A SERIAL thief jailed again for a series of brazen robberies was told he could use prison to turn his life and retorted: “That’s not your worry.”

John Luke dismissed Sheriff William Gallacher’s attempted offering of advice as he meted out a jail sentence of more than three years at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week.

The 37-year-old stole cosmetics from Boots on Alexandria’s Main Street on July 13 this year, while he was on bail from Glasgow Sheriff Court just weeks earlier.

When police arrived, he resisted arrest and repeatedly ran into traffic on the road and struggled violently with officers.

But he was given bail at Dumbarton Sheriff Court the next day.

Just two days later, a woman working on her laptop at The Tullie Inn Hotel in Balloch stepped away and returned to discover it was stolen. Luke had been observed with the laptop under his arm as he left and a description was given to police.

Luke was next spotted in his parka jacket nearby at Rosshead House. A support worker at the unit told officers Luke was in his room, but when they searched it, the window was open and they searched for him. CCTV later confirmed Luke arrived at Rosshead House with the laptop.

Staff at the unit also noted Luke arrived one evening in a dark grey Peugeot, which seemed unusual, and when the plate number was passed to police, they learned it was stolen.

A mountain bike recently used by Luke was also found in the laundry room at Rosshead House, also suspected of being stolen. On the afternoon of July 17, the bike was taken from outside The Playdrome in Clydebank where CCTV again showed Luke behind the theft.

The Peugeot had been taken from a property at Cameron Mid Lodge, in Alexandria, between July 12 and 18 and came to light when the owner, abroad on holiday, was called by her credit card company saying it had been used at Lomond Gate Service Station.

A friend checked her home and found it ransacked, doors open and contents strewn around the bedroom. The car, car keys, and a spare house key had been taken. A large £1,000 flat screen TV was found on the floor with its screen cracked.

Rosshead House told police Luke left the unit for a tenancy in Second Avenue, Clydebank, where officers forced entry and found him with the keys to the stolen Peugeot. The car and mountain bike were both returned to their owners but the laptop was never recovered.

Luke’s defence solicitor told the court: “It will be no surprise that he has a titanic, engrained heroin addiction that amounts in excess for 20 years.”

But Sheriff Gallacher noted Luke had had the opportunity “over decades”.

“He recognises he is not getting any younger and time in custody is wasted time for his partner, for his mother,” he said. “He hopes by the time his sentence comes to a conclusion, he will be drug free.”

Sheriff Gallacher said he had an obligation to the public but offered the olive branch: “There are facilities in prison if you choose to do something about it.”

“That’s not your worry,” interrupted Luke and the thief was led away for a total of 40 months in prison, backdated to July 22.