A STUDENT had airpods ripped from his ears by a man and two youths as he walked through Bolton town centre.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Tashan Morris was in Deansgate, outside the Wilko store at 2.45am on July 5 when he was surround by 22-year-old Hassanain Ghazi and two 16-year-old boys.

Kate Gaskell, prosecuting, said the trio demanded the frightened victim hand over his belongings and cash, warning him: “Give me your stuff or I’ll stab you up.”

“He describes twice being threatened to be stabbed if he didn’t hand over his items,” said Miss Gaskell.

“His pockets were patted down and his phone was taken. Ghazi then leaned up to take the Apple airpods which were in the complainant’s ears.”

The robbers appeared to walk away but then returned and “squared up” to their victim. But the incident was seen by CCTV operators who alerted police who were quickly on the scene.

As he ran away, Ghazi was seen to throw the phone to the ground but the airpods were never recovered.

In a victim statement, read out in court, Mr Morris said: “I don’t understand why this happened to me. I was scared at the time thinking they may have a knife and they would stab me.”

Ghazi’s co-accused both pleaded guilty to robbery when they appeared at Manchester Youth Court.

One was sentenced to detention for eight months and ordered to pay £125 in compensation while the other was ordered to pay £125 and referred to a youth offender panel for 12 months.

Ghazi, of Arnside Grove, Bolton, has also admitted robbery and will be sentenced on August 25 after psychological reports are prepared.

But the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh warned him: “The custody threshold has been passed by a significant degree.”