A 17-year-old who compared himself to serial killers has been found guilty of the attempted murder of three women who he attacked in random stabbing attacks out of revenge because he could not lose his virginity.

Ben Moynihan, who is now 18, of The Ridings, Portsmouth, Hampshire, was found guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of the three charges following a week-long trial.

The judge, Mr Justice Jay has adjourned the case for sentencing on a date to be set and asked for pre-sentence reports to be prepared on Moynihan.

The teenager stabbed the three women, aged 20, 45 and 67, as they walked alone in the north area of Portsmouth in June and July last year.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, said that Moynihan, who called himself the "unhappy geezer", left two letters for the police confessing to his crimes in which he stated that "all women need to die" and that he liked to smell the "flesh he had ripped out".

The letter, left on a police van, stated: "All women needs to die and hopefully next time I can gouge their eyeballs out.

"Every time I stab someone I run home and I like to smell the flesh I ripped out. Come and arrest me for God sake before I hunt for my fourth victim."

At the bottom of the letter, Moynihan had included a photograph of himself. He was later arrested when police officers recognised him in the street from the picture and detained him.

Another letter was found by a couple in which Moynihan described himself as "the unhappy geezer".

This letter had a symbol from the Tomb Raider game on it. It said: "When women won't talk to you it's heartbreaking, why are they fussy with men nowadays."

It continued: "I roam these streets, hungry for blood and pain, I be greeted with attack, attack, attack, attack, dead, jolly good!"

At the bottom of the letter was a symbol from the video game Tomb Raider, Ms Maylin said. She continued that after his arrest, Moynihan told a police officer: "It was not GBH, I was trying to kill them."

In a video found on his laptop, Moynihan had filmed himself saying: "I think every girl is a type of slut, they are fussy with men nowadays, they do not give boys like us a chance.

"I am still a virgin, everyone is losing it before me, that's why you are my chosen target. I just can't live in this flat, I have no future here. So women, tell me how we should do this."

Ms Maylin said he waved a knife at the camera as he continued saying: "Shall I stab you in the neck or in the heart, shall I slash your throat or should I just cigarette lighter you or just fire you.

"I do not know where I could get petrol from but how hard can it be to come by.

"So I hope you learn a lesson not to bully guys like us, we deserve dignity, for your own generations, remember."

In another document, Moynihan had written: "I was planning to murder, mainly women, as an act of revenge because the life they gave me.

"I am still a virgin at 17 and why do women have to be fussy with choosing a boyfriend or cheating on men with others? I attack women because I grew up to believe them a more weaker part of the human breed.

"I also done it to get out of this horrible life with more stress and to save myself and my family.

"I am not a bad child and didn't want to do this but had no choice."

Ms Maylin said he also kept what he called a "diary of evil" which detailed the attacks as well as a document listing his dreams which included dreams of violence against women and of killing.

Following the guilty verdicts, Ms Maylin said: "It is very disturbing to think that a 17-year-old boy would write on a college computer how he would, 11 weeks later carry out attacks on women as an act of revenge against them.

"He did not know the three women he attacked on 20th and 29th June and 11th July 2014. He told the police and the court that he would have carried on with attacks and on the day of his arrest was "hunting for his fourth victim".

He targeted women and chose to attack increasingly older women whom he thought would not survive his attacks.

"The jury at Winchester Crown Court heard that Ben Moynihan had an incomprehensible fascination for killing and heard how he would compare himself to serial killers.

"The court was shown a video that the defendant had recorded of himself, where he asked women whether he should kill them by slashing their throats or by stabbing them in their hearts.

"The most chilling document was his 'diary of evil', written during the period of the attacks, in which he declared: 'I was planning to murder mainly women as an act of revenge because of the life they gave me, I'm still a virgin at 17. And why do women have to be fussy when choosing a boyfriend, or cheating on them with others. I attack women because I grew up to believe them as a more weaker part of the human breed. I also done it to get out of this horrible life with more stress and to save myself and my family, I'm not a bad child and didn't want to do this but have no choice.'

"It was clear that the attacks were premeditated. We would like to thank the victims who had the courage to come forward and give statements to the police."

Describing the attacks, Ms Maylin said: "Over three days in the summer of 2014, three women were randomly attacked by a stranger. They did not know each other and there is nothing to connect or link them to each other, they are all of different backgrounds, different social circles and significantly of different ages."

She said that Moynihan used a 4.5-inch knife to carry out the attacks.