striking outside Kings Heath Sainsbury's 15 minutes later where he was spotted by a shocked associate.

At 11.30am he wrenched another chain from the neck of a woman in Stoney Lane, Hall Green, and struck again minutes later in nearby Stratford Road.

DC Cox, added: "None of his victims were seriously injured but several suffered redness and bruising where jewellery was torn from them. On several occasions he brandished a metal bar to threaten victims though it was never used in anger.

"In total he's admitted to 24 robberies, mainly in the Solihull and south Birmingham areas.