A MAN was due before magistrates today accused of carrying out a string of armed robberies at travel agents.

The 49-year-old is charged with using a screwdriver to commit six robberies in three separate counties.

The suspect, who has not yet been named, is from the Liverpool area and also faces six counts of possessing an offensive weapon as well as charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

He will appear at North Staffordshire Magistrates' Court this morning after being arrested in Hanley on Friday.

The suspect was detained in connection with a robbery at Co-op Travel, in Fountain Square, which saw a man go into the branch and threaten staff with a screwdriver before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police made the arrest shortly afterwards in nearby Meigh Street.

A force spokesman said yesterday: "At about 3.30pm on Friday a lone man entered the Co-op travel agent, in Fountain Square, Hanley.

"At this time he confronted staff and an amount of cash was taken. The man then made off.

"A man was arrested by police and later charged with six counts of armed robbery, six counts of possessing an offensive weapon, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest."

Detectives from three police forces have spent months searching for a man believed to have carried out a series of robberies at travel agents' shops since December.

The Thomson shop, in High Street, Stone, was targeted on July 5 by a robber who forced two female assistants into a back room before escaping with what police described as a "large quantity" of sterling and foreign currency.

And the same man is believed to have targeted Co-op travel agents in Newcastle and Leek in recent months.

During the Newcastle raid on June 9, a man entered the Castle Walk branch and threatened staff and customers before making off with currency.

And staff at the Stanley Street branch in Leek were forced to hand over hundreds of notes when a robber struck shortly before closing time on April 23.

Police said the suspect had also been linked to raids in Fleetwood and Colne in Lancashire, and Littleover and Buxton in Derbyshire.

Officers have released CCTV footage and a photo-fit picture in the hope of identifying the raider.