A THIEF who 'preys on the elderly and vulnerable' has been jailed for more than three years after stealing a Greenock pensioner's house keys.

Michael Dorrian swiped them from within a common close at Kilblain Court then returned to the housing block a day later intending to commit theft.

But the 37-year-old — who has scores of convictions for burglary and dishonesty — was thwarted because the locks had been changed just in time.

An elderly woman to whom the keys belonged had contacted her housing association when she couldn't find them and a locksmith was sent round to make her flat secure.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton told him: "I've looked at your record and by my count you have 13 convictions for housebreaking and one attempted housebreaking.

"There are 28 other offences of dishonesty.

"You are clearly someone who preys on the elderly and vulnerable."

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how Dorrian had been released from a prison sentence just three weeks before he deliberately targeted Kilblain Court, which has a large number of elderly residents.

He was placed on an anti-social behaviour order back in 2012 after stealing a 95-year-old woman's purse at a sheltered housing complex in Dunoon.

In 2016 Dorrian conned his way into the sheltered housing home of a frail 89-year-old woman in Greenock then stole her handbag and money.

He also posed as a Children in Need charity collector in a bid to hoodwink OAPs into parting with their cash at another sheltered complex in the town.

Dorrian committed his latest offences in January.

Prosecutor Saud Ul Hassan told the court: "A resident returned to her address at 6pm on January 12 and was unable to locate her key with the fob attached and she searched for it until 8.30pm.

"She believed she had left the key on the outside of the lock of her flat door."

The lock was changed the following morning but a number of residents later became aware of a man in the corridor outside their homes and saw him through the spy holes on their front doors, the court heard.

Police were alerted an later caught up with Dorrian at the Inverclyde Centre, where he was staying.

Officers viewed CCTV footage of him returning to the centre and his clothing matched the description of the man seen at Kilblain Court.

Within a red shoe box in Dorrian's room were the stolen keys and their door entry fob.

He pleaded guilty on the day he was due to stand trial, admitting charges of stealing the keys and to being found in the close without lawful authority so that it may be reasonably inferred he intended to commit theft.

His lawyer, Charles Drummond, said: "His position is that he found the keys lying in the hallway. He tells me that he was delivering business cards."

Mr Drummond told the court that his client had got inside the common close after someone who lives there had let him in.

Four elderly witnesses had attended court to give evidence at a jury trial against Dorrian.

Sheriff Hamilton returned him to prison for the unexpired 37 days of his previous sentence and jailed him for a further three years.

The sheriff said: "The keys would have given you access to the home of an elderly and vulnerable person.

"A significant custodial sentence is the only option available to me."