A teenager who attacked and robbed a woman on a night out had written a checklist beforehand, reminding himself how to commit a crime.

Zach Jackson, who was 18 at the time, sexually assaulted his victim and stole her mobile phone in Blackpool in December.

When Lancashire Police checked Jackson's home they found a notebook containing a list of instructions.

It read: 'Wear black, gloves, warm up, watch out for CCTV, grab'.

The word 'phones' was also added to the page.

Roger Brown, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said the victim had been out drinking with friends in the seaside town in Lancashire but could not arrange a lift.

As the 19-year-old walked home she described seeing a male standing in the doorway of a house and using a mobile phone.

Jackson, from Blackpool, slapped her, grabbed her phone and sexually assaulted her.

The victim's father used a signal technology to check the location of the phone, which led police officers to Jackson's home.

Rachel Woods, defending, said the list found at Jackson's address did not indicate he had been planning a sex assault, more that he had considered the idea of a robbery.

"He did not seek out the female," she claimed. "There is no evidence to suggest he had been stalking or following her. She had one of the latest iPhones and he had taken a fancy to it.

"His guilty pleas have spared the young woman from having to come to court to give evidence about the matter."

Miss Woods said a letter Jackson had written to the court proved his attitude had changed.

Judge Anthony Russell QC acknowledged the robbery and sex assault, carried out late at night in the street, must have been terrifying for the victim.

"I accept your remorse for these offences is genuine," he told Jackson. "If what you say in your letter to the court is genuine, then there is some hope for the future. If it isn't and you don't want to put these sort of matters behind you, you will face a long life of going in and out of prison".

Jackson had pleaded guilty to robbery and sexual assault, as well as admitting attempting to possess cocaine with intent to supply in July last year.

He had been jailed for three years and will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.